2019-03-04

Comba Telecom Releases Innovative Antenna Monitoring System for Public Safety In-Building Communications Systems

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

New RFID solution provides the ability to fully monitor a public-safety communications system in real-time.

Comba Telecom, Inc. (Subsidiary of Comba Telecom Systems Holdings LTD.), a global leading wireless solutions provider, today released its new innovative public safety in-building CriticalPoint™ Antenna Monitoring System.

Comba’s CriticalPoint™ Antenna Monitoring System (AMS) solution is a robust, compact system engineered to provide real-time monitoring of individual service antennas of an ERRC system. Powered by RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, the system’s Master Control Unit (MCU) keeps track of RFID tags that are integrated into select Comba’s service antennas. In the case an antenna fails, the tag will no longer emit an RF signal back to the MCU prompting it to generate an NFPA/IFC compliant alarm, and from there identifying that particular antenna. Through the easy to use, highly intuitive web based GUI, users are able to view the overall status of the system, as well as each individual service antenna and identify any issues immediately.

The CriticalPoint AMS MCU is placed inline with a public safety BDA or Fiber DAS system’s passive infrastructure system which is installed in the building. From the AMS MCU there are two dry contact alarms that are wired to the annunciator panel for NFPA/IFC compliant visual alarm reference. The whole system can support up to 50 antennas/tags. Finally, the CriticalPoint AMS system is easily configured though it’s intuitive web-based GUI, has extremely low power consumption and is housed in a NEMA 4 enclosure.

“Monitoring a complete in-building public safety communications system was near impossible and very expensive in the past,” said Steven Cheng, Comba’s Public Safety Product Manager. “With the CriticalPoint™ Antenna Monitoring System, we can now reliably monitor the full system, both the active and passive components to ensure the system is fully functional at a very reasonable cost.”