Link Research Launches New Remote Control Facility For Its Wireless Cameras

Just new at IBC, Link Research showed a new remote control facility for its wireless cameras which uses the mobile phone network.
It allows a broadcaster's engineers to monitor their wireless cameras and receivers remotely, from a central location or via a mobile phone.
Link demonstrated this at the IBC stand, working with an 8-way Diversity receive system.
Link is offering the new remote control facility for Cellular Diversity newsgathering networks in cities and large outdoor sports productions where wireless cameras roam around an area covered by several fixed receivers.
A technical team can use the central control system, or a mobile phone to see if a camera is operating within the area of RF coverage and if it is tuned to the correct frequency. It is possible for them to turn RF on and off and to change frequency from their remote production office.
The mobile phone is a standard GPRS handset which links to the camera control connection on the Link transmitter attached to the camera. A built-in GPS shows where the camera is located so that it can be pinpointed on a map.
Commenting, Stuart Brown, Engineering Director at Link Research, said: "At Link, we always want to be first with the enhancements that will help customers to get brilliant performance from their radio cameras.
"Remote control and monitoring via the GSM network will be particularly useful for managing city centre networks.
"The ability to monitor receiver parameters via a mobile phone will enable the remote user to set up a link completely independently.
"Rental companies can also use the system for remote fault diagnosis as engineers at Link can check units anywhere in the world within the GSM coverage zone."
The concept of Cellular Diversity, where wireless cameras roam around a wide area covered by a network of several receivers, was pioneered by Link Research and has become an industry standard.
A number of cities now have Link's equipment installed, including London, Brussels, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin and Washington. Cellular Diversity is also used to provide RF coverage for sports such as Motor Racing and Golf tournaments. For example, it was used at Le Mans, where the racecourse is 14km long.
Link's range of transmitters includes the L1500 which operates in Standard Definition with a software upgrade to High Definition. Customers can change the frequency band by swapping frequency modules as needed and there is an option for camera control.
Further information is available at: www.linkres.co.uk.
(KMcA)