RF Isolation enclosure for accurate testing of Wi-Fi,cellular,Bluetooth,WiMAX

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RF Isolation enclosure for accurate testing of Wi-Fi,cellular,Bluetooth,WiMAX

It seems like every day there is a new Bluetooth device, a new WiFi product or some other wireless device. With so many wireless standards, engineers need tools to accurately test the products they develop to ensure there is no interference, test the range, and other performance benchmarks. When you consider that many devices nowadays - especially mobile phones - have embedded WiFi, Bluetooth, and 2.5G/3G - sometimes using the same antenna and sometimes with multiple antennas - engineers have to make sure all the wireless specs can get along. That's why I thought I'd share this news release from Azimuth Systems where they are introducing their MIMO-ready radioproof enclosures.

RF Isolation Enclosures Facilitate Accurate Testing of Wi-Fi, Cellular, Bluetooth, WiMAX and Other Wireless Technology Products

ACTON, MA - November 14, 2005 - Azimuth Systems, Inc., the leading provider of Wi-Fi engineering test equipment, today announced the availability of new RF isolation enclosures that will facilitate the accurate testing of 4 x 4 multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems, as well as devices based on other wireless technologies. Azimuth's new RadioProof enclosures provide state-of-the-art mechanical and electrical filtering technology to prevent unwanted RF interference from entering or exiting the chamber, which enables more repeatable and reliable test results. In addition to testing MIMO and SISO Wi-Fi devices, these new products are ideal for testing 3G Cellular, Bluetooth and WiMAX devices.

"Azimuth's products are designed to improve the efficiency of our customer's engineering efforts.Our new RadioProof enclosures significantly outperform the internally built solutions used by many vendors to test their wireless products," said Jeff Abramowitz, vice president of marketing at Azimuth. "By accurately validating the performance of wireless systems and devices, our RF isolation enclosures can help improve product quality while reducing the time and costs associated with product testing."

Azimuth initially developed RF isolation enclosures for use with its award-winning Wi-Fi test platform.The need for commercially available enclosures has grown as the requirements of radio testing have become more complex.For example, the integration of multiple wireless technologies into the same device and the market shift toward MIMO technology place greater requirements on testing equipment. Azimuth's new RadioProof enclosures provide RF connections for MIMO systems with up to four transmitters and four receivers, and filter signals for power, networking and digital control. In addition, Azimuth's RadioProof enclosures provide outstanding RF isolation for the broad range of products that operate in frequency bands between 800 MHz and 6 GHz - enabling the testing of wireless devices including handsets, headsets and base stations.

"To perform this type of testing in the past, companies have traditionally built custom shielded boxes or used sophisticated and expensive isolation rooms," said Jessy Cavazos, manager for the Communications Test & Measurement program at Frost & Sullivan. "The new Azimuth RadioProof enclosures simplify testing by providing isolation chambers for individual devices, creating a repeatable and cost effective standards-based testing solution."

The new RadioProof enclosures give Azimuth the industry's only end-to-end MIMO testing solution. The enclosures can be used with Azimuth's ACE 400NB, the industry's first MIMO channel emulator for testing Wi-Fi products. The ACE reproduces 4 x 4 multipath environments with channel correlation, providing sophisticated testing capabilities that were previously limited to leading research facilities and enabling Wi-Fi equipment vendors to improve product quality by measuring performance in an emulated, real world environment.

RadioProof Enclosure Features and Availability
There are two versions of Azimuth's RadioProof enclosures.The RadioProof 401 houses a single device (such as a notebook computer) in an RF-isolation chamber that provides up to 90 dB of radiated RF isolation between the device under test and the outside world. It also includes a filtered fan, which cools devices to prevent them from over-heating during the test. The RadioProof 402 is a dual RF-isolation chamber that houses up to two devices (such as cellular handsets and access points) with up to 90 dB of radiated isolation. The dual enclosure uses passive cooling and can be used for side-by-side performance, range and interoperability testing.Both models have integrated connectivity options including dual 10/100 Ethernet ports supporting Power over Ethernet, an 8 pin COMM port for serial or other custom communication links to the Device Under Test and power connections supporting up to 50V DC or AC to power the DUT. The RadioProof enclosures are designed to be mounted in a standard 19" rack.

The products are currently available via the web site at www.azimuthsystems.com/radioproof



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