Smart Com 150 Manual English V5 - 14 PDF

Becker Smart Com 150 Leaky Feeder
Training Manual
V5.14
0.1 150 MHz or 450 MHz?
 Smart Com 150 is well suited for hard-rock mines where

lateral coverage from the LF cable is not critical.
 Smart Com 450 is better suited to room and pillar or

longwall mines as the signal propagates up to 4x better.
 UHF cable costs approximately 300% more than VHF,

however the increased coverage may result in a more
attractive solution.
Table of Contents
1.0 Two-Way Radio Basics

2.0 Leaky Feeder Concept
3.0 RF Power Measurement
4.0 System Layout
5.0 Splitter Installation
6.0 Amplifier Spacing
7.0 Base Station Installation
8.0 LF Cable Installation
9.0 Passive Component Installation
10.0 Amplifier Installation
11.0 DC Supply Installation
12.0 Troubleshooting
13.0 Maintenance
Contact Information
1.0 Two-Way Radio Basics
1.1 Two-Way Radio

1.2 Simplex Radio System
1.3 Half-Duplex Radio
1.4 Leaky Feeder is….?
1.5 Real Time Communications
1.1 Two-Way Radio
 VHF/UHF Radios are available as stationary (base),

hand-held (portable), vehicle-mounted (mobile),
integrated with cap lamp batteries or radio-modem (data
applications).
 Radios support multiple channels and can be configured
to interface with telephone systems.
 Trunked voice radio is cost-competitive when 200 or
more radios are used on-site. Trunked systems also
provide “private” voice conversations.
1.2 Simplex Radio System
• Transmit (TX) and Receive (RX)

frequencies are the same.
VHF
150 MHz TX • UHF is a good choice for room &
150 MHz RX pillar type mines.
UHF
455 MHz TX
• Line of sight communication (LOS):
455 MHz RX
VHF
150 MHz TX
150 MHz RX
UHF
455 MHz TX
455 MHz RX
1.3 Half-Duplex Radio
Obstructions or extreme distances between the radios will

prevent simplex radio from working. To remedy this a
Repeater is added to create a half duplex communication
network. Repeater
170 MHz RX
150 MHz TX
Radio #1 Radio #2
150 MHz RX 150 MHz RX
170 MHz TX 170 MHz TX
PTT Mountain
1.4 Leaky Feeder is…?
Leaky Feeder cable runs along tunnels and emits and

receives radio signals. The cable is leaky since it has
gaps or slots in its outer shielding to allow signal to leak
into or out of the cable along it's entire length.
Radio Receive
150 MHz VHF Radio Transmit
475 MHz UHF 170 MHz VHF
455 MHz UHF
1.5 Real Time Communications
Leaky Feeder acts like a long antenna, connecting Radios

to Repeaters.
2.0 Leaky Feeder Concept
2.1 Leaky Feeder Highway

2.2 Leaky Feeder RF Spectrum
2.2.1 Smart Com 150 Band pass
2.2.2 Becker Smart Com 150 Band pass
2.3 Data - Smart Com + Ethernet
2.4 Data - Low Speed, Mine-Wide Data
2.1 Leaky Feeder Highway
Leaky Feeder is analogous to a

divided, multi-lane highway.
A single highway (cable) carries

several lanes of traffic
(channels) in opposite directions
(band-pass) with a median
(guard band) between them to
prevent collisions.
2.2 Leaky Feeder RF Spectrum
Base Station & Repeaters

Downstream
• Downstream channels
are connected directly to
Repeater transmitter, Upstream
thus all channels are at • Upstream signals are
same strong RF power. Guard Band
at different RF power
• Downstream channels depending (mainly)
drive Local Diagnostic on distance between
LED’s. U/G radio and LF
cable
Frequency
RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP Band pass :
16 Channels Voice Base Station & Repeaters

Radio. All 16 Channels
Downstream radio Voice/Data Radio
signals are at same Ethernet Upstream signals are
RF power Downstream at different RF power
(optional) depending (mainly)
on distance from
cable.
150-156 172-174
Guard Band Ethernet

Upstream or CCTV
NTSC 7/8
PAL 6/7
RF Power
(optional)
Downstream Upstream
(145-160 MHz) (170-185 MHz)
Frequency
Smart Com 150 Band pass
RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP Band pass :
Downstream Signals
145-160 MHz
Upstream Signals
170-185 MHz
2.2.2 Becker Smart Com 150 Band pass
BSC-AMP Band pass:
16 Channels Voice/Data
Base Station & Repeaters Radio
Upstream signals are at
different RF power
depending (mainly) on
distance from cable.
16 Channels Voice/Data
Guard Band
All Downstream radio
signals are at the same
RF power
RF Power
Downstream Upstream
Downstream Voice Voice
CMTS 145-160 MHz 170-185 MHz
Upstream 80-110 MHz
CMTS
25-42 MHz
Frequency
Becker Smart Com 150 Band pass
BSC-AMP Band pass:
Downstream Signals
145-160 MHz
Upstream Signals
170-185 MHz
2.3 Data – Smart Com + Ethernet
 Connect industry standard cable modems to

Smart Com to provide 54 Mbps Ethernet
hotspots.
 Connect standard Ethernet equipment including
wireless networking equipment.
VOIP Handset
WLAN
CMI Cable
SP2
Modem
IP Camera
Non-Intrinsically Safe
equipment
PC
2.4 Data – Low Speed, Mine-Wide Data
1. Low-speed (9600 bps) wireless networks can run over Leaky Feeder.
2. “Master” Radio Modem in Base Station is connected to main PC/PLC.
3. “Slave” units are connected to PLCs or RTUs.
3.0 RF Power Measurement
3.1 “Relative” Measurements

3.2 Decibels: dB and dBm
3.3 Gain and Loss using dB’s
3.4 dB’s and Power
3.1 “Relative” Measurements
• Temperature units are °C.

