Ibiquity Digital employees in Columbia, Md., ripped out part of the dropped ceiling in their new lab this week.
The work is part of the prep for next week’s expected arrival of the semi-anechoic chamber.
When ready next month, the device from ETS-Lindgren, all 10 x 20 feet of it (and 10-1/2 feet tall), will be used to help with the development of portables, according to Randall Richter, director of the Test Commercial Applications Group.
“The screen room will have ferrite tiles inside to absorb RF radiation so Ibiquity can conduct antenna testing, portable development and work on receiver sensitivity,” he told me during a private tour.
Out of a seven-figure cost for the recent move, Ibiquity paid about $23,000 to reinforce the floor underneath where the chamber will go, President Bob Struble told reporters last week.
A good thing about the lab, says Jeff Detweiler: “We can do end-to-end testing and leave tests set up all the time now. Before, we were able to test piecemeal, for a week at a time. Now, we can leave a test in place for a long time.”
More about the lab in the next issue of Radio World.
