BETSO CPAA-18 Circular Polarized Active Antenna

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The BETSO CPAA-18 is the flagship of receiver antennas because of its enhanced receiving performance. Circular polarization, compared to traditional linear polarization, has much better performance in non-line-of-sight situations and mainly in situations, where transmitter antenna can be randomly oriented in the horizontal or vertical position. Additionally the built-in, high quality, extremely low noise amplifier, is ideal for situations where long cables with high attenuation have to be compensated or where signal strength is too weak.

Circular Polarization Benefits
The main advantage of the receiver antenna with circular polarization is that it is independent of the orientation of the transmitter antenna. In traditional linear polarized systems, when antennas are not aligned, there is a significant link performance degradation which can lead to link losses, i.e dropouts.

On the other hand, when the receiver antenna with circular polarization is used, this problem almost does not exist. Moreover, the link performance is even better in adverse weather conditions or in environments where there are a lot of obstructions that cause signal polarization displacements.

Ultra Low Noise Onboard Amplifier
Built-in ultra low noise amplifier allows antenna usage in situations with variable coaxial cable length from antenna to receiver device. Higher attenuation of longer cables can be easily compensated by increasing gain, while the situations with very short cables and strong receiving signal zero or even negative gain assures not to overshoot input dynamic range of the receiver. Amplifier can be adjusted to any value betwen - 9 and + 18 dB in 1dB steps.

Excellent RF Parameters
Unique to the CPAA-18 is its excellent RF parameters. Voltage Standing Wave Ratio of less than 1.2 ensures great signal power reception. Very high Third-order Intercept Point IP3 >34 dBm providing great linearity. Industry-leading ultra low noise amplifier IC with noise figure of 0.75 dB.

High Efficient Input Filters For Removing Unwanted RF Spectrum
CPAA-18's high efficient input filters help to prevent receivers intermodulation with other sources in band outside of the main working range of wireless systems like walkie talkies, FM radios, wireless focus systems, WiFi and bluetooth devices, mobile phones, etc. Performace of wireless system will be better with less dropouts.

Plug And Work
Preset value of onboard amplifier gain is displayed on built-in seven segment LED display upon power on, and if required, it keeps displaying for permanent possible readouts.

Display has automatic brightness setting feature, which adjusts its brightness according to actual ambient light condition avoiding unwanted panel display in dark places or unreadable gain value in direct sun light.

This automatic brightness feature can be disabled by setting a fixed brightness value or completely turned off while the amplifier keeps working. In this mode, any button press will temporally power on the display for possibility of changing the settings or just for preset gain readout.

Top Build Quality
The main disadvantage of circular polarized antennas—their size is minimized in BETSO CPAA-18 by professional RF design with focus on dimensions, weight and reception performance. The result is great performing active antenna packed in very reasonably sized case reinforced by high quality materials and manufacturing processes.

Amplifier is made of CNC milled aluminium alloy and is sealed for great water resistant performance. Permanent mounting is possible by standard 4x M4 screw holes with 100mm pitch.

Powering
Antenna can be powered externally through coaxial cable from power source of 5 - 20 V DC. Professional hardware design with best in class integrated circuits results in extremely low power consumption which will be a big plus for your shooting rig performance.

• Frequency Range: 470 to 850 MHz
• Input Filters Attenuation:
  • High below 450 MHz (for example -82dB @ 100 MHz)
  • High above 870 MHz (for example -35dB @ 2.4 GHz)
• Antenna Gain: 7.5 dB of avarage gain (peak 8.5 dB)
• Antenna Directivity: Cardioid
• Antenna Polarization: Circular
• Amplifier Gain: -9 to 18 dB
• Amplifier IC Noise: Ultra low noise < 0.75 dB
• Antenna VSWR: Excellent < 1.2 (max. 0.8% of received signal power is reflected)
• Amplifier IP3: Very high > 34 dBm
• Display: Bright blue LED with automatic or manual brightness settings and stand-by mode
• Powering: External powering 5 - 20 V DC
• Current Consumption: 35 mA
• Mechanic Construction: CNC milled, anodized aluminum alloy and ABS highly durable plastic
• Mounting: 1/4" and 3/8" threads
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 12.4 x 12.4 x 4.33 in | 315 x 315 x 110 mm
• Weight: 1.4 kg | 3.1 lb, approx.