• Reference level is 0 °C.
+25C • All temperatures are relative,
the numbers just indicate
0C
higher/lower than reference
-25C level of 0 °C.
3.2 Decibels: dB and dBm
 dB’s are ratios of RF power levels that simplify

calculations of RF loss and gain.
 Calculating power level differences in dB works
just like calculating temperature differences in
°C.
 dBm is a measurement of the absolute power,
not a power ratio. Power can be expressed as
Watts, dBm and volts, but dBm and dB’s work
together to make things easy. No kidding.
3.3 Gain and Loss using dB’s
Gain or loss is the difference between output and input in

dBm and the result is expressed in decibels (dB).
What is RF loss through 100 m LF cable?
-4 dBm -0 dBm = -4 dB
100 meters of Smart Com
150/150IS Leaky Feeder
cable has 4 dB loss.
Input RF power 0 dBm Output RF power -4 dBm
What is the gain of the LF amplifier?

+4 dBm – (-20 dBm) = +24 dB
Leaky Feeder amplifier provides
Input RF power -20 dBm 24 dB gain.
Output RF power +4 dBm

3.4 dB’s and Power
 Decibels are logarithmic. Increasing a signal by 3 dB

doubles the power, decreasing a signal by 3 dB cuts the
power in half. An increase of 10 dB is 10x the power.
Gain/
-10 dB -6 dB -3 dB +3 dB + 6 dB +10 dB
Loss
-10 dBm -6 dBm -3 dBm 0 dBm 3 dBm 6 dBm 10 dBm
1/10 1/4 1/2 Power 2x 4x 10x

4.0 System Layout
4.1 Base Station Location

4.2 LF Cable Layout
4.3 System Layout Example
4.4 Smart Com 150 Gains/Losses
4.5 Smart Com 150IS Gains/Losses
4.7 Smart Com 150IS System Layout
4.8 Smart Com 150IS System Notes
IS Systems:
Must be installed on surface (Safe Area).
Non-IS Systems:
Non-IS Systems can benefit from the Base Station
installed underground as all four Head End branches
may be used. This reduces the requirement for U/G
DC supplies and also provides a form of redundancy.
Another benefit of U/G Base Stations is that it
reduces the number of amplifiers in cascade and
thus the noise floor.
4.2 LF Cable Layout
 LF cable must be installed wherever communications is

required.
 Allow for 10% extra cable when laying system out to
accommodate for drip loops and cable slack.
 Each cable run must be terminated by either a
Termination Unit or Stope Antenna.
 Stope Antennas increase coverage by up to 200-300%
to provide coverage into stopes and other areas where
cable damage is likely.
4.3 System Layout Example
5.0 Splitter Installation
5.1 Smart Com 150/150IS SP2 Splitters

5.3 Smart Com 450 SP2 Splitters
5.4 Smart Com 450 SP3 Splitters
 Smart Com 150 and Smart Com 150IS SP2 splitters split
the incoming power into two equal branches.
Smart Com 150
IN> >OUT: -4 dB
Input
-100m/-325ft
1 50% >OUT: -4 dB
100%
SP2 -100m/-325ft
2 50%
Smart Com 150IS
IN> >OUT: -4 dB
-100m/-325ft
>OUT: -4 dB
-100m/-325ft
Smart Com 150/150IS SP2 Splitters
Equivalent to 100mtoof100m
Equivalent LF
3m -100m 400m
-100m
+500m
-100m 300m
-100m
300m
 Smart Com 150/150IS SP3 splitters have a low-loss

main branch and two higher loss branches.
 Branch 1 has the same loss as a SP2.
 Branches 2 and 3 have the same loss as two SP2’s.
Smart Com 150
IN> >OUT: -4 dB
Input
-100m/-325ft
1 50% -8 dB :OUT< >OUT: -8 dB
100%
SP3 -200m/-650ft -200m/-650ft
3 2
25% 25% Smart Com 150IS
IN> >OUT: -4 dB
-100m/-325ft
-8 dB :OUT< >OUT: -8 dB
-200m/-650ft -200m/-650ft
Smart Com 150/150IS SP3 Splitters
Equivalent to 100m to
Equivalent of LF
100m
200 m
3m -100m 400m
-200m
-200m
+500m
300m
300m

6.2 500m vs 350m Spacing
6.3 150/150IS Amplifier Spacing, Example 1
6.8 450 Amplifier Spacing, Example 1
6.13 Smart Com 150/150IS Amplifier Spacing Quiz
Line Amplifiers are installed to compensate for cable and

splitting losses.
Maximum Amplifier Cable Loss at Reserve
Amplifier Spacing highest Gain (dB)
Gain (dB) frequency
Smart Com 28 500 m 23 dB/500 m 5

150/150IS 1650 feet
(RNG-AMP,
RIS-AMP, BSC-
AMP)
Smart Com 450 25 350 m 21 dB/350 m 4
(450-AMP) 1150 feet
RNG-AMP and RIS-AMP line amplifiers require first amplifier on

each Head End branch be spaced 350 m from Head End! BSC-
AMP amplifiers can be spaced 500m from head end.
6.2 500m vs 350m Spacing
500 meter spacing 350 meter spacing

Smart Com 150/150IS. Smart Com 450.
All other LF systems have 350 meter amplifier spacing.
All other LF competitors.
3m 400 meters
+500 Meters 3m 300 meters

RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP
300 meters
+500 Meters
3m
400 meters
BSC-AMP
300 meters
300 meters
+500 Meters
3m 400 meters
RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP 3m 300 meters
200 meters
200 meters
RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP/
BSC-AMP
+500 Meters
100m 300 meters
BSC-AMP 3m 200 meters
100 meters
100 meters
RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP/
BSC-AMP
+500 Meters
3m 400 meters
RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP 100m 200 meters
100 meters
100 meters
RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP/
BSC-AMP
+500 Meters
100m 300 meters
100m
BSC-AMP 100 meters
3 meters
3 meters
RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP/
BSC-AMP
6.13 Smart Com 150/150IS Amplifier Spacing Quiz
Add amplifiers as necessary. Indicate spacing where (2)

required.
(1)
200m
300m
1000m 600m
___m
200m
1
100m
100m
___m
200m
200m
500m
Smart Com 150/150IS Amplifier Spacing Quiz Answers
(2)
(1)
200m
300m
400m 500m 100m 100m 500m

100
___m 1000m 1
200m
600m
100m
100m
400
___m
200m
400m
100m
100m
100m
7.0 Base Station Installation
7.1 What is a Base Station?

7.2 Typical Smart Com 150 Base Station Schematic
7.4 Smart Com 150 Base Station RF Flow
7.5 Leaky Feeder Head End
7.6 Smart Com 150 Head Ends
7.6.1 RNG-Hxx Head End
7.6.2 BSC-HE Head End
7.6.3 RNG-Hxx Head End Indications and Controls
7.6.4 BSC-HE Head End Indications and Controls
7.6.5 RNG-Hxx RF Distribution
7.6.6 BSC-HE RF Distribution
7.6.7 RNG-Hxx Remote Diagnostic Connections
7.6.8 BSC-HE Remote Diagnostic Connections
7.6.9 Smart Com 150 Downstream – RNG-Hxx
7.6.10 Smart Com 150 Downstream – BSC-HE
7.6.11 Smart Com 150 Channel Plan
7.7 Smart Com 450 Head End
7.7.1 Smart Com 450 Head End Indications
7.7.2 Smart Com 450 RF Distribution
7.7.3 Smart Com 450 Remote Diagnostics
7.8 Base Station Power Supplies
7.9 Voice Repeaters
7.10 Telephone Interconnects
7.1 What is a Base Station?
 It’s the “brains” of the Leaky Feeder

network, housed in a 19” rack-mount
cabinet.
 Inside the Base Station are the
interfaces to the Leaky Feeder network:
 Leaky Feeder Head End
 RF Distribution
 Power Supplies
 Radio Repeaters, surface coverage
antennas
 CMTS
 CMTSI (RNG-Hxx head end only if needed)
 Server PC
 Mine Pager Phone Interconnect
 Telephone Interconnect
7.2 Typical Smart Com 150 Base Station Schematic
Tx1 Rx1 RNG-RPT1, Repeater, Channel 1

Notes:
Tx2 Rx2
RNG-RPT1, Repeater, Channel 2 1. Cabinets are typically
Tx3 Rx3 RNG-RPT1, Repeater, Channel 3
supplied and configured by
Varis Distributors.
RNG-RPT1, Repeater, Channel 4
2. Run RF coaxial cables and
Tx4 Rx4
Tx0-1
Rx1
DC power cables on opposite
sides of the cabinet.
Tx1
HPF
S S
3 1 2 1
Rx0 -1
2
LPF S
RNG-RF16, RF Distribution
3. Label all cables at both ends.
2 1 75 50
50 75
CO M CO M
1 3 5
Tx0
7
1 2
9 11 13 15 1 3 5
Rx0
7 9 11 13 15
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
High P ass F ilter Anten na Low Pass Filter

Use naming convention
H/ E IN
RNG-SAN, Surface Coverage Kit
shown here.
Le aky Fe ede r Conn ectio ns
RNG-H36, Leaky Feeder Head End
4. Surface Antenna package
10B ase-T
Tx0- 16 Rx0 -1 6 1 2 3 4
Tx0-16 Rx0 -16
CAT5 Ethernet Cabling, RJ45 RNG-SAN does not include

DC 1 2V
antenna mounting hardware.
L2 L1 B2 B1 AC 120V PS-110, 12V Power Supply
Chassis Gr oun d 15A
Cable Pa ss-Th roug h
_
+
Back View
12 Vo lt, 90 Ah, Deep Cycle,
Mai ntena nce-Free
RNG-BAT, Battery Backup Gel-Cell b atte ry
 Base Stations for Intrinsically Safe systems need

to be on surface (Safe Area).
 Dry, heated area with reliable, clean AC power.
 If located outdoors a climate controlled NEMA
4/4X enclosure is required.
 Base Station should be placed so that access to
both front and rear doors is possible.
 LF cables can enter Base Station cabinet
through top of cabinet or through access panel
on bottom of cabinet. Cable glands required to
maintain NEMA rating of cabinet.
7.4 Smart Com 150 Base Station RF Flow
RNG-Hxx Head End:

7.5 Leaky Feeder Head End
 The Head End is the interface between Base

Station equipment such as Repeaters and the
Leaky Feeder cables.
 The Head End unit also injects DC power onto
the Leaky Feeder cable to power the LF Line
Amplifiers.
7.6 Smart Com 150 Head Ends
Existing Smart Com 150 systems are available in three types:

RNG-H12, RNG-H16, RNG-H36. The RNG-H12 outputs 12
VDC onto the Leaky Feeder cable, the RNG-H16 outputs 16
VDC and the RNG-H36 outputs 30-36 VDC.
A new version of VHF head end is now available that is

backwards compatible with existing systems while supporting
the more advanced features now available on the new
generation of Smart Com 150 line amplifiers (BSC-AMP).
The BSC-HE12 outputs 12 VDC, the BSC-HE16 outputs 16
VDC and the BSC-HE36 outputs 30-36 VDC.
7.6.1 RNG-Hxx Head End
RNG-H12, RNG-H16 and RNG-H36 Head Ends have a pre-

amplifier which compensates for the splitting losses in the
Head End and performs system Automatic Gain Control
(AGC). Typical Insertion Loss 10 dB, AGC range 16 dB.
Front View, 3U high Rear View
Spacing between the head end and first line amplifier is

