SignalDock - a handsfree signal enhancement solution for Smartphone users

Network coverage data from mobile operators typically shows that the vast majority of the population is covered by a least one mobile network. However, this often doesn't tell the whole story as in many cases Smartphone users are not receiving a viable signal (a signal stable enough to receive calls, texts or mobile data) indoors. This is often down to environmental conditions such as the materials used to build the house, the wall-thickness and on occasion the location of the nearest tower in relation to the property.

One solution is go with an active repeater where the signal is actively boosted by a powered amplifier and the network signal is re-radiated inside the building. However, in many countries including the UK the private use of active repeaters is prohibited by telecom regulating authorities (in the UK this is Ofcom), so this is not an legal option in you find yourself in such a territory.

Another solution if Smartphone manufacturers were to offer an extenal antenna connector on the back of the SmartPhone would be to directly connect a high gain antenna to the back of the phone to facilitate signal. Unfortunately Smartphone vendors do not offer this.

A new solution from Connex Technologies can help though. By using the newly launched SignalDock, Smartphone users can connect up 1 or 2 SmartPhones to an external high gain 4G/3G/GSM antenna and have the device indoors with a usable signal - it must be stressed here that the phone has to sit on the Signal Dock cradle to work properly so using the a handsfree kit or bluetooth headset would be the best way to make calls.

The SignalDock is effectively a cradle with two recessed areas that can each accommodate a SmartPhone. The phones are placed on an anti-slip mat and the external antenna is connected via connector on the underside of the SignalDock.

SignalDock - Connex's handsfree signal solution

A number of antenna options can be used - typically Connex recommends a high gain Omni-directional (radiates in every direction) antenna or a high gain directional antenna (radiates in one direction similar to a TV antenna). Once the external antenna is correctly positioned outside the building and connected to the SignalDock, the SmartPhones can be placed on the anti-slip mat and be operation.

The SignalDock solution is ideal for leisure and business use including narrowboats, holiday cabins and cottages, site offices, home office where being connected to receive calls, texts and e-mails is important without constantly having to run outside to communicate.

To purchase the SignalDock, please visit the Connex website at www.connextech.co.uk

EAD introduces new LTE/4G multiband outdoor omni antenna

The new LCO7270 antenna from EAD is a LTE/4G multiband (also includes 3G, GSM and cellular bands) omni antenna addressing frequencies from 690-2700 MHz in a compact form factor and is designed for continuous outdoor deployment.

Housed in a weatherproof Luran sheath, with a passivated aluminium base, the LCO7270 is groundplane independent therefore it doesn’t need a metal surface to operate effectively.  With gain of 2 dBi across the bands, the radiation pattern is omni-directional making it suitable for both fixed and mobile applications.

LCO7270 LTE/4G Multiband Antenna

Unlike other compact omni antennas that require a groundplane, the LCO7270's ability to mounted in free space, or on non-metal surfaces and enclosures is a tangible advantage. The antenna can be fitted with a number of connectors including N-Female Bulkhead (for stud-mounting, TNC-Female bulkhead (for stud mounting where a smaller mounting hole is required or where there is less real estate inside the enclosure), N-Male, TNC-Male, RP-TNC, SMA and RP-SMA.

There is also an option for a wall-mount version using a stainless steel L-Bracket.

This antenna will be shipping by mid-October. For more information, please contact us.

New 4G/Multiband Marine Antenna

The new UHF4G marine antenna manufactured by SCAN and distributed by Specialist Antennas is now available. Designed for marine applications and designed to mount onto 1" threaded pole, this new antenna offers 4G/3G and GSM access for offshore applications.

UHF4G 4G/Multiband Marine Antenna

With a full omni-directional radiation pattern across 790-960/1710-2170/2500-2690 MHz and offering 3 dB gain, the UHF4G antenna does not require a groundplane (i.e. need mounting on a metal surface) and supplied with a revolving locking nut will mate on pole and deck mounts with the standard 1 inch threaded end. The antenna is approximately 435mm long and is terminated in a N-Female connector.

