Which antenna, which cable should I choose?
The variety of antennas is large, often the enduser does not know which antenna is best for the situation. These notes should help in some cases...
Example scenarios
Example 1: Router/AP in the basement, client PCs in ground floor, first floor etc.
Here usually an omni directional antenna, mounted in the staircase is the best solution. Directional antennas are not always useable, due to the high attenuation of ceilings, walls etc.
Take:
- 1x VC-2400 (Order No. 18610)
- 1x Wall mounting bracket (Order No. 18615)
- 1x N pass through (Order No. 42055)
- A cable (more on cables see below)
The mounting bracket is attached to the wall, into the bracket the N pass through is fixed. On this pass through the antenna is mounted on top, the cable from bottom. Try to mount the antenna in the center of the house.
Example 2: Indoors area and garden (terrace) should be covered
Again an omni directional antenna should be used, mounted in a position whoch both reaches the terrace and the indoor room. Possible locations are behind a window in direction to the garden, but also on the outside in front of the window. Mount approximately in the same height as the room which should be covered.
Material: in principle the same material as above, but perhaps a stronger antenna like the GP-2400-xx can be used. Please note that an antenna with more gain has a different propagation and is less suitable to cover several floors of a building.
Take:
- 1x VC-2400 (Order No. 18610)
- 1x Wall mounting bracket (Order No. 18615)
- 1x N pass through (Order No. 42055)
- A cable Kabel (more on cables see below)
or alternatively
Take:
- 1x GP-2400-8, incl. mounting bracket (Order No. 18590.8)
- A cable Kabel (more on cables see below)
Example 3: Indoors all PC have wireless connectivity, just the last one over there in the corner not or only intermittingly.
In this case impürove the antenna on the PC, not on the Acesspoint. Usually the original antennas mounted behind the PC are abstructed by the metal case of the PC. The easiest solution is to use a short extension cable to mount the antenna at a different location.
Two solutions:
1.) Take:
- 1x extension cable Order No. 40320.1 1m Length (or 40320.3 3m Length) and use the original antenna. With the cable you can go and hunt for a better position. The mentioned cables fit on all Netgear devices (which support a removeable antenna, not all do!), as well as nearly all D-Link devices as well as most other manufacturers PCI cards.
2.) Take:
- 1x desktop antenna Order No. 20116 incl. cable
- 1x Adaptar Rev.SMA to SMA.
The adaptor fits all card with Reverse SMA connector, that are many Netgear devices (which support a removeable antenna, not all do!), as well as nearly all D-Link devices as well as most other manufacturers PCI cards.
Example 4: A larger indoor room should get better coverage.
For larger rooms (Cafes, convention rooms, calss rooms, halls, lobbies etc.) an omni directional antenna in the center of the room can be sufficient. Better would be two directional antennas with large angle, mounted to the corners of the room. Depending on the number of expected clients, network structure etc. it is adviseable to use an individual access point per antenna. In principle it is possible to connect several antennas to one access point, but that can lead to other problems.
Take:
- 1x VP165/24 (Order No. 18630) directional antenna
or
- 1x HIF-2400 (Order No. 18031) directional antenna
- A cable with SMA connector per antenna (more on cables see below)
Example 5: You want to connect two antennas to one accesspoint
This makes sense when two antennas are required to cover the intended area. It is assumed that the accesspoint has only one antenna connector.
Take
- 2x PA-2408 (Order No. 18625) directional antenna
- 1x Power splitter 13cm (Order No.: 18096)
- 1x Cable with N plug from AP to Splitter
- 2x Cables with N plug on bioth sides from splitterto antennas (more on cables see below)
Example 6: A larger area should be illuminated
This applies to large outdoor areas, hotel envoronments etc. The goal is to achieve a good coverage on a large area. Depending on the antenna height above ground the antenna should be tilted more or less downwards.
Take:
- A directional antenna PA-2408 (Order No. 18625) per Accesspoint. The antenna is mounted with a mounting bracket (included) to the wall. The tilt angle can be adjusted with the supplied bracket.
- A cable (more on cables see below)
or
Take
- A sector antenna VP270/24 (18640) or VP470/24 (18642) per Accesspoint
- Tilt mount for VP270 (18645) or VP470 (18646). TheVPx70 antennas have a directional pattern which is already optimized for low angles. If this should be insufficient the optional tilt mount should be used.
- A cable (more on cables see below)
Which cable should I take?
Some simple rules:
- Thin cable = high attenuation
- Thick cable = less atennuation
- Keep cable as short as possible
- Avoid adaptors if possible
But
- Small connectors (SMA, MMCX, MC Card etc.) do not fit on thick cable, you haveto use thin cables...
Cable lengths up to 3m...
we normally use RG-58 or H-155, this allows for cables without the requirement of pigtails (mostly). Such a cable has usually less attenuation than a 'better' thicker cable plus a pigtail.
