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M2MAC-MHF4-20-SFPNON

M2MAC-MHF4-20-SFPNON MHF4 to SMA Coaxial Cable

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in RF Cables.

The M2MAC-MHF4-20-SFPNON is a MHF4 to SMA-Female panel-mount coaxial cable. It measures 200mm in length on 1.13mm micro coax.

It is ideal for connecting cellular and radio modules fitted with MHF4 receptacles to external antennas. There are many examples of 4G/5G and GNSS radio modules having MHF4 receptacles for antenna connections. This coaxial cable mates to the MHF4 and the SMA-Female panel mount connector is mounted through the wall of an enclosure. The SMA-Female panel mount contains an o-ring which creates a seal against the enclosure when mounted to prevent moisture ingress.

There are options for other cables lengths on request such as 100mm or 150mm for example.

For pricing and availability of the M2MAC-MHF4-20-SFPNON please contact us.

 

 

MHF4 cable assemblies

MHF4 cable assemblies – connecting to GNSS and 5G modules

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in News.

MHF4 cable assemblies. Why do you need them? Many compact GNSS and cellular modules are using MHF4 coaxial connectors onto which to attach an antenna cable. To begin, let’s look at why MHF4 is being used by module vendors:

Very small footprint – MHF4 is significantly smaller than other connectors, making it ideal for compact PCBs and space-constrained devices.

Low profile – The connector sits pretty flush to the PCB, which is useful in thin products such as routers, laptops, gateways and tracking devices.

Good RF performance – MHF4 connectors are designed for high-frequency applications and can ably support the frequencies used by modern cellular, Wi-Fi and GNSS systems.

Lightweight – The small connector and thin coaxial cable are useful where weight matters.

Easy assembly – The cable simply snaps onto the PCB connector, making it practical for production assembly.

Widely used in wireless modules – Many 5G and GNSS modules have MHF4 miniature RF connectors.

Because the MHF4 snaps on to the mating connector, it is designed for semi-permanent connection unlike SMA, for example, which lends itself better to repeated connect and disconnect actions.

I want to connect my antenna to a MHF4 connector on a module, what options are there?

The first option is a Direct PCB-to-antenna connection – An MHF4-to-MHF4 cable can connect a PCB-mounted radio module directly to an internal antenna without needing a larger connector. The cable length in this scenario is often very short, perhaps 40 or 50mm in overall length and connectors may face the same way or one may face up and the other down.

The second option is a MHF4 to panel mount connector which is mounted through the wall of an enclosure (or device).  This enables attachment of an external antenna. A common example is MHF4 to SMA-Female Panel mount connector enabling the connection of highly available SMA-Male terminated antennas and antenna cables to the module via the MHF4/SMA cable.

For a standard MHF4 to SMA-Female panel mount configuration, cable lengths of approximately 200mm are very popular. However, cable lengths can be customised to application requirements, 100mm, 150mm and 250mm are also frequent requests

It might be also worth considering if the SMA-Female panel mount connector might need an o-ring to make a watertight seal against the enclosure wall enabling a level of ingress protection standard SMA-Female panel mount connectors do not offer. Check out our M2MAC-MHF-20-SFPNON cable for example.

The MHF4 cable assemblies can offer limited other coaxial connections included RP-SMA, FME and TNC. Please contact us for more details on this.

Need help in selecting the right MHF4 cable for your application? Talk to EAD.

MHF4 coaxial antenna cables

MHF4 coaxial antenna cables for cellular devices

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in Microcoax Cables.

MHF4 coaxial antenna cables connect an antenna to a coaxial connector on a cellular radio module. 4G and 5G modules are using micro connectors to connect the antenna and a MHF4 connector is a common choice. Usually a MHF4 jack is surface mounted onto the cellular module.

In many cases, the MHF4 plug has a panel mount connector at the other end of the cable so that cable is mounted through an enclosure. As the MHF4 cable is 0.81mm cable (diameter), there are a limited number of panel mount connectors that can fit. Most common are SMA and RP-SMA connectors.

Typical lengths for MHF4 Plug to SMA-Female Panel mount and RP-SMA Jack panel mount are 100mm to 200mm. Two common parts are:

M2MAC-MHF4-20-SFP – MHF4 Plug to SMA-Female Panel mount 200mm 0.81 cable

M2MAC-MHF4-20-RSB – MHF4 Plug to RP-SMA Jack Panel mount 200mm 0.81 cable.

Panel mount connectors with o-rings to create a watertight seal an against an enclosure wall are also possible. An example of a panel mount connector with o-ring part is:

M2MAC-MHF4-20-SFPNOL – MHF4 plug to SMA-Female Jack (14.5mm barrel) nickel plated with o-ring 200mm 0.81 cable.

For internal applications with can offer MHF4 plug to MHF4 plug with short cables where making a connection with from one MH4 receptacle to another is required.

Need help in selecting your MHF4 coaxial antenna cables? Talk to EAD.

low loss cables

Using 5G antennas with low loss cables – how to minimize losses?