The antenna can be purchased via the Connex webshop from approximately 22nd September. We will also be offering the antenna bundled with cables and mounts to address specific customer requirements, please contact us for more information.

What is Passive Intermodulation (PIM) and are there low PIM antennas for 4G in-building wireless networks?

In 4G/LTE, 3G and GSM networks, RF perfomance can be significantly affected by PIM (Passive Intermodulation) issues. In simple terms, PIM is a RF interference problem where 2 or high power signals mix across a passive component such as an antenna, connector, RF cable or duplexer. The presence of PIM in the transmission path may result in lower data throughputs, in calls being disconnected or dropped or limit the overall capacity/performance of the network.

Especially in new wireless in-building environments, we are seeing the advent of specific low PIM antennas which combat the problems of PIM and help to ensure that network performance is optimised.

The first low PIM 4G/Multiband antenna available through SAS in the UK is the Laird CMD69273P - a low PIM ceiling mount antenna covered worldwide 4G/cellular frequencies from 700-2700 MHz. Housed in a discrete radome, the CMD69273P is an effective performer for multi-band in-building deployments. Small quantities can be purchased via our webshop.

CMD69273P

For a directional 4G/Multiband MIMO antenna with low PIM capability, the Laird PAS69278P has been announced. It is a wide-band dual-port panel antenna with slant 45 polarization that covers the domestic LTE700/Cellular/PCS/AWS/MDS and global GSM900/GSM1800/UMTS/LTE2600 bands.

PAS69278P MIMO Low Pim Directional antenna

This directional antenna offers a minimum of 8 dBi gain on both antenna elements and is terminated in N-Female connectors.

PCTEL announces a number of in-building low PIM solutions pending.

PCTEL has also announced a number of new Low PIM antennas pending release so please contact us with your low PIM antenna requirements.

Five key considerations when deploying outdoor M2M antennas

We are witnessing an increasing number of outdoor deployments of antennas for M2M applications including security and CCTV systems, utilities, telemetry and monitoring and installations on roofs, walls, cabinets and other street furniture.  These applications are using many frequencies including 4G, 3G, LTE, GSM, WiFi / WLAN, 433 MHz and other ISM bands. There are also a wide breadth of antenna choices and we often see that many customers are unsure of what to consider when deploying antennas outdoors. So through this article we would like to give you some key points to consider.

Mounting:

One of the first questions to look at is where and how you are intending to mount the antenna. Some mounting methods are more likely to pose challenges in terms of weatherproofing that others.

Outdoor can have two interpretations - either the antenna is fully exposed to all elements or that the antenna is outside, but in a protected position. The position of mounting should have an influence on the antenna selected. If the antenna is fully exposed to all the weather mother-nature can throw at it, then the quality of the antenna materials should reflect that - i.e. fibreglass or UV-resistant plastics/sheath and weatherproof metal parts that will not oxidise or rust and also high quality accessories - mounting brackets, clamps, cables and connectors.

Antennas can be independent components such outdoor antennas for pole or wall-mount when usually as long as they are of quality construction and fully sealed then the bases are covered. When the antenna is cabinet, enclosure or street furniture mounted, then there is a point where the installation can become compromised.

For through-hole mount antennas, typically you have to drill a hole in the mounting surface and the antenna will have a stud (or hollow boss) through the middle of which the antenna cable exits. The antenna stud is placed through the hole in the mounting surface and there is a nut that is screwed onto the stud from underneath (the mounting surface) and holds the antenna in place. It is important to check the quality of the stud-nut combination. A weak stud and nut configuration does not lend itself to longevity. In addition, most quality antennas will have a thick, durable gasket sitting under the antenna so when the nut is tightened there is a really watertight seal where the antenna mounts. If the stud-mount antenna does not have a gasket or simply a meagre one, best to leave well alone. As a belt and braces approach, some installers add a thick layer of Mastick (waterproof bond) between the gasket and the mounting surface - this provides an even more durable seal to ensure absolute water tightness.

