https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

content


RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND

RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND

Cabling is an essential part of building a wireless communications system that makes travel on the Metro safer for Buffalo, NY residents.Although probably
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 1st November 2000

Cabling is an essential part of building a wireless communications system that makes travel on the Metro safer for Buffalo, NY residents.

Although probably best known for football, excellent lake sailing and the world-famous Niagara Falls, Buffalo, NY, is also home to one of the few underground Metro systems in the United States. Known as the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), the five-mile subterranean rail system provides the residents of this Western New York community an alternate means of transportation to the above-ground traffic congestion of buses, automobiles and trucks.

An underground wireless communications system connecting railroad workers, police officers and firefighters is the most important component of Metro safety. By providing voice communications to these essential services, the high standards for safety can be monitored and maintained.

In 1999, Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) participated as one of the product suppliers in modernizing the Metro’s 20-year-old, 450MHz backbone structure. The previous system used 7/8-inch single-slotted, corrugated radiating cable that was performing marginally and in need of repair. A newer 800MHz digital trunking radio system was to be installed in parallel with the older 450MHz system. Building and installing a wireless underground system that provides dual-band communications services using the combination of newer RF radiating backbone technology in long tunnels, and maintaining the existing 7/8-inch radiating cable infrastructure (where possible) in shorter tunnel sections offered a unique challenge.

With its background in providing wireless communications in subterranean environments in Hong Kong, Singapore, and many European cities, RFS proposed the use of optimized, smooth-wall radiating cable technology.

Unlike traditional, corrugated radiating cable that is fabricated by milling coaxial cable, smooth-wall radiating cable is punched to create specific antenna patterns that transverse the length of the cable. The radiating cable can therefore be optimized to provide improved RF performance.

A significant improvement in RF propagation was achieved in the longer tunnels of the Buffalo Metro by using a RAY 114B (11/4-foot) diameter cable that transmits and receives RF via radiating mode. This radiating cable provided better than 12dB of additional margin in the link budget and significantly increased the system’s overall RF performance.

To further demonstrate the wireless performance differences of radiating-mode vs. coupling-mode cable, the diagram on page 50 illustrates the RF power flow from a cable to a mobile antenna. In a typical vertical-slotted, coupling-mode cable (as used in the Metro’s older corrugated 7/8-inch radiating cable) the power flow is parallel to the cable axis. Electromagnetic energy is concentrated close to the cable and decreases rapidly with increased distance resulting in higher coupling loss. Coupling mode corresponds to leaks from the cable (i.e. leaky feeder) and is used in the system’s overall link budget analysis.

Radiating-mode cable incorporates horizontal slots that run longitudinally along the cable. RF power flows toward the receiving mobile antenna, lowering the overall coupling loss of the RF distribution system. The radiating cable proved to be more RF-efficient for the Metro’s wireless backbone than a coupling-mode cable of the same size. The increase in available RF receiver power permits the use of fewer bi-directional amplifiers, decreasing the cost and improving the overall system reliability.

The chart on page 48 graphically depicts the expected mean radiating cable coupling loss for different frequencies in the radiating mode of operation. In the specific case shown, the coupling loss of the RAY 114B cable was reduced as the frequency increased, resulting in an improved link budget for the 800MHz system.

When designing an RF system with optimized radiating cable, one must also be cognizant of avoiding the RF stop bands inherent with this type of product that increase longitudinal insertion loss within the band. For this particular product, RF stop bands are located at 320MHz, and its multiples are well outside the 450MHz and 800MHz radio systems used in this system.

With its new multiband RF system operational, the Niagara Metro became the first underground transport system in the United States to use the advanced smooth-wall, high-performance radiating cables. The 800MHz trunked system’s performance exceeded the RF technical specification requirements in all of the long Buffalo Metro tunnels where smooth-wall radiating cable was used.

In the shorter tunnel sections where the older 7/8-inch, corrugated radiating cable remains, damaged components were repaired, and the radiating cable backbone was enhanced.

High-performance cable taps were installed at predefined points along the length of the radiating cable. The cable taps provide low longitudinal insertion losses (0.7dB/tap) and coupling of 10dB.

Attached to each of these taps are 800MHz point-source antennas that improve the RF efficiency of this older cable. Although not as RF-efficient as the newer smooth-wall radiating cables, this hybrid approach of using radiating cables for the 400MHz system and antennas for the 800MHz system is a good alternative when the project budget does not permit the upgrade of the total backbone system.

Today the Buffalo Metro has a seamless dual-band trunking radio system that allows the use of the existing, older 450MHz mobile radios and the newer 800MHz replacement mobiles. The system provides for the smooth and economic transition from one radio technology to next-generation technology. The Metro ridership can take comfort in the fact that the carrier’s essential communications system has been significantly improved, providing them a safer environment when traveling across Buffalo in their subterranean world.

In the future, Buffalo’s new wireless mobile system will be able to accommodate new technologies for essential services (fire, police, train control) and for commercial use. Subject to the approval of the NFTA management, the radiating cable backbone can also be used to support commercial wireless paging, cellular and PCS services.

Because the system uses a broadband wireless design, unique new commercial services that are available today to riders in Hong Kong, Singapore, Munich, and other major cities could become a part of the Buffalo way of life.

Tags: content

Most Recent


  • RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND
    Newscan: Securing the Internet of Things is quite a challenge
    Also: EWA requests dismissal of 900 MHz applications; TIA names tech and policy priorities for 2014; IJIS Institute names Shumate Award winner; App makes bus waits more tolerable; a Blackberry comeback may be in the offing.
  • RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND
    Newscan: FCC certifies Carlson Wireless's white-space radio
    Also: Congress looks to revamp telecom law; Obama to place some restraints on surveillance; IEEE to study spectrum-occupancy sensing for white-spaces broadband; Major Swedish transport operator opts for Sepura TETRA radios; RFMD to partner on $70 million next-generation power grid project; NENA opens registratiuon for "911 Goes to Washington."
  • RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND
    Newscan: A look at the critical job of 911 dispatchers
    Also: NYC launches website for tracking 911 response times; Oregon implements 911 on pre-paid cell phones; LightSquared wants to keep spectrum assets; Harris receives multiple government orders; FCC extends rebanding financial reconciliation deadline; Zetron gear at core of communications system upgrade; Ritron debuts wireless access control system; EWA seeks policy review of VHF vehicular repeater system deployments.
  • RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND
    Newscan: Average peak data rates of 144 MB/s average realized in tests with CAT 4 LTE device
    Also: Verizon, T-Mobile to swap unused spectrum to improve coverage; Internet giants oppose surveillance--but only when the government does it; FCC Chairman says incentive auction will be delayed until middle of 2015; FCC chair announces staff appointments; Alcatel-Lucent names Tim Krause as chief marketing officer; New Jersey county deploys TriTech CAD system; Toronto airport deploys 26-position Zetron console system;

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • RugGear: Contributing to the future of mission-critical broadband communication review and market vision
  • Photo gallery: 2014 Communications Marketing Conference (CMC) in Tucson
  • RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND
    Top 5 Stories - Week of Sept. 22
  • RADIO GOES UNDERGROUND
    RCA plans to expand this year's Technical Symposium

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.