Tech Support FAQs

What are the sizes of Trilogy's AirCell® cable?
Why does Trilogy's AirCell® cable has a lower attenuation?
Why would I want to try Trilogy's cable?
long is the warranty period for Trilogy's AirCell® products?
What are the advantages of using aluminum for outer conductor?
How hard is Trilogy's AirCell® cable to bend?
What is the weight of Trilogy's AirCell® cables in comparison with other manufacturers?
Is there anything I should be aware of when installing the AirCell® radiating cable in the tunnel?
What is Attenuation and Coupling Loss?
What are parameters that will affect the performance of AirCell® Radiating cable?
What is a Link Budget?
Are any connectors or accessories applicable with Trilogy's Transline cable?
Are any connectors or accessories applicable with Trilogy's Radiating cable?
Can other manufacturers' (e.g. Andrew) connectors be used for Trilogy's corrugated AirCell® Plenum cable?

What are the sizes of Trilogy's AirCell® cable?
They are available in the following sizes: Transline - 1/2", 5/8", 7/8", 1-1/4", and 1-5/8"; Radiating - 1/2", 5/8", 7/8", 1-1/4", and 1-5/8"; Plenum and Plenum Radiating - 1/2".

Why does Trilogy's AirCell® cable has a lower attenuation?
Our AirCell® cable has a 91% Velocity of Propagation which makes the attenuation lower than that of the competing foam corrugated products at 88%. This is accomplished by a unique design which uses the perfect dielectric - AIR. AirCell® Transline 1-5/8" has the lowest attenuation in the market, 1.02dB/100ft @ 2000 MHz versus corrugated foam's 1.13dB. The attenuation of AirCell® Transline 1-5/8" is almost equivalent to foam's 2-1/4" which is a much bigger cable.

Why would I want to try Trilogy's cable?
Trilogy offers a more efficient product that provides:

          • Better (Higher) Velocity of Propagation
          • Better (Lower) signal attenuation
          • No water migration
          • Lighter weight
          • Ease of installation and connectorization
          • Best warranty against water migration in the industry (15 years)

Our customers are our first and foremost concern and our management team is committed to providing a first class product and exceptional customer service.

How long is the warranty period for Trilogy's AirCell® products?
Trilogy offers 15 years warranty which is the longest warranty in the industry versus Andrew's 10 years and RFS and Times Microwave's 5 years.

What are the advantages of using aluminum for outer conductor?
Since the RF signal travels with a "skin effect" on the top of the inner conductor, the outer conductor only serves as a shield that holds the signal in the pipe. In actuality aluminum is a better choice over copper as an outer conductor for the following reasons:
          • Aluminum is 3 times lighter and more flexible than copper.
          • Aluminum is more corrosive resistance. Aluminum's corrosive properties cause an outer layer to form
             which protects from further corrosion whereas copper will continue to corrode creating pock marks that
             will affect the RF conductivity.

How hard is Trilogy's AirCell® cable to bend?
Because our cable is smooth wall aluminum, it will be a little more difficult to bend than corrugated copper but much easier to bend than smooth wall copper cables. As a comparison, smooth wall copper takes 154 foot-pounds to bend, AirCell® takes 60 foot-pounds and corrugated foam 1-5/8" cable takes 40 foot-pounds.

What is the weight of Trilogy's AirCell® cables in comparison with other manufacturers?
AirCell® cable has the lightest weight in the industry. As a comparison, the weight of our AirCell® Transline 1-5/8" has the lightest weight of 0.70 lb/ft versus Andrew's 0.82 lb/ft, NK Cable's 0.97 lb/ft, and RFS' 0.80 lb/ft for their foam products.

Is there anything I should be aware of when installing the AirCell® radiating cable in the tunnel?
AirCell® Radiating cable must be placed at least 4" (approximately 100 mm) away from any metallic objects in order to achieve the optimal performance. Any steel or metal objects with less than 4" distance will greatly affect the radiating cable's performance. Separation from a concrete wall by at least 2" (approximately 50 mm) is also recommended.

What is Attenuation and Coupling Loss?
Attenuation, expressed in dB per unit length, is the sum of the power loss along the length of the cable.
Coupling Loss is the difference between the power that is contained in the cable and the transmitted power received by a dipole antenna located a fixed distance away.

What are parameters that will affect the performance of AirCell® Radiating cable?
The two main parameters affecting the performance of AirCell® Radiating cable are attenuation, which limits the longitudinal range, and coupling, which determines the overall sensitivity.

Attenuation is relatively easy to measure by simple insertion loss techniques although the accurate prediction of losses in an actual working environment is much more difficult. Coupling is the measure of signal accessibility at a given radial distance outside the cable and, being very dependent on the particular installation and environmental aspects, is very difficult to assess.

What is a Link Budget?
A link budget is the sum of all system gains and losses between a transmitter and a receiver. The surplus is called system margin, which allows for unforeseen losses and/or equipment degradation.

Are any connectors or accessories applicable with Trilogy's Transline cable?
Due to our cable's unique air dielectric design, the connectors, tools and grounding straps are designed specifically for AirCell® Transline. All other accessories are interchangeable with what you are currently using.

Specially designed AirCell® Transline connectors are easier to work with and take less time to install, compared to our competitors' products which also require their own connectors.

Are any connectors or accessories applicable with Trilogy's Radiating cable?
Due to our cable's unique air dielectric design, the connectors and tools are designed specifically for AirCell® Radiating cable. All other accessories are interchangeable with what you are currently using.

Specially designed AirCell® Radiating connectors are easier to work with and take less time to install, compared to our competitors' products which also require their own connectors.

Can other manufacturers' (e.g. Andrew) connectors be used for Trilogy's corrugated AirCell® Plenum cable?
We recommend buying our own Plenum connectors for best performance. However, Andrew's Self-Flare connectors could be used on our cable but we do not guarantee the performance.

Please note that AirCell® Plenum connectors are so much easier to install than Andrew's Self-Flare connectors. Please see our flyer for comparison. A copy of our flyer can be sent (fax/mail/email) to you upon request.