Materials:

In the selection of the antenna, it is wise to understand if the radome, sheath, body and other antenna material is suitable for long term outdoor use. As mentioned previously, fibreglass or expressly UV-resistant materials should be used. There is nothing worse than purchasing an antenna with a white radome that yellows after a short time mounted outside. Also in terms of the mounting brackets and clamps, ensure that these are galvanised metal or made of materials that are not going to corrode or rust.


Sealing/Bonding:

Time and time again we come across customers who have used low cost antennas outdoors and discovered to their cost that the antennas are very lightly glued or badly bonded and within a very short period of time the antennas are suffering an ingress of moisture or worse still the sheath or radome has become detached from the antenna body. This has two costs - one is the cost of a replacement antenna, second is the cost of second site visit which usually ends up costing way more than 10 antennas in the first place! We suggest you do check how well the antennas you intend to use are sealed and bonded and whether they are robust enough to withstand long term outdoor deployment.

 Connectors:

The choice of connectors is also critical when deploying outdoor antennas. Standard M2M connectors such as SMA or FME aren't bad, but definitely fall behind N-Type or TNC connectors when considering outdoor RF installations. The N-Male / N-Female and TNC-Male / TNC-Female connectors might be larger than SMA or FME, but they are a lot more robust and can tolerate more abuse! Also it is worth considering the type of panel-mount or bulkhead connectors you intend to use - make sure you select a panel mount connector with an O-Ring so, for example, when you mount the N-Female Bulkhead Jack against the inside of an enclosure there is a rubber O-Ring sitting between the flange of the bulkhead connector and the enclosure making a nice tight seal protecting against the ingress of moisture.

Accessories:

As a rule of thumb, M2M antenna deployments are only as good as the design, the products, planning and installation. This also should include the accessories - waterproof tape, waterproof bonds and sealants help to make a good installation better. There is nothing wrong with covering an installed coaxial connector with waterproof tape to help ensure longevity. Also when deploying other products in the installation - surge protection, splitters, RF cable etc. do make sure these are designed into the installation effectively so they do not introduce a point of failure/weakness into the otherwise weatherproof installation.

We hope the above considerations will aid you in the design of your outdoor installation and the selection of the appropriate antennas and associated products. We wish you a successful deployment.

4G Multiband MIMO Outdoor Omni antenna announced by EAD

Embedded Antenna Design Ltd (EAD) has announced an innovative 4G Multiband (4G/LTE/3G/GSM/Cellular) outdoor MIMO omni antenna for enclosure, wall and pole-mounting. Housed in a durable radome, the LMO7270 antenna is suitable for outdoor applications including leisure marine environments to improve reception of 4G (LTE), 3G and GSM signals.

LMO7270 MIMO 4G/Multiband Omni Antenna

The frequencies supported are 700, 800, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100 and 2600 MHz covering all major 4G, LTE, GSM and 3G frequency bands.

The LMO7270 measures approximately 187mm in height and 106mm at the base. It will be available with or without the wall/pole mount bracket and fed by two short pigtail cables, allowing for longer jumper cables to be connected for specific cable runs. The peak gain on each element is as follows:

Antenna Element 1
 Frequency     Peak Gain
 700-800 MHz     1.4 dBi
 800-960 MHz     2.0 dBi
 1710-2170 MHz     3.0 dBi
 2500-2700 MHz     3.3 dBi

Antenna Element 2
 Frequency     Peak Gain
 700-800 MHz     2.8 dBi
 800-960 MHz     3.0 dBi
 1710-2170 MHz     3.9 dBi
 2500-2700 MHz     3.9 dBi


The LMO7270 antenna is supplied with a gasket and a moulded nut as standard so the antenna can be installed as a permanent, through-hole mount solution to be mounted onto a non-metal surface or enclosure. Alternatively, the antenna can be ordered to include brackets for wall or pole mount.

