CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ENGLAND—Systems integrator dB Broadcast is supplying its Cardinal intelligent Mains Distribution Unit for the U.K. roll-out of DAB transmitter systems, now under way and managed by Arqiva.
The Cardinal iMDU was selected for its ability to change over between mains supply and uninterruptable supplies in the event of a power outage at remote unmanned sites. An additional valuable benefit is the ability to switch off non-essential devices selectively after a user-configurable delay in the event of a mains supply failure. This feature enables essential equipment to be powered for longer by prolonging the UPS battery life.
The DAB roll-out is already in progress, having started early in 2014 and planned to run for another year. DAB transmitter sites are widely distributed in sometimes inhospitable locations, making autonomous operation essential. These are also challenging EMC environments due to their proximity to high-power broadcast transmitters, and the Cardinal iMDU has been designed for EMC immunity EN55103 category E5: “Heavy industrial environment and environments close to broadcast transmitters.”
Other features of the Cardinal iMDU that were utilized as part of Arqiva’s system design include use of the iMDU as a GPI-to-Ethernet interface for telemetry, and its external temperature and humidity sensing for environmental monitoring of the DAB transmitter equipment rack.
