Chapter 6

WLAN Antennas and Accessories

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Objectives
Upon completion of this part, you will be able to: Identify the basic attributes, purpose, and function of the different types of antennas Omni-directional/dipole Semi-directional Highly-directional Describe the proper locations and methods for installing antennas Explain the concepts of polarization, gain, beam width, and free-space path loss Identify the purpose of the different wireless LAN accessories

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RF Antennas
Device used to convert high frequency electrical signals on a transmission line (a cable or waveguide) into propagated waves (RF) in the air. The physical dimensions of an antenna, are directly related to the operating frequency. The electrical fields emitted from antennas are called beams or lobes. Three generic categories of RF antennas: Omni-directional Semi-directional Highly-directional
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Dipole/Omni Antenna
Isotropic radiator: radiates in all directions equally (forming a sphere). Example?? Omni Antenna: Produce 360-degree horizontal beam in a shape of doughnut

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Dipole/Omni Antenna Radiation Pattern

Low gain Omni antenna:

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Dipole/Omni Antenna Radiation Pattern

High gain omni antenna:

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Dipole/Omni Antenna
A common omni antenna is dipole antenna Containing one or more -wavelength elements joined together. As the frequency gets higher, the wavelength becomes smaller. (-wavelength at 2.4GHz is about 2 inches) Radiated energy is concentrated into a doughnut region. The standard antenna used for dBd measurement: A dipole antenna with a gain of 2.14dBi

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Structure of a typical dipole antenna

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Example Dipole/Omni Antennas

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Dipole/Omni Antenna
Scenario 1: You will install Wireless LAN in a tradeshow house with 40-foot high ceiling. What type of antenna should you choose? Where should you place the antenna? High gain or low gain antenna is more suitable, why?

40 feet

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Dipole/Omni Antenna
Scenario 2: Point-to-Multipoint Link (hub-n-spoke) Large coverage areas are needed around a central point

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Semi-directional Antennas
Direct the energy from the transmitter significantly more in one particular direction rather than the uniform, circular pattern Back lobe and side lobes should be taken into consideration

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Structure of Yagi antenna

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Example Semi-directional Antennas

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Semi-directional Antennas
Ideally used for short and medium range bridging down along hallways or corridors: up to 3.3 km Point-to Point wireless bridging: Improve security Eliminate the need for multiple access points

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Semi-directional Antennas radiation pattern

Front lobe, back lobe, side lobes

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Semi-directional Antennas
Azimuth and elevation charts: A standard way of representing an antennas coverage pattern Azimuth chart shows a top-down view of the antennas coverage. Elevation chart shows a side-view of the antennas coverage. The rings represent different signal strengths The external ring is normally marked 0dB

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Semi-directional Antennas

Azimuth chart: E-plane

Elevation charts: H-plane

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Highly Directional Antennas

Emit the most narrow signal beam Have the greatest gain Typically concave, dish-shaped devices Ideal for long distance, point-to-point wireless links: 3 to 42 km Must be mounted accurately to aim at each other Radiation pattern:

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Highly Directional Antennas

Highly-directional dish antenna Beam width 4 - 5 degrees

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Highly Directional Antennas

Highly-directional grid antenna Beam width 5-10 degrees

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RF Antenna Concepts
Polarization Gain Beamwidth Free Space Path Loss

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Polarization
Polarization Electro-magnetic field:
A radio wave is made of up two fields, one electric and one magnetic which are on planes perpendicular to each other

Physical orientation of the antenna along horizontal or vertical plane: indicates orientation of E-Plane

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Polarization

Horizontal Polarization
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Vertical Polarization
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Polarization
Horizontal polarization - the electric field is parallel to the ground Vertical polarization - the electric field is perpendicular to the ground If two antennas are not aligned correctly, what happens??? Sometime turning your laptop may have better receiving quality, why???

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Polarization
No signal will be received!

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Gain
Gain Antenna gain is specified in dBi, which means decibels referenced to an isotropic radiator An isotropic radiator radiates power equally in all directions simultaneously. Gain=0dBi The gain is passive No increasing to the input power, but rather shape the radiation field The higher the antenna gain, the farther the wave will travel

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Gain

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Gain

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Beamwidth
Beamwidth A measure of the angle between the two halfpower(-3 dB) points on either side of the main lobe Narrowing, or focusing antenna beams increases the antennas gain (measured in dBi)

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Beamwidth
Each type of antenna has different beamwidth specifications

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Free-space Path Loss

Free-space Path Loss
As transmitting, the wave front end becomes widening the loss incurred by an RF signal due to "signal dispersion" which is a natural broadening of the wave front Power level decreases at a rate inversely proportional to the distance traveled and proportional to the wavelength of the signal

PathLoss = 22 + 20 log 10 d 20 log 10

( d: travelled distance in m : wav e length in m )
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Antenna Distance
The 6-dB rule 6 dB loss induced for a distance doubled Each 6 dB increase in EIRP equates to a doubling of covered range A 6-dB of reduction in EIRP translates into a cutting of the range in half.