350m.
7.6.2 BSC-HE Head End
These Head Ends do no perform Automatic Gain Control

(AGC). Instead the insertion losses for the Voice
Upstream/Downstream and CMTS Upstream/Downstream
band passes are fixed. These head ends are backwards
compatible with older systems and components.
Front View, 3U high Rear View

BSC-HE head ends can support amplifier spacing of 500m
between the head end and first line amplifier, unlike older
systems which were limited to 350m between the head end
and first line amplifier.
7.6.3 RNG-Hxx Head End Indications and Controls
The “RF Only” LED’s for

jumper setting can
each Branch
be used to connect
passive surface
indicate that
antennas. This DC voltage is
setting may offer OK (Green) or
increased lightning Branch is
protection in shorted (Red).
addition to the
standard lightning
protection found
on RNG-SAN
Surface Coverage Jumpers are
Kits. used to
enable/disable
each Branch.
Output 16/36 VDC @ 2.5A, 0 dBm
7.6.4 BSC-HE Head End Indications and Controls
LED’s for each Branch indicate that

DC voltage is OK (Green) or Branch
is shorted (Red).
LED’s are provided Three settings are

to show PWR, available for each
downstream branch, RF+DC,
pilot/diagnostics Terminate (no RF
and upstream or DC) and RF
diagnostics state. Only.
Switches are used to

BSC-HE12, BSC-HE16, enable/disable each
BSC-HE36 Branch.
7.6.5 RNG-Hxx RF Distribution
TX RX
 Included with all RNG-Hxx Head Ends.

 16 channels for voice, data and video.
 Connect all Repeater transmitters to TX ports and all
Repeater receiver radios to the RX ports.
 Transmit power into each port limited to +0 dBm.
7.6.6 BSC-HE RF Distribution
 RF distribution is now integrated into the head end enclosure

 16 channels for voice, data and video.
 Connect all Repeater transmitters to TX ports and all Repeater
receiver radios to the RX ports.
 Transmit power into each port is limited to +30 dBm.
 RF connections are also provided for CMTS Downstream/Upstream
channels.
7.6.7 RNG-Hxx Remote Diagnostic Connections
Input
• Connect Tx to RNG-RF16 TX0-
Power
16 port, Rx to RNG-RF16 RX0-
16 port using supplied 50 ohm Power Leads
coaxial cables.
• Connect Power Leads to +12
VDC supply. Green “Power”
LED and Red “Pilot” LED
should illuminate.
• Configure DRX IP and connect
to the mine’s network.
• Refer to Remote Diagnostics
Installation Manual for complete Rx Port
installation/calibration Tx
procedure.
Tx Port
7.6.8 BSC-HE Remote Diagnostic Connections
RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP Diagnostics:

• Connect Tx to DRX Tx port on the BSC-
HE board using a 1’ 50 ohm coaxial cable. RNG-DRX
Input
• Connect Rx to DRX Rx port on the BSC- Power
HE board using a 1’ 50 ohm coaxial cable. Power Leads
• Connect Power Leads to +12 VDC supply.
“Power” LED and “Pilot” LED should light.
• If installing the DRX in a system that has Pilot Rx Port
350m spacing between the head end and Level
first amplifier, adjust the pilot to 0 dBm at Adjust
the output of the head end.
Tx
• If there is 500m spacing between the head Port
end and first amplifier, adjust the pilot to +4
dBm at the output of the head end. BSC-HE
Inside BSC-HE Enclosure

BSC-HE Remote Diagnostic Connections
RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP RNG-DRX

Diagnostics:
• Configure the DRX IP and
connect to the inside Ethernet
port on the BSC-HE board as
shown.
• Next, connect the BSC-HE to
the mine’s network using the BSC-HE
Ethernet port on the outside of
the enclosure. Inside BSC-HE Enclosure
• Refer to Remote Diagnostics

Installation Manual for Mines
complete Network
installation/calibration
procedure.
BSC-HE Remote Diagnostic Connections
BSC-AMP Diagnostics:
•Connect the Base-station server to the BSC-HE using a null-
modem cable as shown.
Connect to
Server
7.6.9 Smart Com 150 Downstream – RNG-Hxx
Voice Repeater Transmitter DRX Downstream Pilot
Voice 0 dBm Pilot +10 dBm
RNG-RF16 Insertion Loss 22 dB
Head End Amplifier Gain:

Downstream 10-25 dB
Voice -22 dBm
Upstream 10-19 dB Voice -1 dBm
Pilot -12 dBm
AGC: AUTO Pilot +9 dBm
As the number of active repeaters changes, the AGC works

to keep the total Downstream RF power at +9 dBm. The Head End
Upstream gain is controlled using the manual attenuation Insertion
switch (IC14) – leave gain control jumper at “AUTO”. The
upstream gain can be varied between 10 and 19 dB. Loss: 9 dB
There is a 1.5 dB variation in RF levels at the four terminals on the Head End circuit Voice -10 dBm, Pilot 0 dBm
board. With the Downstream pilot active a Downstream signal in the range of -1 dBm
to +1 dBm indicates the system is operating normally.
7.6.10 Smart Com 150 Downstream – BSC-HE
Voice Repeater Transmitter

