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For the high profile expedition race TV series filmed in Fiji, RFI worked with partner COMS Ltd to supply and deploy MiniSystem Combiners and antennas to provide rapid radio coverage.

Our partner had won the contract to provide rapid radio communications for a high-profile expedition race TV series in Fiji. The event organisers required coverage for four concurrent VHF radio channels, in three geographical coverage zones.

Implementation timelines and logistics were quite challenging with the sporting series running across multiple days. All the equipment, including the radio repeaters, multicoupling system and antennas had to be transported long distances into remote areas with no proper road access.

In some areas, the equipment had to be moved to sites by helicopters. The equipment also had to be compact and lightweight enough so it could be easily disassembled and carried by hand if required.

To cover zone 2, the whole equipment had to be fitted into and moved between aircrafts. Our partner also needed the ability to remove, redeploy and reconfigure the equipment, at short notice, to meet the event’s timelines quickly and easily.

Importantly, providing a reliable radio communication system was critical as the health and safety of the competitors and the crew depended on it.

After thorough consideration, our partner selected RFI’s MiniSystem Combiners and antennas to support the radio coverage for this event. Delivered pre-configured, our partner only needed to plug the radio repeaters and antennas for rapid coverage deployment.

The simplicity of installation and the compact physical size made the MiniSystem Combiner the ideal combining solution for this application. MiniSystems provided the customer with everything they needed for their multicoupling. Signal filtering, combining, amplification and distribution were all included in a compact enclosure. This enabled the customer to easily combine four radio repeaters into a single antenna using a small footprint.

The compact size and light weight of the MiniSystem also helped the customer to move the equipment easily across zones in pre-made portable hard cases, along with the radio repeaters. This would not be possible with a traditional multicoupling system with bulky and heavy filters, combiners and multicouplers.

The MiniSystems were delivered to the customer on time and our partner managed to deploy and transport the equipment within the expected timeframes. Once the equipment was at its designated location, it was setup and commissioned quickly and smoothly.

The whole system was also de-commissioned, moved and redeployed in a different location, 200 kms away in two days.

The compact size of MiniSystems also allowed the whole system to be fitted inside the repeater aircrafts. The aircrafts had antennas on the under belly and were providing radio coverage for one of the geographical zones.

• 6 x MS1314-0405-SP MiniSystems
• SMD2-99 Antennas
• PH24-99 Phasing Harness

To download a copy of the full case study, please click the link below.

RFI worked with Harvey Norman Commercial Division to supply and install communication solutions to provide connectivity to allow for essential solar monitoring on the Enphase Enlighten portal.

Monitoring is an essential part of set up and maintenance of a commercial solar system. For access restriction reasons the connectivity available on-site could not be utilised by the installation team for monitoring purposes. Therefore, an independent connectivity solution was needed to be sourced and installed by the installation team.

As a commercial site, it was important to ensure that any solution for providing connectivity was enterprise level with reliability and security a priority for both the hardware and the SIM connection components. Any solution would also need to be appropriate for long term deployment and future proof against known technology changes. As an additional challenge on the site, one of the modems was to be located within a concrete room, creating a challenge for receiving reception with the site.

Our partner, Harvey Norman Commercial, had consulted and installed the solar system and hardware. As experienced providers of solar communication hardware, RFI was consulted for a solution that would be able to provide long term connectivity with high reliability.

The requirement for a connectivity system which was highly reliable, secure and easy to install made RFI’s Solar Connectivity Solution an ideal solution. The MA-2055 modem in the bundle is an industrial grade modem, bundled with Vodafone’s IoT SIM, it ensured that an enterprise-level solution was installed. With multicarrier redundancy and superior security with the IoT SIM’s Access Control list ensuring that only desired websites can be accessed, the need for a secure and reliable system was also ensured. The bundle is also 4G ready and so no changes will need to be made when 3G connectivity is lost at the site.

To assist with the challenge of receiving reception into the concrete room RFI was able to supply the CSM500 with a custom length cable to mount the antenna exterior to the building. The low-profile bracket mountable antenna made for perfect integration into the install as it was able to provide adequate reception without compromising building aesthetic.

Utilising RFI’s Solar Connectivity Solution and the CSM500 antenna connectivity was able to be organised for the system. This allowed for the quick, easy and reliable deployment of connectivity which meant monitoring in the Enpase Enlighten Portal was able to be accessed and set up rapidly and efficiently.

Watch the video here to see how connection was established in minutes.

To download a copy of the full case study, please click the link below.