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Antenna Distance
The table below is used to calculate the link budget at 2.4GHz

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Antenna Distance

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Antenna Distance

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Link budget/system operating margin

Refers to the calculation of the amount of excess signal strength a station is receiving relative to its receive sensitivity. (Expressed in dBm.) Receive sensitivity is the absolute weakest signal strength that the radio can reliably receive with a bit-error-rate remaining below a certain threshold. Useful for long-distance outdoor point-to-point links, such as a wireless bridge link between two buildings.

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Fade margin
In reality, the strength of an 802.11 signal wont stay constant. When planning for a WLAN installation, its common to include a few extra dB of signal strength to the link budget. This extra signal strength is known as : fade margin Fade margins of between 10 and 20dB are common for both indoor and outdoor installations.

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Antenna Mounts
Antennas can be mounted on: ceiling mount - hung from drop ceilings wall mount pillar mount - mounts flush to a perpendicular surface ground plane - sits flat on the ground mast mount - mounts to a pole articulating mount - movable mast mount chimney mount Tripod-mast- sits on top of a tripod
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Antenna Mounts

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Antenna Mounts

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Antenna Installation/configuration
Proper orientation: same polarization Precise alignment: for best throughput Secure mounting Avoid conductive areas Prevent moisture Avoid obstructions Best coverage

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RF Antenna Safety
Factory manuals Keep distance from transmission area Avoid metal obstructions Professional installer Avoid power lines: distance twice the antenna height Use grounding rods to protect antenna from lighting strike

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WLAN Accessories
RF Amplifiers RF Attenuators Lightning Arrestors Ground rods/wires RF Connectors RF Cables RF Splitters

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RF Amplifiers
RF Amplifiers To increase the amplitude of an RF signal when compensating for the loss either due to the distance or the length of cable The GAIN is measured in +dB "phantom voltage" : Normally powered using DC voltage fed onto the RF cable with a DC injector near the AP

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RF Amplifiers

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RF Amplifiers
RF amplifiers come in two types: unidirectional and bi-directional (close to antenna) Before selecting an antenna, must know: Impedance (ohms) Gain (dB) Frequency response (range in GHz) VSWR Input and output (mW or dBm) specifications FCC violations results in fines of $27,500 $1,200,000
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RF Amplifiers
Fixed, linear RF amplifiers are recommended Placed close to the antenna Mounted to a solid surface facing down to keep water out

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RF Attenuators
RF Attenuators A device that causes precisely measured loss (in dB) in an RF signal Placed close to the antenna

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RF Attenuators
All attenuators should come with a calibration report and certificate

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Lightning Arrestors
Lightning Arrestors Used to shunt transient current into the ground that is caused by lightning Protecting wireless LAN hardware such as APs, bridges

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Lightning Arrestors

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Lightning Arrestors
A lightning arrestor can generally shunt (redirect) surges of up to 5000 Amperes at up to 50 Volts. 1. Lightning strikes a nearby object 2. Transient currents are induced into the antenna or the RF transmission line 3. The lightning arrestor senses these currents and immediately ionizes the gases held internally to cause a short directly to earth ground IEEE standard conduct time < 8 us

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Lightning Arrestors
Cost will be between $50 - $150 for any brand

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Ground rods/wires
A ground system has two purposes To provide a safe path for lightnings current to travel to ground (the earth). To ensure that all connected electrical systems have a common ground. Grounding: driving a copper rod into the earth, then connecting equipment to that rod via lowimpedance wires. The National Electrical Council (NEC) requires a minimum depth of 8 feet.

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RF Splitters
RF Splitters A device that has a single input connector and multiple output connectors Passive device

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RF Splitters
Choosing an RF Splitter Insertion loss: <0.5dB Frequency response Impedance: 50 ohms VSWR rating: <1.5:1 High isolation impedance Power ratings Connector types: N-type or SMA type Calibration report Mounting DC voltage passing
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RF Connectors
RF connectors: Normally 50 ohm impedance Insertion loss <0.5 dB Frequency range

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RF Cables
RF cables Lowest loss Cable within the budget Impedance 50 ohms Frequency response. E.g. a rating of at least 2.5GHz for 2.4 GHz WLAN VSWR RG-58 cable should not be used as extensions to the antenna

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RF Cables
Three major manufacturers: Andrew: Heliax cable Times Microwaves: LMR (Industry standard)

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RF pigtail Adapter Cable

RF pigtail Adapter Cable Used to adapt proprietary connectors to industry standard connectors like N-type and SMA connectors

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Frequency Converter
Frequency Converter used for converting one frequency range to another for the purpose of decongesting a frequency band

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Frequency Converter
Example: Building-to-Building wireless connectivity to allocate more than 3 nonoverlapping connections

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Bandwidth Control Unit

BCU: Wireless LANs are a shared medium with very low throughput in comparison with wired LAN For outdoor WISPs: Bandwidth should be controlled such that each user has a reliable and consistent connectivity and gets what they are paying for For Indoor: to give indoor LAN users as much bandwidth as possible by not overloading access points

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Operation of BCU
Work by filtering on MAC addresses in order to drop each user into a pre-assigned queue Each queue has particular properties such as upstream and downstream bandwidth Multiple users might be put into the same queue for precise bandwidth control and accounting per user

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BCU Management Software

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Test Kits
Test Kits Used for testing cables and connectors Consist of an RF signal generator and a through-line power meter

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Chapter 6 Notes

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