The LMO7270 is just one of a comprehensive range of 4G, LTE, GSM, 3G and cellular antenna products available from EAD and Specialist Antennas. The Connex Technologies webshop has a wide range of 3G and 4G antennas available to purchase online. More information will be available on the LMO7270 antenna during November, in the meantime if you have any questions, please contact us via e-mail at sales@ead-ltd.com.

Broadband internet access on the move - how to stay connected with the right antenna...

High speed internet access on the move is becoming ever more a necessity as people wish to stay connected to family and friends, conduct business as well as needing to access information about local services. In mobile leisure applications, internet  access is increasingly important to the owners of boats, narrowboats and caravans, but due to the transient nature of the application having fixed line access or fixed wireless access is not appropriate, so owners have to turn to wireless services

There are a number of methods of wireless access, but 3G and 4G services are increasingly popular due to ever higher download speeds on offer. With a new generation of routers or personal hotspots, users can use 3G or 4G wireless to access the network and use WIFI capabilities to distribute the internet to devices on the boat or in the caravan. However, when parked or moored up in more remote areas or in weak signal areas, embedded antennas or simple "rubber duck" type antennas as supplied with the router or modem hardware might not be enough to establish a reliable 4G network connection. Therefore it makes sense to use a high quality 3G/4G antenna to connect to the network.

There are a variety of 3G/4G antenna options from mobile to magnetic, from permanent mount small or low profile antennas to high gain antennas for wall or pole mount. Which antenna to choose and how to use them can be daunting for the uninitiated! I'll try to help with a few pointers.....

Firstly, you need to understand your router, modem or dongle device. Many will have one or two antenna connectors, and you will need to establish what type of connector this is. Common connectors include SMA, TS9 and CRC9, but there are many others. If your device has two antenna connectors, it is handy to know if the device has diversity or MIMO (multiple in multiple out) options - in simple terms sometimes using two antenna ports with 2 antennas (or a single MIMO antenna - it should have 2 antenna cables and connectors) will improve the download speed.

Once you have established your antenna connector, it is time to figure out your antenna mounting options.

Mobile antennas - Typically there are two ways to use a mobile antenna - either laptop-mount or window mount. For laptop mount, there is typically a plastic hook supplied with the antenna that can slide over the lid of the laptop and the mobile antenna can be mounted onto the hook.  Alternatively the antenna can be window-mounted with suction cups and then the antenna cable(s) can be routed back to the modem or router. See the WA_700_2700 as a good example of 4G 3G 2G (supports all bands) mobile MIMO antenna for laptop or window mount.

Magnetic antennas - There are usually two options for magnetic mount antennas. Low cost rubber style magnetic antennas like the Pentamag antenna (3G and GSM only) or full-on rugged, robust low profile antennas such as the LTE-HIGAIN-MAG (4G with fall back to 3G and 2G). Typically they have one cable and connector to connect up to the antenna port on the modem or router and are mounted outside the vehicle, boat or portacabin and mounted onto metal surface. So with the magnetic antenna’s gain and new location you are able to pick up a signal and through the cable route this down to the modem or router - for example, in a narrowboat the router is inside without signal and the magnetic antenna is outside picking up a 4G signal. A magnetic antenna is perfect when you do not want a permanent antenna installation (i.e wall-mount or stud-mount  i.e. drilling a hole through the skin of vehicle or boat) and would like to move the antenna around or remove it to avoid damage or vandalism. Bear in mind magnetic antennas are ideally mounted onto a conductive metal surface as they need the metal surface in order to radiate properly.