DRX Pilot +10
Voice +30 dBm dBm
Insertion Loss 36 dB
Insertion Loss 6 dB
Insertion Loss 15 dB
BSC-HE CMTS Downstream +60 dBmV
Voice: -6 dBm
DRX Pilot: 4 dBm
BSC-HE Pilot: -20 dBm
CMTS Down: +45 dBmV
The new BSC-HE head ends have an integrated pilot that can run along
side the old DRX pilot. This means that the BSC-HE can provide
remote diagnostics for RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP and BSC-AMP line
amplifiers.
Compatible with
BSC-AMP,
RNG-AMP and RIS-
AMP line amplifiers
Smart Com 150 Channel Plan
Smart Com 150 Channel List Version 4.0
BSC-AMP, RNG-AMP,
RIS-AMP
RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP
BSC-AMP
BSC-AMP, RNG-AMP,
RIS-AMP
7.8 Base Station Power Supplies
PS-110, PS-220 • 13.8 VDC, 40 Amp redundant

system (2 x 20A supplies).
• Battery terminals to create
UPS. In-line fuse required
between battery and P/S
(supplied with RNG-BAT).
• Voltage & Current Meter.
• CSA certified.
• Not CE certified.
PS-UNIV-CE • CSA Certified.

• CE certified.
• Requires UPS.
7.9 Voice Repeaters
• One voice repeater is required for each voice channel.

• Typically supplied by Varis Distributor.
RNG-RPT1
(one channel)
RNG-RPT5
(two channel)
7.10 Telephone Interconnects
INT-TEL
 Telephone Interconnects connect a PABX telephone

line to a LF radio channel.
 Enables one non-private telephone connection per
connected channel.
 Radios must be equipped with DTMF keypads to
access the Telephone Interconnect.
• Typically INT-TEL-CE
supplied by Varis
Distributor
8.0 LF Cable Installation
8.1 LF Cable Installation – Drift

8.2 LF Cable Installation – Shaft
8.3 IS Leaky Feeder Installation
8.4 VHF LF Cable & Tools
8.5 UHF LF Cable & Tools
8.6 RNG-500 LF Cable Preparation
8.7 RCF12-50 LF Cable Preparation
8.8 Smart Com 150 Component Connection
8.1 LF Cable Installation - Drift
X Avoid parallel branches as they

“talk into” each other and
Best for Performance
(coverage range) cause system problems!
Best for Cable Protection When installing LF cable
(recommended)
horizontally secure every 2.5m/8ft
to screening, rock bolts or other
Tunnel/Drift
support in tunnel.
Allow the LF cable to sag away
from supporting structure.
X Avoid tying cable tightly to
metal beams or piping or
inside cable tray.
LF Cable Installation - Drift
3m
Leaky feeder components must Some slack leaky feeder is

be located a minimum of 3 m recommended use a figure S
(10 ft) from each other. pattern, do not pinch or kink
the cable
LF Cable Installation - Drift
2.5 m/8 ft max between

attachments.
Let the cable droop at least
Any Parallel runs, must be 15 cm /6 inches from the
separated as much as possible roof.
8.2 LF Cable Installation - Shaft
Secure with Ty-Raps every 3

m (10 ft) to brattice or 1/8”
SS messenger cable.
Loop cable 20 m (66 ft) onto

every level. Install all
components on level, not in
shaft.
8.4 VHF LF Cable & Tools
Smart Com 150 uses RNG-500 LF cable.

 75 ohm impedance.
 Solid copper center conductor, 16 solid
copper shield wires.
 500 m (1640’) reels, 120 kg (265 lbs), 0.8
m (32”) diameter x 0.5 m (20”) height.
 RNG-500 installation requires:
 Knife
 Side/Cable cutters
 ¼” Flat Head screwdriver.
8.6 RNG-500 LF Cable Preparation
Care must be taken not to nick

or cut any of the conductors.
• Remove 6 cm (2.5 in) of the

outer yellow & black sheaths.
• Form two stranded wires with 8
of the outer strands in each.
• Remove white foam dielectric &
trim the center conductor to 2
cm (0.75 in).
• Amplifier and • Loosen cable grip nut. • Wrap outer stranded

Splitter connectors • Loosen terminal screws conductors CW under the
marked (not captive). outer terminals.
“HEADEND” must • Insert prepared cable • Tighten outer terminals.
be connected to end and slide center • Re-tighten center terminal.
LF cable coming conductor under center
from Head End. • Hand-tighten the cable
terminal. grip nut.
9.0 Passive Component Installation
9.1 System Impedance

9.2 Two-way Splitter Installation
9.3 Three-way Splitter Installation
9.4 Termination Unit Installation
9.5 Stope Antenna Installation
9.6 Splice Unit Installation
9.7 Smart Com 150IS Barrier Unit Installation
9.1 System Impedance
 Smart Com 150/150IS system’s

characteristic impedance is 75 ohms.
 Smart Com 450 system’s characteristic
impedance is 50 ohms.
 This impedance difference means you
cannot mix Smart Com 150/150IS and
Smart Com 450 components or cable in a
single network!
9.2 Two-Way Splitter Installation
RNG-SP2 RIS-SP2
Equivalent Smart Smart
H/E 1 LF cable Com Com
H/E 1
lengths 150/ 450
2 2 (loss) of 150IS
splitter
branches
UHF-SP2
H/E Branch 1, 2 100 m 70 m
(325’) (230’)
1 2
Smart Com 150/150IS Splitters have jumpers that

can:
 Terminate an unused/damaged branch.
 Inject “RF Only” for runs of LF with no
amplifiers so that short circuits in the LF cable
will not bring down the system.
9.3 Three Way Splitter Installation
RNG-SP3 RIS-SP3 UHF-SP3 3
H/E 1 1
H/E 2
H/E
3 2 3 2
Equivalent LF cable lengths Smart Com Smart Com

