ProfiHub A5 PROFIBUS multi-repeater, IP65

ProfiHub A5 PROFIBUS multirepeater, IP65

A multi-channel PROFIBUS DP repeater that allows creating up to 5 new galvanically isolated segments in a star or tree topology. Thanks to its robust IP65-rated enclosure, plastic cable glands, and operating temperature range from −40 °C to +75 °C, the ProfiHub A5 is suitable for outdoor use and in dusty or humid environments (in a non-hazardous areas).

Key Advantages

• IP65 protection – suitable for industrial environments (dust, humidity)
• 5 galvanically isolated segments + 1 main bus (backbone connection)
• 100% short-circuit protection on each segment
• Individual repeater and switchable termination for each segment
• Supports star, tree, and bus topologies
• LED indicators for communication status
• Built-in DB9 connector for maintenance access

Why Choose ProfiHub A5?

• Increases reliability and availability of the entire PROFIBUS network
• Minimizes the impact of faults in one segment on others
• Enables fast PROFIBUS network diagnostics and reduces downtime
• Flexible solution for network expansion in demanding industrial environments
• Easy installation without changes to PLC configuration
• Saves space and costs – replaces up to 5 repeaters

Perfect galvanic separation of all segments

The advanced electronics of the ProfiHub A5 multirepeater allows (unlike competing repeaters) unlimited cascading in succession (i.e. a maximum of 9 repeaters in a cascade does not apply).

The ProfiHub A5 has 100% short circuit protection, i.e. if you short the A/B wires in segment 1 with respect to each other, this short circuit will not pass to the other segments. This behavior is logically expected from a repeater, but unfortunately does not apply to many other repeaters on the market.

In addition, the data on the network is constantly monitored for the presence of skew, which ProfiHub digitally smoothes out. We know from our customers that they prefer ProfiHub multirepeaters precisely because of the better galvanic separation of all segments, which has minimized outages on PROFIBUS networks. 

Thanks to the 100% galvanic isolation of the PROFIBUS segments, the ProfiHub A5 will not pass a jammed or damaged signal from one segment to another.

Preferably fewer stations in the segment

Based on our experience, we recommend that customers do NOT have up to 31 PROFIBUS stations per segment, because 31 stations means 31 potential causes of problems that can cause signal reflections in the PROFIBUS cable. This reflection increases with the length of the segment and eventually becomes so large that it usually shuts down the farthest station.

We therefore recommend that our customers deploy a maximum of 5-10 PROFIBUS stations per segment. In practice, this means that you bring the signal from the MASTER station into the ProfiHub multirepeater (you can then continue further) and connect a maximum of 5-10 stations to each segment. These can be stations always in one rack, stations in one direction from the rack, all inverters / IO peripherals / HMI panels etc. It doesn't really matter because ProfiHub acts as a hub, so it connects everything to everything. It practically doesn't matter what stations you connect to each channel (segment).

This significantly reduces the time to find the fault in case of problems with the PROFIBUS network, because you can usually find the cause and effect in only one segment.

By placing PROFIBUS stations in multiple galvanically separated segments, the robustness and resilience of the PROFIBUS network to possible interference and faults in other PROFIBUS segments is increased. An error from one segment will not reach the other segment and we can therefore locate the error more quickly.

Example of cascade connection of ProfiHub A5 multirepeaters.

Application areas

• Dynamic spur lines to actuators, flow meters and pH analyzers
• Star, tree and bus structured networks
• Removable drives and motors
• Outdoor applications with device and cable stress
• Roof mounted devices in tank farms
• Dirty and humid environments
• Barrier for non-galvanic isolated equipment

Product features

• 5 Isolated repeater channels (6 segments)
• Transparent for all PROFIBUS DP protocols
• Suitable for PROFIsafe and MPI networks
• 31 devices per channel
• 9.6 Kbps - 12 Mbps
• Max. 1200 m segment length (depends on baudrate)
• Integrated termination facilities
• Configurable grounding system
• Glands connectors
• IP 65 classification

The connection of PROFIBUS cables to the ProfiHub A5 repeater is made via screw connectors.

Each PROFIBUS segment in the ProfiHub A5 multirepeater can be terminated with a built-in resistor.