What is an outdoor wireless antenna ?!
An outdoor wireless antenna is referred to a device used for transmitting radio signals from one point to another point. the use cases of this devices are mostly presented in these several areas:
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs),
- Private Companies,
- Government infrastructure,
What are the main components of an outdoor Wireless antenna ?!
the main components of an outdoor wireless antennas are as follows:
- Antenna Reflector: as the name suggests, this part is used to reflect or direct the receiving signals from the sender or send the signals produced from the radio attached to the antenna horn (more on that later) to the reflector in order to send the signal to the other end of the wireless link you can see an example picture of a wireless antenna reflector below an antenna reflector is usually made of an aluminum alloy.
- Antenna Feeder (LMB): the feeder of an antenna is used to direct the wave made by radio to the antenna reflector and its also made up of three main components:
- Hoper: this part of the feeder acts a mini reflector that forwards the signals to the main bigger reflector that we talked about in the last section this section is usually combination of plastic and aluminum alloy.
- Waveguide: as the name suggests this part is responsible for transferring the wave produced from the radio to the hoper (mini-reflector) and its sealed so that no signal is leaked form it, this part is also usually made from aluminum alloy.
- Horn: the last part of the antenna feeder it is the bridge between the radio and antenna and where two Sma/Ntype connectors are present so that the frequencies produced from the radio can flow to the reset of the feeder parts as mentioned above and finally it can reach the target receiver at the end of the wireless link.
- Antenna mount kits: the foundation of the wireless antenna used to hold and secure the antenna to the mounting point that can be a simple pole or a telecommunication mast.
What are the main use cases of an outdoor Wireless antenna ?!
The main use cases of an outdoor wireless antennas are:
- Multipoint Forwarding: Forwarding data from one access point to several station in the same time.
- Distance Forwarding: Forwarding data in high distances +10 km.
- Wide area Coverage: Forwarding data in an wide are with +10 users and stations that is not possible using ordinary indoor antennas.
What are the key differences between an outdoor and indoor Wireless antenna ?!
Mainly its all about the size of the antenna and its placement. outdoor antenna as the name suggest is placed outside the house mainly on the roof of the house as for indoor antennas it is used inside of a house. indoor antenna is manufactured in smaller sizes as it is used to cover smaller areas mainly inside the house or inside a specific room however outdoor antennas are larger in size so that it can cover more areas.
Pic.3 difference between indoor and outdoor wireless antennas.
Hope you enjoy reading this article, in your opinion what other features an outdoor wireless antenna must have ?!