(loss) of splitter branches 150/150IS 450
Branch 1 100 m (325’) 120 m (395’)
Branches 2 & 3 200 m (650’) 120 m (395’)

9.4 Termination Unit Installation
RNG-TER
Termination Units are
required at the end of
each LF cable to absorb
RF signals, preventing
reflections and “dead
zones”.
RIS-TER UHF-TER
9.5 Stope Antenna Installation
RIS-AN1
• Stope Antennas can be used in place of
Termination Units to increase off-cable
coverage up to 2-3 times.
• Install an amplifier and a length of LF
cable 3 m (10 ft) before the antenna for
best results (ensure previous amplifier is
at least 250 m (820 ft) away).
• Hang Stope Antenna on back with clear
view down drift.
RNG-AN1
9.6 Splice Unit Installation
RNG-SPL
Splice Unit is used for cable
repairs.
RF Loss
RIS-SPL Smart Com 150/ 0.1 dB, 0 m
150IS
RNG-SPL
RIS-SPL
UHF-SPL Smart Com 450 0.1 dB, 0 m
UHF-SPL
10.0 Amplifier Installation
10.1 Smart Com 150 Amplifier Installation

10.2 Smart Com 150IS Amplifier Installation
10.4 The 3 Meter Rule
10.5 Amplifier Gain Control
10.6 Smart Com 150 Amplifier Local Diagnostics
10.8 Smart Com 150 Amplifier AGC
10.10 Smart Com 150 Amplifier Manual Gain Control
10.12 Smart Com 150 Amplifier Remote Diagnostics
RNG-AMP
“HEADEND”
terminals connect
to the LF cable
BSC-AMP coming from the
Base Station.
Smart Com 150 Amplifier Installation
RNG-AMP
Smart Com 150

amplifiers have jumpers
which isolate DC
voltage to help locate
BSC-AMP short circuits.
RNG-AMP
Rotary switch adjusts Gain if
in manual mode
RF Level
Jumper is to
select the
amplifiers mode,
Automatic or
Manual
Automatic is
recommended
Button sends diagnostic

information to the head end
BNC ports can be used

for sampling or testing
the amplifier. A jumper
must be installed to
activate the port. The
jumper options are ‘RF
only’ or ‘DC and RF’
Unique ID that is used for
remote monitoring
Jumper is used to select the

BSC-AMP amplifiers mode, Automatic or Manual
Automatic is recommended
Rotary
switch
RF Level adjusts
Gain if in
manual
mode
Used to calibrate in
Manual gain mode.
SMA ports can be used

for sampling or testing
the amplifier. A jumper
must be installed to
activate the port. The
jumper options are ‘RF
only’ or ‘DC and RF’
Unique ID used for remote
monitoring
10.4 The 3 Meter Rule
Head End
• Install amplifier before the splitter (closer to

Base Station).
• There must be a minimum 3 m (10 ft) of LF
cable between the amplifier and splitter.
• Do not overlap cables or store Stope
Antennas bundled with amplifier.
10.5 Amplifier Gain Control
Amplifiers compensate for the RF (Radio Frequency) cable

and splitting losses in the cable run preceding it in the
Downstream direction.
RF High
RF OK
Amplifier Gain
RF Low
If there is no Downstream radio channel active then the Red

(Low) LED will be on. To prevent this potentially confusing
behaviour, enable the Downstream Pilot signal on the RNG-
DRX.
• Any LED lit means DC voltage OK.
• Amber LED indicates radio signal is too
high.
• Green LED indicates radio signal is
OK. Green “OK” LED thresholds are
AGC or MGC-Calibrated: +3 to +5 dBm
(-19 to -21 dBm for BSC-AMP), MGC
with Calibrate PB not pressed: +2 to +6
dBm (-18 to -22 dBm for BSC-AMP).
• Red LED indicates radio signal is too
low.
Automatic gain control (AGC) is the recommended

setting. Set jumper to “AUTO”.
• Key up radio to activate
repeater.
• Depress CALIBRATE p/b
for 2 seconds.
• Verify green LED is on.
• Amplifier continues to
monitor Downstream
signals and adjust gain as
required to maintain “OK”.
Need to install another splitter in an existing cable run? How

do you know if you will have enough gain? You could take an
expensive and delicate spectrum analyzer underground, or let
Smart Com’s MGC system tell you.
• Key up radio to activate Head End

repeater.
• Depress CALIBRATE p/b.
• Turn rotary attenuation switch until
green OK LED is on.
• The dial indicator on the rotary switch
shows the dB’s of extra gain available.
RNG-AMP
The Remote Diagnostics • Every 4-9 minutes

Transmit LED (D7) • When Calibrate
illuminates when a Remote
P/B is released
Diagnostics packet is sent
• Amplifier data can
be viewed from the
Remote
Diagnostics web
server.
Smart Com 150 Amplifier Remote Diagnostics
BSC-AMP
• Amplifiers are polled

All three leds (D2, D3, D4)
by the RD web
light when a Remote
server at intervals
Diagnostics packet is sent
dependent on the #
of amps in the
system.
• Amplifier data can
be viewed from the
Remote Diagnostics
web server.
11.0 DC Supply Installation
11.1 Smart Com 150 DC Supply

11.1.1 Smart Com 150 DC Supply Installation
11.1.2 Smart Com 150 DC Supply Upgrade
11.1.3 Smart Com 150 DC Supply Spacing
11.2 Smart Com 150IS DC Supply
11.2.1 150IS DC Supply Installation
11.2.2 150IS DC Supply Spacing
11.2.3 150IS DC Supply Layout
11.2.4 150IS DC Voltage Calculation
11.3.1 450 DC Supply Spacing
RNG-DC36, RNG-DC16 RNG-SC2
 Two DC output voltages are available: RNG-

