The Lumberton Early Childhood Center in Lumberton, TX was looking for a wireless system that eliminated dropouts and came in a sleek, low-profile design. RF Venue's Diversity Architectural Antenna was the perfect fit, combining all of the advantages of the company's wireless solutions along with the ability to fit snugly beneath a polycarbonate protective cover make it safe and secure against errant basketballs in the gym.
“It’s a very practical consideration," explained Joe Fertitta, CEO/president of CueBlue, a Houston-based AVL systems design and integration company that did installations of the Diversity Architectural Antenna at two schools in the Lumberton Independent School District (ISD) in January 2023. "With the antennas needing to be located between 10 and 12 feet above the floor and near the basketball hoops, an antenna there will get hit. Using the Diversity Architectural Antenna, we know it’ll survive this environment nicely.”
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Fertitta has been a fan of RF Venue’s products for years, relying upon them for both live-event production and installation projects to assure the absence of wireless systems dropouts. In fact, CueBlue has recently become an RF Venue authorized dealer. The Diversity Architectural Antenna, said Fertitta, offers “a new level of service for clients.” Featuring a slim profile enclosure, the Diversity Architectural Antenna can be installed in any position on a wall or ceiling and can be painted to match any interior for near invisibility. And using its unique patent-pending dual-feed antenna design, both A and B diversity connections are provided, so there’s no need to install two separately spaced antennas, resulting in a more professional look that room designers and architects appreciate.
Those two aspects were both highlighted in the Lumberton ISD installations. “We had originally specified the RF Venue Diversity Fin antenna and that would have been fine, but then the Diversity Architectural Antenna became available and we made that an option,” Fertitta said. “The fact that the D-Arc can be painted made it that much better a fit for this project, and the architect was thrilled.”
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The D-Arc’s dual-feed antenna design also eliminated the need to run conduit between the two whip antennas that had been used in the past. “That makes them easier for us on the installation and for the electrician, who didn’t have to run conduit,” said Fertitta. He adds that the Diversity Architectural Antenna is also exceptionally adaptable when it comes to mounting. For instance, in the band and choir halls, soundproofing on the walls made those locations unusable, but the D-Arc had no problem being installed in the rooms’ ceiling. In the gym, the D-Arc is easily attached to a cinderblock wall. “And it looks great there,” too,” he added. “But most importantly, they work perfectly anywhere you put them.”
