Amplifier REMO ORANGE 900 plus - review and review
The mobile signal booster REMO ORANGE 900 plus fell into my hands. Manufacturer - Saratovskaya company REMO, specializing in the production of television antennas. Amplifier line ORANGE - the debut of the Saratov plant in the market of repeaters. Let's see what the advantages and disadvantages of a debutant.
At first glance, the product makes a rather favorable impression - pleasant full-color packaging, a brief but intelligible instruction in Russian. Although the materials are quite cheap - an outdoor antenna made of aluminum with traces of dirt, scratches and even unshipped chips at the holes, plastic - thin and pointed. It is seen that the manufacturer is trying to save.
But the appearance for us is clearly not the first thing, let's figure out how the kit works.
')
Antenna of the “wave channel” type, rather short - only 4 elements. Antenna gain is not specified, but, judging by the size, about 4-5 dB. Not much, but it should work in conditions of confident reception. As a retreat, this product has a performance with a simple whip antenna (without a “plus” in the title) - it was not at my disposal, but, given the nominal “pin” of 0.5 dB, the effectiveness of such a performance causes very deep doubts.
But the main remark to the manufacturer is not for the weak antenna gain. The ORANGE 900 plus was much more surprised by the lack of a matching device on the loop vibrator. The cable is soldered directly to the contacts of the vibrator! But how is this so? Perhaps, the designers of the REMO have forgotten that wave-channel antennas have an impedance of about 300 ohms and are simply necessary for matching with a 50-ohm cable? As a manufacturer of television antennas with 25 years of experience could not know about it? Every first-year student of a specialized faculty knows what is agreement on the reception and transmission to the cable. But, whatever the reasons, the fact is obvious ... Losses in the absence of matching the antenna and cable will be very significant.
In the manufacturer's manual, the manufacturer specifies the gain for transmit / receive at 50/50 dB (respectively). This is pretty good for a subscriber device offered as a complete set. We connect the repeater to the network analyzer and try to check if it really is. The reality turned out to be much more prosaic ... On both channels (uplink / downlink) the maximum gain barely reached a modest 39dB.
It must be admitted that over-performance without any liability on the part of the manufacturer has become the norm in recent times. Unfortunately, the company REMO was no exception, claiming 50 dB, despite the fact that the gain does not reach 40 dB. The effect of such a kit will not be great.
Attention is also paid to the large non-uniformity of the frequency response on the upper channel. At frequencies of 925-935 MHz, the non-uniformity of the frequency response reaches 15 dB! During operation, this may cause communication degradation in the form of signal interruptions, disconnections and slower data transmission.
Let's face it, given such "introductory", there are doubts that the kit will cover even the average room in a city apartment. And if we recall the other distinctive features, such as an antenna with a low self-gain, a very “budget” cable RG-58U (with high losses in the working frequency band) and the lack of matching the antenna with the cable (which is an example of a gross violation of the fundamentals of antenna design ), doubts are additionally strengthened ... But let's not get ahead of ourselves, depriving the debutant of showing what he is capable of - field tests ahead.
Not everything can be understood by the nominal characteristics, even if checked with the help of measuring equipment. Before you make a conclusion on the technical part and go to the real tests, let's see what the REMO ORANGE-900 plus is inside. We open the case ...
The first thing that immediately draws attention is the lack of board shielding. In devices such as a repeater, high-quality and high-quality screening is a critical element. Not without reason, all the major manufacturers of such devices carefully shield the boards and the entire element base. At frequencies close to 1 GHz, the waves are so short that even gaps and seams in the screen can play a role. In our case, the manufacturer decided not to screen the board at all! What is the real reason - the desire to thus save on the mandatory element of the construct, or simply because of the lack of experience in developing similar devices - I do not know. However, it is known reliably that the reverse side of such “simplicity” will be an increased risk of targeting spurious signals from external sources, as well as a high risk of self-excitation and generation of interference on the air of cellular operators.
Also attract the attention of large solder balls, which can cause interelectrode circuits. In itself, their presence does not make the device inoperable, but eloquently speaks of the general culture of production and gives the impression rather of artisan crafts, rather than high-quality serial products.
Measurement was carried out in the conditions of the city. Operator - MTS. All data on the signal level is obtained using the standard monitor of the communication signal in the engineering menu of the phone (iPhone 5).
