40 | Antennas Antenna Types Omni Omnidirectional antennas radiate power uniformly in every direction on the horizontal plane. Most access points and client devices have omnidirectional antennas. Panel A flat antenna with a radiation lobe similar to a cone. It is directional and is normally used for point-to-point links or at the end-points of a point-to- multipoint network. Sector A flat antenna with a radiation lobe similar to a cone with an elliptical footprint. It is directional and is normally used in the central site of a point-to- multipoint network. Parabolic A dish-shaped, directional antenna with a radiation lobe similar to that of a panel antenna. It is usually larger than a panel and has a higher gain. Parabolic antennas are suitable for long-distance, point-to-point links. Gain Polarization Loss TopView TopView TopView TopView SideView SideView SideView SideView LOW GAIN LOW GAIN HIGH GAIN HIGH GAIN TopView TopView TopView TopView SideView SideView SideView SideView LOW GAIN LOW GAIN HIGH GAIN HIGH GAIN TopView TopView TopView TopView SideView SideView SideView SideView LOW GAIN LOW GAIN HIGH GAIN HIGH GAIN TopView TopView TopView TopView LO HI HI SideView SideView SideView SideView LOW GAIN LOW GAIN HIGH GAIN HIGH GAIN An omnidirectional antenna concentrates the signal in a 360° belt around it. The higher the gain, the thinner the belt, resulting in a better signal far from the antenna — but a narrower communication area. Panel and parabolic antennas have a nearly circular footprint. Low gain panels can be used for both short distance point- to-point and point-to-multipoint links, such as wireless coverage for user access. High-gain panel and parabolic antennas produce a focused beam, and are typically deployed in medium- to long-distance point-to-point links. A sector antenna footprint is a horizontal ellipse with a width of 30°, 60°, 90°, or 120°. High gain sector antennas have a vertically thinner footprint while keeping the same horizontal width, suited for the central site of a point-to-multipoint link or coverage of a certain “sector” in mobile networks. Gain expresses how much an antenna enhances its transmitted and received signals relative to a simple dipole. Gain is expressed in dB and is logarithmic. Polarization defines the position in space of electrical and magnetic fields. The best signal transfer happens when both transmitting and receiving antennas have the same polarization. A 90° difference between transmitting and receiving antennas may produce up to -30dB of signal attenuation. Loss is the attenuation or reduction in power of a system, expressed in dB. All cables and connector devices have a loss variable and must be considered when designing a wireless system, especially when directional antennas are used. FEATURES AN2458-10DP AN5158-16DP AN5158-19DP ENVIRONMENTAL Indoor / outdoor usage ■ ■ ■ TYPE Panel, MIMO Sector, MIMO Panel, MIMO FREQUENCY RANGE 2400~2500 MHz 4900~5850 MHz 5150~5850 MHz 4900~5850 MHz POLARIZATION Vertical / horizontal ■ ■ ■ GAIN 8 dBi @ 2.4GHz 10 dBi @ 5GHz 16 dBi 19 dBi BEAMWIDTH Vertical 57° @ 2.4GHz 42° @ 5GHz 11° 23° Horizontal 90° @ 2.4GHz 70° @ 5GHz 120° 80° CONNECTOR 2 × type N female 2 × type N female 2 × type N female COMPATIBLE EQUIPMENT TQ4400e ■ ■ ■