High gain antennas for Wall or Pole mount - there are number of high gain outdoor antenna options open to 4G users - high gain omni-directional (they radiate in every direction pretty much equally) antennas or high gain directional (work in one direction only similar to traditional house mounted TV antennas). High gain antennas can be wall or pole mounted, some can be both. What they offer is higher performance in terms of receiving the signal and then they pass this signal along a low loss cable to the modem or router. A fine example of a high gain omni antenna for wall or pole mount is the FGO antenna. This offers up to 5 dBi gain for 4G, 3G and 2G frequencies. A directional antenna will offer more gain than an omni, but is a bit more restrictive as you have to point it at the local 4G mast, but you will benefit from an increased gain of perhaps 9 dBi or 10 dBi - an example of this is the LPP7270 pole-mount antenna. In mobile applications, wall-mount antennas are not ideal, but it is possible to fabricate a temporary bracket on which mount a wall-mount antenna if pole-mounting a high gain antenna is not suitable.

Now we have understood the mounting options, there are always other considerations, some of these are:

Long cables = higher signal loss - unless you are using very thick low loss cable then as a rule of thumb, the longer the coaxial cable, the more signal loss (or attenuation) you are likely to get reducing the usable signal strength received at the modem or router and thereby impacting your download speed. In an ideal world, cable lengths should be no longer than really necessary.

Nearby objects - If possible try to mount your antenna away from large objects or obstructions and most importantly from any protruding metal surfaces (the metal surface on magnetic antennas are mounted excepted of course). Obstructions and metal objects close to the radiating element of the antenna can impact the propagation properties of the antenna and adversely affect antenna performance and in turn hinder download speeds.

Elevation - in many cases the higher up the antenna is mounted the better chances of signal reception - so do bear this mind when window-mounting or choosing a metal surface for the magnetic antenna. Needless to say, the better signal you get the better download speed is possible.

Antenna and Cable Quality – remember not all antennas are made equal and this can have an impact on your download speeds. Spurious claims about antenna gain are prevalent in the market so it is advisable to make sure that antenna you are purchasing is from a reputable manufacturer and vendor. Likewise choosing a quality cable such as BWL195 or BWL400 from a quality cable manufacturer should ensure that cable losses are minimised.

For a portfolio of 4G antennas, please visit our websites at EAD, SAS and Connex. A selection of these antennas can be purchased directly from our webshop at the Connex site.

4G MIMO on the move - the WA700/2700 keeps you connected

A new multiband mobile antenna for laptop or window mount has been release and will shortly be available at the Connex webshop. The WA700/2700 covers 4G, LTE, 3G and GSM frequency bands and has 2 x cable/connectors to connect to modems or routers with MIMO capability. Ideal for mobile applications for 4G routers or modems with 2 antenna ports, the WA700/2700 is supplied with suctions cups for window mounting. Initially, the antenna will be available with dual SMA or dual TS9 connectors.

WA700/2700 4G multiband mobile antenna

 The antenna augments our growing offering of 4G antenna products including magnetic antennas, panel antennas, omni antennas and mobile antennas.

For more information, visit our webshop on 4G antennas or visit www.ead-ltd.com or www.specialistantennas.co.uk for further product information.

New high gain omni antenna has 4G, 3G and 2G covered

A new high gain omni antenna from EAD/Specialist Antennas supporting European 4G/LTE, 3G and 2G services has been announced. The FGO antenna from EAD is designed for outdoor access applications where a high gain antenna is required.

FGO High Gain Omni Antenna

Housed in a fibreglass sheath, the FGO is ideal for applications using 4G networks whilst supporting 3G and 2G frequencies should fall back from 4G be required. Offering 4 dBi/5 dBi /4 dBi on the lower, middle and upper bands respectively, the antenna can be pole-mounted or wall-mounted and is ideal for applications such as CCTV, security and broadband access. The FGO antenna is terminated in a N-Female connectors. Jumper cables can be customised to order.

The FGO antenna will start shipping in mid-March 2013.

For more information and the specification sheet, visit the EAD website at www.ead-ltd.com and download the datasheet or contact us at sales@ead-ltd.com. Online sales are possible at our webshop at www.connextech.co.uk.