Conditions were chosen rather favorable for testing:
Below are the monitor readings with the kit turned on and tuned for optimal performance. Measurements were carried out for 3 options for removing the phone from the base module (repeater) - TIGHTEN / 0.5 M FROM THE REPAIR / 1.0 M FROM THE REPAIR
As can be seen from the above indications, the kit does work, but the effective radius of action in our case did not exceed 50 centimeters from the base module. In fairness, you need to make a reservation that the tested repeater has a linear gain, so the actual coverage area will depend on the signal level at the installation site of the outdoor antenna. With a higher level of signal at the input - there will be more and the level at the output, and at a lower level, respectively, even less. In our case, the signal level cannot be called very high (-69dB), but our reception conditions are not particularly difficult. With certain reservations, these conditions can be called average for the city limits. How expedient to buy a device for 6-7 thousand rubles with a radius of action of 50 cm let everyone decide for himself ...
At this stage, I planned to finish my review, write as a summary that the device works, although the coverage area of ​​0.5m, to put it mildly, “doesn’t hold out a bit” to the analogs on the market - put a solid three with a minus on the product and put an end. But at the last moment I decided to take another small test ... The test is to provoke the kit into what is called "self-excitation." If anyone does not know what it is and why it is important, I will explain.
Unlike television antennas or any passive devices, the repeater not only receives the signal, but also broadcasts it. And if a device simultaneously receives and transmits a signal, there is a risk of so-called noise generation. Imagine, you bring the microphone to the speaker and blow into it - an increasing whistle will go. A similar whistle (only in the inaudible range) may in some cases be given by the repeater. This noise greatly interferes with the work of telecom operators, and they closely monitor the ether in their frequencies.
This problem is characteristic of all receiving and transmitting systems, regardless of the working frequencies and the purpose of the equipment. Therefore, all bona fide manufacturers of repeaters necessarily install a security system. As a rule, its work is reduced to catching the emitted noise in the event of generation and disconnecting itself. In most cases, the protection system is not only turned off, but has an indication informing the user that the system has entered emergency mode and what needs to be corrected. Thus, the risk of interference for telecom operators is excluded.
Testing the ORANGE-900 repeater for generation revealed a small nuance ... The system has an indication of the emergency mode (green - “normal”, red - “alarm”), but the protection system itself (ie, automatic shutdown during emergency operation) is not in principle! This means that if the repeater starts generating noise on the air of telecom operators, it will do this continuously until the user turns it off. The user himself most likely does not know what is the source of the interference and blocks the base station operation until the engineers of the Radio Frequency Center come to it with a claim. And the conversation with them will be hardly pleasant.
Again I wonder what is the reason for such strong constructive flaws. After all, even non-Chinese manufacturers do not allow this. This is just the basis - a mandatory requirement for this class of equipment. Perhaps the reason is ignorance of the product features that REMOs undertook to produce, and maybe banal savings on everything, including critical functions.
Looking through my own material, I understand that the review of the product has turned into an article-debacle. Although initially such a goal did not stand at all. But, starting from the very moment I opened a beautiful box, there was no reason to praise the product. Weak antenna inconsistent with cheap cable. Repeater gain, amounting to 39 dB (with the declared 50 dB). Extremely uneven characteristics of the frequency response, coupled with the frankly artisanal production culture (recall the loosely hanging pieces of tin on the board) and the total savings on everything, including what you can not save (talking about the absence of a screen on the board and protection against noise generation) do not leave The kit is not the slightest opportunity for at least some praise.
Although, despite the abundance of shortcomings and flaws, perhaps most of them can be compensated for using low prices. Obviously, when designing this product, the manufacturer put price at the forefront. And, if the price outweighs the listed disadvantages, it is possible that the product will find its buyer. However, in the pursuit of cheapness, the manufacturer has excluded a function that cannot be ruled out. Protection against noise generation is not a matter of customer preference, it is a prerequisite for the safe interaction of operators and subscribers.
I do not recommend the ORANGE-900 for end users . And it's not so much in the inexpressive characteristics of the device. The fact is that its use can be a source of interference for the operator, and in this case, sooner or later you can be forced to turn it off (and even impose a fine).
I do not recommend the ORANGE-900 for stores, installers and trading organizations . Due to the lack of all the same protection against noise generation, the device, by definition, cannot be certified by Rossvyaz. And the implementation of such equipment may lead to problems for the seller in possible proceedings.
