Ventev Presents at #MFD10
Ventev had the benefit of presenting last at #MFD10 to share what they have been working on lately. They wasted no time jumping right into it with the VenGo Mobile Wireless Case.
The VenGoTM is a crash kit travel case sized to fit in airplane overhead bins. Equipped with one or two batteries, it can power wireless radios in the kit to provide WiFi, Cellular (4G/5G), Private 4G/5G, or CBRS connectivity. Pop-up wireless connectivity provided by a Vengo kit is welcome at job sites, festivals, pop-up retail stores, and emergency disaster zones. Ventex can take on the heavy lifting and provide VenGo kits loaded with a cellular subscription plan, or they can include all the radio hardware, and you can manage the subscription plan yourself. There is additional flexibility for worldwide compatibility. Ventev can provide everything but the radio hardware and subscription – allowing users to connect their compatible radio hardware supported in their country or region.
How could we discuss outdoor solutions without bringing up power supplies? Ventev announced a new LIthium battery to upgrade their UPS system, which doubles available power. Not wanting to leave existing customers behind, Ventev also provides a Lithium battery retrofit kit, easily allowing customers who have already purchased the UPS system to swap the legacy battery.
They have a universal enclosure, which supports almost any access point. It has NEMA plugs, T-bar mounting plates, a cord grip, and a universal back panel. Users do have to decide which bulkhead assembly they need based on their antenna port configuration.
Building on the innovation of their T-bar clip, which adapts to the size of various T-bars, Ventev also showcased their VenFlexTM swivel mount. Basically, there are two attachments: the wall or ceiling mount connects to a VenFlex Mount (think AP bracket) via a double-ended swivel, allowing complete rotational flexibility for positioning the AP at any desired angle. This affords installers and designers many options from a single mounting solution.
In addition, the VenFlex mounting portfolio has mounting options for suspending AP from the ceiling via conduit (for aesthetically pleasing cable management) or via Allthread. The hanging plate comes in single or quad Allthread hanging options. It’s generally a good design practice to position the APs as close to the clients as possible and the Allthread/conduit easily and, more importantly, make this aesthetically possible.
Rounding out the presentation was the announcement of a new, smaller, and aesthetically pleasing patch antenna. Tipping the scales at 7.62cm x 7.62cm x 2.54cm (3” x 3” x 1”) is the Atto Patch Antenna. It clocks in at 6dBi gain with HBW: 70/110/110 & VBW 70/55/55. As with most things wireless, when you compensate for one feature (size), you sacrifice for another (front-to-back ratio). The result is an FBR of 9/15/15dB – which is still impressive for such a small antenna, but if you require more separation, a larger antenna is in your future.
Brilliantly, this antenna can already be found in several popular Wi-Fi design tools:
Reflecting on the presentation, Ventev was the company most keen to hear feedback and thoughts from the delegates. I am not saying the other companies did not; rather, Ventev was the most. It could be how the content was curated or the nature of their products on solutions. There was more mutual curiosity and collaboration on potential features to add, use cases, and feature prioritization.
If you want to hear more about Ventev, check out their full presentation at #MFD10 here:
Slàinte!