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in News.

When installing a 5G (or 4G) outdoor antenna often the antenna might have an integral 5M or 10M cable or alternatively you might need to use low loss coaxial cables in longer runs to connect the antenna to the router. Whichever option you are using, analysing the cable type and the length of the cable to ensure you are introducing too much loss into the system is important.

We often see that 5G and 4G outdoor antennas with integral 5M cables use lower quality coaxial cable that exhibit losses per metre far in excess of better quality cables. In some cases, the coaxial cable used on the antenna might almost negate what the antenna can deliver in gain. For example, an outdoor antenna with 3 dBi gain at 900 MHz that uses a typical 5M RG58 cable will have 2.1 dB to 2.6 dB loss across the cable run, leaving an effective gain of 0.4 to 0.9 dB. Using a 10M integral RG58 cable would mean that the cable losses would exceed the antenna gain in this instance.

At higher frequencies such as 1800 MHz, the losses across RG58 are much greater than at 900 MHz meaning that it is also good to know which exact bands your 5G / 4G system is running on so you can better calculate the effectiveness of your antenna installation.

Using a RF240 low loss cable over 5M, the loss across the cable is approximately 1.25 dB and over 10M 2.5 dB. RF240 is 1mm larger in diameter than RG58, but the electrical properties are far superior especially for longer cable runs or higher frequencies. Therefore, it might worth considering an antenna with a coaxial connector termination (check our FGO-Max as an example) and using a hjgher grade extension cable to maximise the effective gain in the system.

Furthermore, for even longer coaxial cable runs, you could deploy 400 type cable. This is typically 10.2mm in diameter, but the loss per metre specifications are very good. Particularly ideal for 15M, 20M and 25M cable runs, RF400 cables would exhibit approximately half the losses of RF240 at 900 MHz i.e. 0.66 dB for a 5M cable run. Therefore, at 15M you would need to factor in approximately a 2 dB loss at 900 MHz.

Another issue with integral cables on external antennas is what to do with excess cable? What do you do if you only need 3M or 7M cables, but the standard configurations for the antennas offer 5M or 10M cables? Excess cable in the installation means unnecessary loss (and also coiled excess cable looks very unsightly!). Using custom length low loss cables means using only the exact cable length you need thereby improving efficiency in the system.

Need further help with your 5G and 4G antenna installation and low loss coaxial cable selection? Talk to EAD. We will be happy to help you make the right selection.

Low loss RF coaxial cables

Low loss RF coaxial cables – comparing your options

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in News.

This blog article entry considers the merits of choosing which of various low loss RF coaxial cables to use for IoT, LTE or LORA wireless applications where an external antenna is used to connect to router, gateway or terminal.

In this article, we will consider cables such as RG174, RG58, RF195, RF240 and RF400 as possible coaxial cable choices for your installation.

The first point to consider is that running extension or jumper cables between the antenna and the radio (router, modem, terminal, gateway, wireless device – for the sake of this article we’ll simply use the term radio) is that the cable will always introduce loss into the system. Whether you use very low loss, high quality coaxial cable or very thin and “lossy” cable, attenuation will be introduced between antenna and radio. A key area to focus on is to minimise the loss introduced by the cable in order to maximise the performance of the antenna. On longer cable runs it is very important to use low loss RF coaxial cables otherwise attenuation is too great for a functional wireless deployment.

Looking at RG174, it is a thin coax typically with a PVC sheath and can be used often for lower frequencies up to a very maximum of 2-3 metres. Most often it is used for what we call “pigtail” or adapter cables which a short cables that typically connect a cable to radio often to convert from one connector to another or if a connector presenting to the radio is too small to be fitted to a very low loss coax. (RF400 cables are 10.2mm diameter and as such connectors like MMCX, QMA, MCX cannot be fitted to RF400).

RG58 is a stranded coaxial cable about 5mm in diameter. It can be used for longer runs than RG174, however we typically recommend customers switch to RF195 which is also 5mm in diameter, but due to its solid copper core and superior insulation is lower loss than RG58.

RF195 is typically used in cable runs for 4G and cellular applications up to maximum cable run of 10M. Any more than 10M then the attenuation introduced by the cable into the system starts to affect the overall performance. The advantages of RF195 is that it is cost-effective, flexible and has good RF properties making it ideal for 5M extension cable requirements.

For longer runs that RF195 offers or for lower loss performance over 5 to 10M, then RF240 low loss coaxial cables are an ideal selection. RF240 is very similar to LMR240. With an overall sheath diameter of 6.1mm, it can be offer in a PVC all-purpose sheath or a LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) CPR Class Eca compliant sheath.  RF240 could be used up to about 15M cable runs for 4G and cellular applications and probably shorter runs if using it for WiFi. Once again, RF240 is cost-effective, but it is also flexible and robust making it ideal in installations where cable routing might be a little tricky.