Cable lengths more than 3m and up to 8m...
we generally use H-155, a good low loss cable, only slightly thicker than RG-58, but only one third of the attenuation. We do offer RP-SMA, RP-TNC etc. connectors for this cable, so again we can manufacture the most cables without the requirement for pigtails and adaptors.
Cable length more than 8m...
we use cables like Ecoflex-10, Aircom+ or Ecoflex-15. Even when one has to use adaptors and pigtails (because the small connectors are not available for thicker cables) the calculation shows that the total loss is less than with a thinner cable without adaptors.
Equipment with RP-SMA connectors
Netgear, many D-Link, practically all PCI NICs, many other manufacturers.
| Original equipment antenna |
1m: 40320.1
3m: 40320.3 |
Antenna with SMA jack (female)
e.g. HIF-2400, VP165/24 |
1m: 40325.1
3m: 40325.3
>3m: please call |
Antenna incl. cable with SMA plug (male)
e.g. desk antenna 20116,
Window antenna LPA Multi (18620) |
Adaptor 42880 + Antenna |
Antenna with N jack (female)
e.g. PA-13R, VPx70/24, PA-2408, GP-2400 etc. |
2m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40340.2 or 40330.2
3m: 40330.3
5m: 40330.5
8m: 40330.8
Other lengths, please call
|
Antenna with N plug (male)
e.g. VC-2400, MG-200 |
2m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40345.2
5m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40345.5
8m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40345.8
Other lengths, please call
Alternativly with wall mountign bracket and N pass through:
2m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40340.2 + 42055 + 18615
3m: 40330.3 + 42055 + 18615
5m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40340.5 + 42055 + 18615
8m: 40310.SMR-NF + 40340.8 + 42055 + 18615
Other lengths on request
|
Equipment with Reverse-TNC connector
e.g. Teledat 730 Router, Linksys WRT-54G etc.
| Originalantenna equipment antenna |
1 to 8m: use RP-TNC extensions 40332.x |
Antenna with SMA jack (female)
e.g. HIF-2400, VP165/24 |
1 to 8m: use cable 40333.x |
Antenne with cable with SMA plug
e.g. desk antenna 20116,
window antenna LPA Multi (18620) |
Adapter 42803 + Antenna |
Antenna with N jack
e.g. PA-13R, VPx70/24, PA-2408, GP-2400 etc. |
1 to 8m: 40334.x
Other lengths on request
|
Antenna with N plug
e.g. VC-2400, MG-200 |
2m: 42801.REV + 40345.2
5m: 42801.REV + 40345.5
8m: 42801.REV + 40345.8
Andere Länge auf Anfrage
Alternatively with Wall mounting bracket and N pass through:
1 to 8m:40334.x + 42055 + 18615
Other length on request
|
Devices with MC-Card Anschluß (aka Lucent, Orinoco)
Many (but not all) PCMCIA cards by Lucent, Avaya, Compaq, Dell, Enterasys, HP, IBM, Lancom (Elsa), Toshiba etc.
| Original equipment antenna |
n/a |
Antenna with SMA jack
e.g. HIF-2400, VP165/24 |
30cm: 40300.S-M
Other lengths on request
|
Antenna with cable with SMA plug
e.g. 17010.12, Tischantenne 20116,
Window antenna LPA Multi (18620) |
40300.S-F + Antenna |
Antenna with N jack
e.g. PA-13R, VPx70/24, PA-2408, GP-2400 etc. |
30cm: 40300.N-M
50cm: 40300.N-M50
200cm: 40300.N-M200
2m: 40300.N-F + 40340.2
5m: 40300.N-F + 40340.5
8m: 40300.N-F + 40340.8
Other lengths on request
|
Antenna with N plug
e.g. VC-2400, MG-200 |
30cm: 40300.N-F
2m: 40300.N-F + 40345.2
5m: 40300.N-F + 40345.5
8m: 40300.N-F + 40345.8
Other lengths on request
Alternativly with Wall mounting bracket and N pass through:
2m: 40300.N-F + 40340.2 + 42055 + 18615
5m: 40300.N-F + 40340.5 + 42055 + 18615
8m: 40300.N-F + 40340.8 + 42055 + 18615
Other lengths on request
|
Devices with other connectors
Besides the connectory types mentioned above there are a lot of other models on the market: N, Reverse-N, BNC, Reverse-BNC, SMA left hand thread, TNC left hand thread, N left hand thread, Reverse-N with left hand thread and blue paint, MMCX, Amended MMCX, Reverse-MMCX, MCX, U.FL, H.FL, E.FL and lots of proprietary connectors.
We offer many (but not all) of these connectors and can manufacture cables on your request. Please call or send us an email.