Baltimore, Md. - When the Baltimore Ravens were looking to make HD upgrades to the in-house video system at M&T Bank Stadium, they turned to Integrated Microwave Technologies’ (IMT’s) Nucomm CamPac2 Wireless Camera System.
The system, which includes the CamPac2 camera-mounted transmitter and Newscaster DR2 diversity receiver, has been providing reliable wireless coverage throughout the stadium since its debut.
In order to satisfy the specific needs of the Ravens, while providing complete coverage on the field, the RF system needed to transmit live video feeds from within the player’s tunnel (where the players emerge during pregame introductions) without any break up, something the Ravens had not previously been able to accomplish.
“I’ve never seen an RF system that worked flawlessly, so I was very skeptical,” says Howard Rothouse, a consultant with VPC Inc. and the Baltimore Raven’s game day engineer. “But we knew that Nucomm has an outstanding reputation and that helped with the decision process. They were so confident in their product’s performance that they were willing to refund our money for the entire installation if it didn't perform as advertised.”
After integrator Diversified Systems Inc. (DSI), along with the staff from Nucomm, installed the equipment and made some minor adjustments to antenna location, the system was ready for action and in the first preseason game of the season, the system exceeded Rothouse’s expectations. As the players ran onto the field the CamPac2 captured all of the action from tunnel to field, just as seamlessly as desired by the Raven’s game producer.
“The CamPac2 wireless system has made me a believer,” adds Rothouse. “Prior to using the CamPac2 wireless system, I thought it was impossible to get the extended coverage we get from the CP2 system. Now that I have seen it in action, I can honestly say that Nucomm’s system delivered as promised and then some.”
The CamPac2 wireless camera system is compact and simple to use yet sophisticated enough to handle a wide range of applications including ENG, portable camera mounting for sports production, helicopter and UAV links as well as portable, mobile video and data links. The CamPac2 is a tri-band capable unit, which operates in the unlicensed 5.8GHz band, as well as licensed 6.4GHz and 7.1GHz bands without the need of any hardware changes.
The Newscaster DR2 diversity receiver, an updated model of its industry leading predecessor, offers new features, including “intelligent” block down converters, which actually communicate to the DR2 receiver, to control various operating modes. By utilizing the ability to block down convert the received high frequency signals to UHF band signals in the 150 to 850 MHz range, the DR2 now has the ability to remotely extend its antennas to 1000 feet (using Belden 1694A cable), complete with DC power from the receiver, as well as other versatile modes of operation.
By having the option to choose from two different versions of BDCs for the Newscaster DR2, these units can transmit and receive a wide range of frequency bands from 1.99GHz to 7.1GHz, depending on customer requirements.