Lightning protection Excellence in Connectivity Solutions

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Your partner for system solutions The HUBER+SUHNER Group is a leading global supplier of components and systems for electrical and optical connectivity. Four decades of experience in developing and manufacturing coaxial lightning EMP and NEMP protectors are the foundation of the current HUBER+SUHNER RF protection portfolio. Our products are designed to meet the stringent requirements of the RF/microwave, telecommunications and wireless industry and cover civil, security and defence applications. An extensive high-voltage impulse laboratory is established to verify our designs in accordance with...

Surge protective devices 25 High voltage DC blocks 97 How to select the right protector - Important decision criteria 198 - Selection flow chart 199 Excellence in Connectivity Solutions

HUBER+SUHNER Lightning protection

Our strength, know-how, quality and reliability 9 RF lightning EMP protector principles 10 Basic application scheme 14 Protector series HUBER+SUHNER Lightning protection 7

Roots HUBER+SUHNER has been active in the field of coaxial RF components for over 40 years now. This commitment to connector and cable design led to activities for solving technical problems related to coaxial transmission line surges. In the sixties and seventies, the harmful effects of nuclear weapons on electronic systems became known. The pace at which electronically controlled weapon systems were developed during this «cold war» period triggered a huge surge in the demand for protective devices against NEMPs (Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulses). Cooperating closely with university research departments,...

Our strength, know-how, quality and reliability Outstanding know-how ensures optimum technical parameters The following technical parameters are especially important for users of lightning EMP protection devices in RF engineering applications: • Operating frequency range • Reflection characteristics (VSWR or return loss) HUBER+SUHNER mainly applies copper alloys for the contact and housing components of its lightning EMP protection devices. Their specific composition is selected on the basis of the loads they are subjected to. Contact surfaces are gold- or silver-plated. Housing surfaces receive...

RF lightning EMP protector principles Overvoltage protection in the field of RF engineering shall meet special requirements in comparison with general, low frequency signal transmission and power supply applications. In particular, coupling capacitances towards ground shall be minimised in order to prevent any significant loss of the transmitted RF signals. This essentially rules out the wide-band application of varistors and semiconductor diodes. Band-pass principle A very effective principle which HUBER+SUHNER employs with its quarter-wave shorting stub protectors featuring the lowest possible...

Lightning EMP protectors with gas discharge tubes In the event of a voltage surge, a gas section between the inner and the outer conductor of the coaxial transmission line will spark over, resulting in potential equalisation to ground. This system works as a voltage-dependent switch that is automatically turned on and off. This design features a special gas-filled gas discharge tube (GDT), also called capsule. Once the interference subsides, the gas discharge tube will revert to its original condition, i.e., it will again become highohmic, and the system will be able to continue operation in...

The voltage across the gas discharge tube then rises very rapidly. When the dynamic sparkover voltage has been reached (typ. 675 V at 1 kV/μs for 230 V GDT), the gas discharge tube will ignite and become conductive. At this moment, the voltage across the GDT (called the glow-arc voltage) is between 72 and 90 V. This collapses to 10 – 20 V (called the arc voltage), as the current rises. The dynamic spark-over voltage of the GDT is a function of the pulse rise time. GDT protectors allow DC to be carried and thus tower-mounted electronic equipment to be fed power via the coax line. Lightning EMP...

Since lightning interferences have a low frequency spectrum (see chapter «Lightning phenomenon and characteristics» illustration on page 128) the shorting stub acts as a short circuit, conducting the current to the ground. The basic principle for the RF signal transmission through a quarter-wave shorting stub lightning EMP protector is described in the following: In regular operation, the RF signal reaches the entry of the shorting stub (shown here as point 1). It then runs along the shorting stub up to the short (point 2). This corresponds to a 90° phase shift. At the short, the signal is reflected...

Basic application scheme Select your basic application purpose from the general scheme of a radio transmitter configuration for mobile and fixed systems, but also general wireless applications. Rooftop installations follow similar considerations. All protectors provide protection against direct and indirect interferences of lightning, but also NEMP (Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse) and other surge signals. Miniature surge protectors for indoor protection of electronic equipment are not shown here – refer to series 3404 (page 50). Installation recommendation • Ideally mounted directly on a wall...

QUICK-FIT connectors* Jumper cables Power splitters* Grounding kits SUCOFEED cables* 7 * Further information can be found in the following HUBER+SUHNER RF product catalogues: Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and Wireless Infrastructure (Solutions for remote radios and cell sites). Please see our website hubersuhner.com - search - literature. HUBER+SUHNER Lightning protection

Protector series portraits Basic properties of HUBER+SUHNER protector principles Quarter-wave shorting stub protectors series 3400, 3407 • Broadband and narrowband units available • Maintenance-free • Highest surge current handling capability – N: 50 kA (8/20 μs test pulse) – 7/16: 100 kA (8/20 μs test pulse) • Lowest residual surge pulse voltage and energy • Best IM performance • DC/AC powering via coax not possible • Products with integrated high-pass filter with even further reduced residual pulse (series 3407) available Detailed data:series 3400 on page 26 series 3407 on page 58 Gas discharge...