Marconi's Disappearing Act

Marconi's disappearing act

Marconi's disappearing act

Power is often an afterthought in the overall design process for wireless networks, but that's fine by power vendors, who sometimes describe their equipment as the silent engine running everything. Marconi is hoping its new Wireless Outdoor Site Support Cabinet shrinks from sight altogether. While not unlike other cabinets in its appearance, inside it offers a decidedly compact solution for housing electronics, protection, distribution and battery backup. Two Vortex VPS power shelves provide capacity for up to 31,000 watts of 48-volt DC power, and Marconi can help with component parts as well, offering to include up to eight 48-volt DC V65/85B50 Constant Power Rectifiers. Additionally, the company has designed the cabinet to blend in with other equipment, integrating with Nokia's BTS radio enclosure as well as other base stations.
www.marconi.com

Tyco: Full power at half the size

Getting the most power out of small packages is a neverending quest for component vendors. Tyco Electronics Power Systems has broken through an important barrier with its new SW series of 10- to 15-watt DC-DC power converters. The modules offer system vendors a low-cost replacement for the company's LW010/15 series, in a package that is half the size of its predecessor. At the same time, the SW modules deliver as many as 4 amps, converting 36 volts to 75 volts single output that can be dialed anywhere from 15 volts down to a single volt. The modules achieve full-load efficiency of 86% at 3.3 volts output. The converters can be either through-hole or surface-mount, with the through-hole package boasting a pinout that is compatible with the industry-standard LW pinout. Designed for a variety of applications, the module can operate in environments ranging from -40 F to 185 F.
power.tycoelectronics.com

Valere's emergency assistance

Power outages are a fact of life in many parts of the U.S., but virtually no excuse is good enough to justify the failure of 911 services. Valere Power is coming to the rescue with its Modular Power System. The system provides a scalable power platform that can go from 50 amps to more than 10,000 amps of service. Based on the company's X-Series rectifiers, which provide the basis for Valere's previous products and deliver up to 200 amps of current per unit and voltages from 12 to 48 volts, the system can support more than 100 pieces of telecom equipment. Just as important, it's compact, particularly by current standards: In wireless switching applications, the Modular System can power an entire switch while occupying just 25% of the space traditionally allocated to power.
www.valerepower.com

Life's a Gas for Plug Power

The hydrogen fuel cell, critical to powering all manner of spacecraft in every sci-fi movie ever created, has made it to telecom with the introduction of the GenCore5T from Plug Power. The 5-kilowatt fuel cell system, which is the first in the industry to run on hydrogen instead of traditional sources, is designed to provide extended run backup power in the outside plant. Don't expect the company to market its system, which also comes in sizes ranging from 2 kilowatts to 12 kilowatts, as some type of environmentalist's green dream. Instead, Plug Power is relying on the reduced life-cycle maintenance and total equipment expense to sell the $3000-per-kilowatt system. And though shipment of the GenCore5T isn't expected to begin until the fourth quarter, the company already is planning a version geared to other telecom segments, including cable operators.
www.plugpower.com

Magnetek has it both ways

Magnetek's Power Electronic Group may have found one of the secrets to unlocking hermetically sealed carrier capital budgets with its FE series of 24-volt DC to 48-volt DC power converters. Designed for use in wireless base stations and microwave backhaul locations, the FE series allows carriers to employ both 24-volt and 48-volt equipment operating in the same environment without replacing existing 24-volt systems. It also provides a fair amount of flexibility: Because the output is galvanically isolated from the source and chassis, it may be connected either as a positive or negative output. One DC-DC converter, the FE1D, provides a 48-volt DC regulated output from a 24-volt DC source. Input voltages can range from 19 volts to 32 volts, with output voltages of 48-volt DC, 25 amps and 1200 watts. The converter is 1 unit high when mounted horizontally, and in a vertical arrangement, up to 9 units can be deployed in the 19-inch sub-rack, allowing carriers to draw up to 10,800 watts.
www.magnetek.com

Falcon in the snow, man?

Falcon Electric is delving into areas that have killed other power products — literally. The company's new SG 1kVA 2U Rackmount online, sinewave UPS is designed with a wide input frequency window so it can be used in a variety of deployments. However, Falcon also has created a couple of different models geared specifically for unique applications — one for harsh and inclement environments where there is poor frequency input from sources like generators, and a second for international deployments. The UPS features a true regenerative online design with input power factor correction, automatic restart, a front panel user interface, site wiring indicator and built-in surge protection. Among the options are DB-9 cards that can be used in a variety of configurations, including one for wireless. All SG Rackmount models come with a free version of UPSilon 2000 advanced shutdown and monitoring software that supports most operating systems. All models support an optional internal SNMP/HTTP agent. An optional wall-mount Maintenance Bypass Switch is also available.
www.falconups.com