DC16 provides 16 VDC and RNG-DC36 provides
36 VDC.
 A Power Coupler RNG-SC2 is supplied with each
DC Power Supply to tie it into the LF network. Use
LF cable between coupler and DC Supply.
 The RF loss for the coupler is < 1 dB and
therefore does not affect amplifier spacing.
Local Diagnostic LED’s

11.1.1 Smart Com 150 DC Supply Installation
11.1.2 Smart Com 150 DC Supply Upgrade
11.1.3 Smart Com 150 DC Supply Spacing
12.0 Troubleshooting
12.1 Troubleshooting Strategy

12.2 Smart Com 150 Quick Reference Guide
12.3 Becker Smart Com 150 Quick Reference Guide
12.4 Smart Com 150/150IS Remote Diagnostics
12.5 Smart Com 150/150IS Amplifier Local Diagnostics
12.6 Smart Com 450 Remote Diagnostics
12.8 Mine-Wide Failure
12.9 Area Failure
12.10 Short Circuit Repair
12.11 Base Station Testing
12.12 Upstream Band
12.13 Noisy Upstream Band
12.14 Downstream Band
12.15 Noisy Downstream Band
12.1 Troubleshooting Strategy
 Remote Diagnostics is key in detecting faults and seeing

what is going on in the system.
 Comments from users are very useful in determining
what type of problem is occurring.
 70% of all failures are due to cable and water damage.
 Upstream noise and failed DC power supplies account for
the remaining 30% of problems.
 Always start troubleshooting at the Head End. Start on
the branch with the reported fault, and work your way
towards the end of that branch.
Show DRX Help
12.2 Smart Com 150 Quick Reference Guide
Smart Com 150 Quick Reference Guide
12.3 Becker Smart Com 150 Quick Reference Guide
12.4 Smart Com 150/150IS Remote Diagnostics
Verify BSC-HE
serial
+1 to
communications
+5 OK
Reserve
Gain
Verify DRX-web
server
communication
Should be less
than 15
minutes.
There
should be
no alarms.
RD Webserver compatible with RNG-Hxx and BSC-HE head ends

12.5 Smart Com 150/150IS Amplifier Local Diagnostics
RF LED DC RF Status Action

Indication Status/LED
No LED’s Failed, below Unknown Determine why DC voltage is low:
minimum • Power Jumper setting (JU24, JU25 on RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP, JU1/JU2 on BSC-AMP)
voltage • Fuse blown.
• No incoming voltage – check for cable short/open or DC Power Supply failure.
Red LED OK (any LED Too Low Increased cable loss (addition of splitter, cable damage) requires more gain from amplifier.
lit indicated Manual Gain Control (MGC)
(Previous DC voltage • Decrease Attenuation Setting switch until Green OK LED On. For more accuracy, press and hold
Amplifier OK) OK) Calibrate button while adjusting the rotary attenuation switch.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
• Key up your radio and press and hold Calibrate button for 2 seconds. Verify OK LED On.
If adjusting gain does not achieve Green LED, then cable damage or new splitter prevents Green
LED On even with 0 (zero) attenuation.
• Find and repair cable damage.
• If new splitter installed, amplifier will show Red LED, but otherwise system performance will be
unchanged.
Green LED OK OK None
Amber LED OK (any LED Too High Manual Gain Control (MGC)
lit indicated • Increase manual attenuation switch until Green OK LED on. For more accuracy, press and hold
(Previous DC voltage Calibrate button while adjusting attenuation switch.
Amplifier OK) OK) Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
• Key up your radio and press and hold Calibrate button for 2 seconds. Verify OK LED On.
If problem persists:
• Ensure that amplifiers are not spaced too closely
• Ensure that an amplifier is not oscillating due to cable and stope antenna being bundled too
closely.
12.8 Mine-Wide Failure
Possible Cause Remedy

Base Station un-powered. Verify Base Station power.
Failure of main LF cable Verify using Remote or Local Diagnostics.

feed. If amplifiers cannot call in within 15
minutes it would indicate a problem.
Upstream noise floor too Verify using Remote Diagnostics. If
high. amplifiers cannot call in within 15 minutes
it would indicate a problem. Measure
Upstream Noise Floor.
Failure of DC Power Supply. Verify using Remote or Local Diagnostics.
If amplifiers cannot call in within 15
minutes it would indicate a problem.
Failure of Voice Repeater. Confirm operation of other voice channels.
12.9 Area Failure
Possible Cause Remedy

Failure of LF cable feed. Verify using Remote or Local Diagnostics.
If amplifiers cannot call in within 15 minutes
it would indicate a problem.
Failure of DC Power Verify using Remote or Local Diagnostics.
Supply. If amplifiers cannot call in within 15 minutes
it would indicate a problem.
Amplifier or cable fault. If amplifier cannot achieve Green LED then

either the amplifier is faulty or cable
between it and previous amplifier has too
high a loss. Verify amplifier spacing and
replace amplifier.
12.10 Short Circuit Repair
Short Circuits cause the DC voltage to drop while the DC current increases.
How to detect Short Circuits

 Low voltage alarms on Remote Diagnostics.
 Fault LED’s on DC Supplies.
 Higher than normal current draw from DC Supplies. DC Supply output current “hiccupping”.
 No LED’s on amplifiers (DC voltage below minimum voltage).
 “Too Low” Red LED’s on amplifiers (RF level too low due to cable damage, cable open but not
shorted).
How to locate Short Circuits

 Use information from Remote Diagnostics. Which sections of amplifiers are not calling in?
 Start from DC Supply, and temporarily isolate cable sections using jumpers on splitters and
amplifiers. Using a voltmeter, watch for increase in voltage (to normal) when branch isolated.
 Once the faulty cable section has been identified, perform a visual check of the cable looking for
obvious physical damage. If possible feel cable for damage.
How to repair Short Circuits

 Repair broken cable with splice units.
 Replace damaged cable sections with new cable.
12.11 Base Station Testing
Smart Com 150/150IS

Connect a Spectrum Analyzer to a spare Rx port on RNG-
RF16 or the BSC-HE. Monitor the Upstream band 170-185
MHz.
Spectrum Analyzer
Smart Com 450
Connect a Spectrum Analyzer to a spare Rx port on UHF-
H00. Monitor the Upstream band 450-455 MHz.
12.12 Upstream Band
The Upstream band should look as shown below.