But the choice, as always, will be for the buyer.
First look
At first glance, the product makes a rather favorable impression - pleasant full-color packaging, a brief but intelligible instruction in Russian. Although the materials are quite cheap - an outdoor antenna made of aluminum with traces of dirt, scratches and even unshipped chips at the holes, plastic - thin and pointed. It is seen that the manufacturer is trying to save.
But the appearance for us is clearly not the first thing, let's figure out how the kit works.
')
Outdoor antenna
Antenna of the “wave channel” type, rather short - only 4 elements. Antenna gain is not specified, but, judging by the size, about 4-5 dB. Not much, but it should work in conditions of confident reception. As a retreat, this product has a performance with a simple whip antenna (without a “plus” in the title) - it was not at my disposal, but, given the nominal “pin” of 0.5 dB, the effectiveness of such a performance causes very deep doubts.
But the main remark to the manufacturer is not for the weak antenna gain. The ORANGE 900 plus was much more surprised by the lack of a matching device on the loop vibrator. The cable is soldered directly to the contacts of the vibrator! But how is this so? Perhaps, the designers of the REMO have forgotten that wave-channel antennas have an impedance of about 300 ohms and are simply necessary for matching with a 50-ohm cable? As a manufacturer of television antennas with 25 years of experience could not know about it? Every first-year student of a specialized faculty knows what is agreement on the reception and transmission to the cable. But, whatever the reasons, the fact is obvious ... Losses in the absence of matching the antenna and cable will be very significant.
The main characteristics of the repeater
In the manufacturer's manual, the manufacturer specifies the gain for transmit / receive at 50/50 dB (respectively). This is pretty good for a subscriber device offered as a complete set. We connect the repeater to the network analyzer and try to check if it really is. The reality turned out to be much more prosaic ... On both channels (uplink / downlink) the maximum gain barely reached a modest 39dB.
It must be admitted that over-performance without any liability on the part of the manufacturer has become the norm in recent times. Unfortunately, the company REMO was no exception, claiming 50 dB, despite the fact that the gain does not reach 40 dB. The effect of such a kit will not be great.
Attention is also paid to the large non-uniformity of the frequency response on the upper channel. At frequencies of 925-935 MHz, the non-uniformity of the frequency response reaches 15 dB! During operation, this may cause communication degradation in the form of signal interruptions, disconnections and slower data transmission.
Let's face it, given such "introductory", there are doubts that the kit will cover even the average room in a city apartment. And if we recall the other distinctive features, such as an antenna with a low self-gain, a very “budget” cable RG-58U (with high losses in the working frequency band) and the lack of matching the antenna with the cable (which is an example of a gross violation of the fundamentals of antenna design ), doubts are additionally strengthened ... But let's not get ahead of ourselves, depriving the debutant of showing what he is capable of - field tests ahead.
Let's look inside ...
Not everything can be understood by the nominal characteristics, even if checked with the help of measuring equipment. Before you make a conclusion on the technical part and go to the real tests, let's see what the REMO ORANGE-900 plus is inside. We open the case ...
The first thing that immediately draws attention is the lack of board shielding. In devices such as a repeater, high-quality and high-quality screening is a critical element. Not without reason, all the major manufacturers of such devices carefully shield the boards and the entire element base. At frequencies close to 1 GHz, the waves are so short that even gaps and seams in the screen can play a role. In our case, the manufacturer decided not to screen the board at all! What is the real reason - the desire to thus save on the mandatory element of the construct, or simply because of the lack of experience in developing similar devices - I do not know. However, it is known reliably that the reverse side of such “simplicity” will be an increased risk of targeting spurious signals from external sources, as well as a high risk of self-excitation and generation of interference on the air of cellular operators.
Also attract the attention of large solder balls, which can cause interelectrode circuits. In itself, their presence does not make the device inoperable, but eloquently speaks of the general culture of production and gives the impression rather of artisan crafts, rather than high-quality serial products.
Tests
Measurement was carried out in the conditions of the city. Operator - MTS. All data on the signal level is obtained using the standard monitor of the communication signal in the engineering menu of the phone (iPhone 5).
