Menu
In recent years, building on the sound RF skills within The Systems House, contracts have been secured for interference assessments, RF surveys, Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) and Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) design and testing.
MeerKAT, part of the Square Kilometer Array project (www.ska.org.za), will be the most sensitive radio telescope in the world in its frequency band of operation (580MHz – 14.5GHz). Accordingly, there is a requirement for the electronics in the telescope to radiate at levels below the MeerKAT sensitivity, so as not to affect any astronomy measurements. This therefore implies that MeerKAT also becomes the “quietest” radio telescope in the world in terms of its own EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference).
The Systems House, under contract to Stratosat Datcomm (the prime contractor for the 64 MeerKAT antennas), served as the lead engineering resource for the EMI aspects of the antenna design, the component selection, development of shielding enclosures, custom designed shielding components (eg. door, air vents), emissions testing of components, and the overall EMI performance of the antenna.
In December 2014, following a two year design and prototyping phase, a full operating model of the antenna successfully passed all specified radiated and conducted emissions tests at the Houwteq test facility in South Africa.
The 64 antennas have been produced and installed on the site in the Northern Cape province and the radio telescope is providing ground-breaking data to the radioastronomy community.
A European satellite operator wished to establish Ka band gateways in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Systems House surveyed possible locations and performed detailed RF surveys covering both L band (950 – 2150MHz) and Ka band (17.7 – 19.7GHz), in order to identify interference and determine site viability for the Ka band services.
Similar surveys can be performed in any RF band used for terrestrial wireless or satellite communications. We are also in a position to recommend appropriate mitigation strategies including optimal site location, shielding and filtering.
The Systems House undertakes audits of mobile network base stations (macro, micro, DAS) on behalf of landlords. This includes assessment of equipment deployed, carriers and services activated and spectrum used by the base station. Indoor passive and active/hybrid Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) are also included in the audits. The audits cover all GSM operators in the 900, 1800, 2300MHz bands.
The audit includes the identification of all operational 2G, 3G and 4G carriers per mobile operator as well as CellID’s of each base station. Such audits are of high value to landlords who require exact knowledge of the mobile services deployed in their buildings, campuses or precincts. The audits will also identify the location of all base stations in the designated area and exact technical details of each.
GIS tools, mobile RF survey equipment (antenna, amplifier, spectrum analyser) and multi-operator SIM phones are used to form a complete picture of the mobile deployments. Drive tests and static survey work are performed.
All information copyright © The Systems House