Upstream Band
It’s possible that you can hear

someone talking but not be able to
talk back. This indicates a problem
with the upstream communications.
12.13 Noisy Upstream Band
If noise is coming back to the Base Station from any or all

of the LF branches it might look similar to below.
12.14 Downstream Band
It’s possible that someone can hear

you but you cannot talk back. This
indicates a problem with the
Downstream communications.
12.15 Noisy Downstream Band
Connect spectrum analyzer to the LF terminals at the Head

End.
13.0 Maintenance
13.1 Daily Maintenance

13.2 Monthly Maintenance
13.3 Annual Maintenance
13.1 Daily Maintenance
 Use Remote Diagnostics (RD) each day.

 Check for warnings and alarms.
 The RD web server can be configured to send e-mail
when alarms are detected.
 RD gives confidence in the system.
 RD is easy to use, does not require a dedicated
computer and can support up to 50 simultaneous users.
13.2 Monthly Maintenance
1. Confirm Base Station operation:

1. Repeater transmitter levels
2. Clarity of voice communications
3. Noise in Upstream direction below -90 dBm
4. Head End circuit board Local Diagnostic LED’s OK
5. Verify backup batteries in place and on float charge
2. Test line components:
1. Amplifier and DC Supply Local Diagnostics LED’s OK
2. Verify backup batteries in place and on float charge
3. Verify minimum 30 meters communication range from
cable throughout mine.
13.3 Annual Maintenance
It is advised to perform a system audit on an

annual basis. The audit verifies:
1. Remote Diagnostics configuration up to date with
installed system.
2. Repeater sensitivity.
3. Repeater transmit power and stability.
4. Head End splitter/combiner operation.
5. Downstream and Upstream noise floor.
6. Amplifier DC voltage and output levels.
7. Communication coverage and clarity, including
surface.
Contact Information
Varis Mine Technology Ltd.

22 Brady Street, Unit 4
Sudbury, Canada P3E 6E1
www.varismine.com
info@varismine.com
Toll Free USA/Canada: 877-658-2747

Phone: 705-674-8111
Fax: 705-674-7834

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Becker Smart Com 150 Leaky Feeder

 Smart Com 150 is well suited for hard-rock mines where

 Smart Com 450 is better suited to room and pillar or

 UHF cable costs approximately 300% more than VHF,

1.0 Two-Way Radio Basics

1.1 Two-Way Radio

 VHF/UHF Radios are available as stationary (base),

• Transmit (TX) and Receive (RX)

Obstructions or extreme distances between the radios will

Leaky Feeder cable runs along tunnels and emits and

Leaky Feeder acts like a long antenna, connecting Radios

2.1 Leaky Feeder Highway

Leaky Feeder is analogous to a

A single highway (cable) carries

Base Station & Repeaters

RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP Band pass :

16 Channels Voice Base Station & Repeaters

Guard Band Ethernet

RNG-AMP, RIS-AMP Band pass :

BSC-AMP Band pass:

BSC-AMP Band pass:

 Connect industry standard cable modems to

3.1 “Relative” Measurements

• Temperature units are °C.

 dB’s are ratios of RF power levels that simplify

Gain or loss is the difference between output and input in

What is the gain of the LF amplifier?

Output RF power +4 dBm

 Decibels are logarithmic. Increasing a signal by 3 dB

-10 dBm -6 dBm -3 dBm 0 dBm 3 dBm 6 dBm 10 dBm

1/10 1/4 1/2 Power 2x 4x 10x

4.1 Base Station Location

 LF cable must be installed wherever communications is

5.1 Smart Com 150/150IS SP2 Splitters

 Smart Com 150/150IS SP3 splitters have a low-loss

6.1 Amplifier Spacing

Line Amplifiers are installed to compensate for cable and

Smart Com 28 500 m 23 dB/500 m 5

RNG-AMP and RIS-AMP line amplifiers require first amplifier on

500 meter spacing 350 meter spacing

+500 Meters 3m 300 meters

RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP 3m 300 meters

BSC-AMP 3m 200 meters

RNG-AMP/RIS-AMP 100m 200 meters

Add amplifiers as necessary. Indicate spacing where (2)

400m 500m 100m 100m 500m

7.1 What is a Base Station?

 It’s the “brains” of the Leaky Feeder

Tx1 Rx1 RNG-RPT1, Repeater, Channel 1

High P ass F ilter Anten na Low Pass Filter

Tx0-16 Rx0 -16

CAT5 Ethernet Cabling, RJ45 RNG-SAN does not include

Chassis Gr oun d 15A

Cable Pa ss-Th roug h

 Base Stations for Intrinsically Safe systems need

RNG-Hxx Head End:

 The Head End is the interface between Base

Existing Smart Com 150 systems are available in three types:

A new version of VHF head end is now available that is

RNG-H12, RNG-H16 and RNG-H36 Head Ends have a pre-

Front View, 3U high Rear View

Spacing between the head end and first line amplifier is

These Head Ends do no perform Automatic Gain Control