Conditions were chosen rather favorable for testing:
- Signal level at the installation site of the outdoor antenna (outdoors): -69dB
- The signal level in the room (in the area of ​​intended use): -106dB
Below are the monitor readings with the kit turned on and tuned for optimal performance. Measurements were carried out for 3 options for removing the phone from the base module (repeater) - TIGHTEN / 0.5 M FROM THE REPAIR / 1.0 M FROM THE REPAIR
As can be seen from the above indications, the kit does work, but the effective radius of action in our case did not exceed 50 centimeters from the base module. In fairness, you need to make a reservation that the tested repeater has a linear gain, so the actual coverage area will depend on the signal level at the installation site of the outdoor antenna. With a higher level of signal at the input - there will be more and the level at the output, and at a lower level, respectively, even less. In our case, the signal level cannot be called very high (-69dB), but our reception conditions are not particularly difficult. With certain reservations, these conditions can be called average for the city limits. How expedient to buy a device for 6-7 thousand rubles with a radius of action of 50 cm let everyone decide for himself ...
And then it turned out ...
At this stage, I planned to finish my review, write as a summary that the device works, although the coverage area of ​​0.5m, to put it mildly, “doesn’t hold out a bit” to the analogs on the market - put a solid three with a minus on the product and put an end. But at the last moment I decided to take another small test ... The test is to provoke the kit into what is called "self-excitation." If anyone does not know what it is and why it is important, I will explain.
Unlike television antennas or any passive devices, the repeater not only receives the signal, but also broadcasts it. And if a device simultaneously receives and transmits a signal, there is a risk of so-called noise generation. Imagine, you bring the microphone to the speaker and blow into it - an increasing whistle will go. A similar whistle (only in the inaudible range) may in some cases be given by the repeater. This noise greatly interferes with the work of telecom operators, and they closely monitor the ether in their frequencies.
This problem is characteristic of all receiving and transmitting systems, regardless of the working frequencies and the purpose of the equipment. Therefore, all bona fide manufacturers of repeaters necessarily install a security system. As a rule, its work is reduced to catching the emitted noise in the event of generation and disconnecting itself. In most cases, the protection system is not only turned off, but has an indication informing the user that the system has entered emergency mode and what needs to be corrected. Thus, the risk of interference for telecom operators is excluded.
Testing the ORANGE-900 repeater for generation revealed a small nuance ... The system has an indication of the emergency mode (green - “normal”, red - “alarm”), but the protection system itself (ie, automatic shutdown during emergency operation) is not in principle! This means that if the repeater starts generating noise on the air of telecom operators, it will do this continuously until the user turns it off. The user himself most likely does not know what is the source of the interference and blocks the base station operation until the engineers of the Radio Frequency Center come to it with a claim. And the conversation with them will be hardly pleasant.
Again I wonder what is the reason for such strong constructive flaws. After all, even non-Chinese manufacturers do not allow this. This is just the basis - a mandatory requirement for this class of equipment. Perhaps the reason is ignorance of the product features that REMOs undertook to produce, and maybe banal savings on everything, including critical functions.
findings
Looking through my own material, I understand that the review of the product has turned into an article-debacle. Although initially such a goal did not stand at all. But, starting from the very moment I opened a beautiful box, there was no reason to praise the product. Weak antenna inconsistent with cheap cable. Repeater gain, amounting to 39 dB (with the declared 50 dB). Extremely uneven characteristics of the frequency response, coupled with the frankly artisanal production culture (recall the loosely hanging pieces of tin on the board) and the total savings on everything, including what you can not save (talking about the absence of a screen on the board and protection against noise generation) do not leave The kit is not the slightest opportunity for at least some praise.
Although, despite the abundance of shortcomings and flaws, perhaps most of them can be compensated for using low prices. Obviously, when designing this product, the manufacturer put price at the forefront. And, if the price outweighs the listed disadvantages, it is possible that the product will find its buyer. However, in the pursuit of cheapness, the manufacturer has excluded a function that cannot be ruled out. Protection against noise generation is not a matter of customer preference, it is a prerequisite for the safe interaction of operators and subscribers.
I do not recommend the ORANGE-900 for end users . And it's not so much in the inexpressive characteristics of the device. The fact is that its use can be a source of interference for the operator, and in this case, sooner or later you can be forced to turn it off (and even impose a fine).
I do not recommend the ORANGE-900 for stores, installers and trading organizations . Due to the lack of all the same protection against noise generation, the device, by definition, cannot be certified by Rossvyaz. And the implementation of such equipment may lead to problems for the seller in possible proceedings.
But the choice, as always, will be for the buyer.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/393603/
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