Tag Archives: Microwave radio

               SAF Integra FODU 

High power radios are now available in 15 GHz and 18 GHz in the SAF Integra G Point to Point microwave radio product line.
Maximum Tx power of these full outdoor radios is 23 dBm (in both frequencies).

Key Advantages of High Power

Higher transmit power helps to:

• reduce antenna sizes,
• increase link distances, or
• increase link availability (uptime) and fade margins.

If you are hiring space on a third party tower, reducing antenna sizes can mean significantly lower site rental fees. Or you may have to keep antenna sizes as small as possible for a site with very limited space. Smaller antenna sizes also translate into lower equipment and freight costs and easier installation.

For customers requiring fast data speeds it may be crucial to use 18 GHz for longer links as there is a large 55 MHz channel size available in this frequency band. High Tx power can be very helpful here.

Customers can also save on annual ACMA annual licence fees by using 15 GHz or 18 GHz instead of a lower frequency. Savings are particularly significant in high and medium density areas. These are-  Melbourne / Geelong, Sydney / Wollongong and Brisbane / Gold Coast (high density), and Adelaide, Perth and Newcastle (medium density).

Last, but not least-  achieving higher link availability and fade margins without increasing antenna sizes can be a big bonus, particularly for links in high rain rate areas and with mission critical networks.

Data Speeds

Australian users can achieve up to 226 Mbps full-duplex per radio with 15GHz 28MHz, and up to 472 Mbps full-duplex with 18 GHz 55 MHz.

In New Zealand, the same speeds as the above apply for Integra G radios. In addition to this, New Zealand based customers can also take advantage of the 110 MHz channel size with Integra W radios for maximum speed of 883 Mbps full-duplex per radio. Integra W radios also have a high maximum transmit power of  22 dBm.

Integrated vs Non-integrated Antennas

All Integra G high frequency microwave radios (15 GHz and above) have two model options- Integra G and Integra GS. Integra G radios have integrated 300mm or 600mm antennas while Integra GS units are used with non-integrated (but slip-fit) antennas. Available sizes are 300mm, 600mm, 900mm and 1200mm.

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  Integra G Radio With Integrated 300mm Antenna

Advantages of integrated antennas include:

• faster and easier installation (antennas are already attached to the radios),
• lower equipment costs.

Advantages of non-integrated antennas are:

• easier sparing(for networks that include different antenna sizes with the same frequency),
• slightly higher antenna gain (with the same antenna size),
• larger antenna sizes available.
  

  Integra GS Radio With Non-integrated 300mm Antenna

Stock Changes

Our Australian stock includes some standard power 15 GHz and 18 GHz Integra G FODUs at this stage. Once the current stock is sold, however, we will be replacing it with the high power units.  It will still be possible to order standard power 18 GHz radios, but we expect most (or all) customers will prefer the high power version due to the above benefits. We will only be manufacturing 15 GHz with high power in the future.

Please contact us for further information. We will be happy to assist with selection of the most appropriate equipment to best suit your needs.