For even longer cable runs, we have RF400 with PVC sheath for multi-purpose applications and RF400 LSZH Eca cable. These two cables are very low loss and we supply cables runs up to 50 or 60M depending on the frequency used in the installation. Both RF400 low loss RF coaxial cables are approx. 10mm in diameter, offering a little bit of flexibility, but most key is excellent RF properties meaning that you can minimise attenuation from the antenna to radio in your system.

EAD is a UK-based vendor of antenna solutions from 100 MHz to 6 GHz and also custom-assemblies low loss coaxial cables to customer specifications. For more information, please visit our product pages at www.customcoax.co.uk or contact us for specific requirements or questions you may have.

 

Eca low loss

CPR class Eca low loss coaxial cable assembles available

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in News.

EAD is pleased to introduce RF400 and RF240 Eca low loss coaxial cable assemblies. For coaxial cables requiring permanent installation into in-building applications, CPR compliance is now mandatory. CPR (Construction Products Regulation) legislation as it relates to coaxial cables addresses flammability properties of cables that are be installed inside buildings.

RF400 LSZH and RF240 LSHZ are both CPR classified as Eca and is manufactured in the European Union to high and consistent standards. At EAD, we cut the LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen) cables to the required length and terminate with the customer-specified connectors.

For more details on the two Eca low loss cables visit our RF cables products page and for quotes or lead times, please contact us.

RF195 low loss

RF195 Low Loss RF coaxial cable assemblies

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in RF195 Cables.

RF195 low loss RF cable is suitable for cable runs typically up to 10M at Cellular, LTE,and 2.4 GHz frequencies. It can also be used for VHF and UHF applications. RF195 is a quality RF cable manufactured in the European Union.

We can supply customised RF95 cable assemblies with connectors and length of cable to suit. Standard coaxial connectors for RF195 include N-Male, N-Female, SMA-Male, SMA-Female, RP-SMA, FME-Female, FME-Male, TNC-Male, BNC-Male and RP-TNC.

Standard RF195 cable assemblies that are usually pre-built in inventory include 5M SMA-Male/SMA-Female, 5M SMA-Male/SMA-Male and 5M N-Male/SMA-Male.

For RF195 low loss cable quotations and further information, please contact us.

For lower loss cable options, please check out our custom-assembled RF240 and RF400 cables.

RF195 cables can be purchased from your local EAD distributor or online at the Connex webshop.

6mm diameter low loss cable

RF240 – 6mm diameter low loss cable assemblies

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in RF240 Cables.

RF240 coaxial cable is a 6mm diameter low loss cable suitable to operate as a jumper cable for outdoor wireless antennas. With excellent RF properties in a small diameter sheath, RF240 cable lends itself well to cable runs up to 15-20M for cellular applications.

With an outer diameter of 6.10mm, it is still pretty flexible. It has excellent RF performance with good attentuation figures across the bands up to 3 GHz. The RF240 is an equivalent to LMR240 cable, but a more cost effective alternative. We can offer this cable pre-terminated with SMA, N-Type, TNC  and other RF connectors as required. As we assemble these cables in-house we can quickly accommodate customer requests for specific lengths or connector types.  RF240 complements EAD omni antennas such as the FGO and LMO antenna.

For small quantity requirements of pre-configured RF240 6mm diameter low loss cable purchases can be made via the Connex webshop. We offer 5M, 8M, 10M and 15M cables as standard with various connector options. The individual cables can be purchased via the links below:

Buy 5M RF240 pre-terminated cable
Buy 8M RF240 pre-terminated cable
Buy 10M RF240 pre-terminated cable
Buy 15M RF240 pre-terminated cable

For a slightly smaller diameter cable and cable runs up to 10M, take a look at RF195.

For very low loss cables, take a look at the RF400.

Please note we do NOT supply bulk cable or individual connectors.

Very low loss RF coaxial cable

RF400 – Very low loss RF coaxial cable assemblies

Written by EAD Admin on . Posted in RF400 Cables.

RF400 is a very low loss RF coaxial cable designed for longer cable runs and is comparable in performance to LMR400 or BWL400. RF400 is a high quality low loss cable manufactured in Europe.

We can supply customised RF400 cable runs with customer-specified connectors and cable lengths. Standard connectors supplied for RF400 include N-Male, N-Female, BNC-Male, TNC-Male, RP-TNC, SMA-Male, SMA-Female.

Common configurations include N-Male to SMA-Male to connect up omni-directional and directional antennas terminated in N-Female connectors where the radio modem has a SMA-Female connector.

For RF400 very low loss RF coaxial cable quotations and further information, please contact us. For customers in Europe, you can buy some 10M, 15M, 20M, 25M and 30M pre-terminated RF400 cables via the Connex Webshop. The individual cables can be purchased via the links below:

Buy 10M RF400 pre-terminated cable
Buy 15M RF400 pre-terminated cable
Buy 20M RF400 pre-terminated cable
Buy 25M RF400 pre-terminated cable
Buy 30M RF400 pre-terminated cable

For a smaller low loss coaxial cable for shorter cable runs, you could consider RF195 or RF240 low loss cables.