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Antenna Plus Installation and Removal Instructions

How to Install and Remove Antenna Plus Products

u003cp style=u0022text-align: left;u0022u003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #000000;u0022u003ePlease see the installation and removal guides below, some of which include highlights, key points, and troubleshooting, as well as our product warranty:u003c/spanu003eu003c/pu003ernrnrnu003chr /u003ernrnu0026nbsp;rnu003culu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AdhesiveMount.pdfu0022u003eAdhesive Mount Antenna Installation Guideu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/MagnetMount.pdfu0022u003eMagnet Mount Antenna Installation Guideu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AdhesiveBoltMount.pdfu0022u003eCombined Adhesive u0026amp; Q Mount Antenna Installation Guideu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ULTRAMAX-GLASS.pdfu0022u003eULTRAMAX Glass Adhesive Mount Antenna Installation Guideu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AdhesiveMountRemoval.pdfu0022u003eAdhesive Mount Removal and Adhesive Pad Reinstallation Guideu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AdhesiveMountRemoval.pdfu0022u003ePermanent Adhesive Mount Antenna Removal Guideu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ern tu003cliu003eu003cspan style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022u003eu003ca style=u0022color: #3366ff;u0022 href=u0022https://airgain.com/antenna-plus-support/u0022u003eAirgain, Inc. One-Year Limited Warrantyu003c/au003eu003c/spanu003eu003c/liu003ernu003c/ulu003e

Antenna Plus became a valued part of Airgain, Inc. in April 2017 and the same industry leading products and technologies will continue to be available under the Airgain company name. For questions or customer support inquiries regarding the fleet, public safety, and M2M product lines, please contact:

Datasheet Term Guide

We understand it can be challenging to interpret all of the information presented in a datasheet, so please refer to this guide for a brief explanation of the most important items.

Simulated vs Measured Radio Frequency (RF) Data

Measured RF data is collected from the physical antenna in a test chamber and is more reliable than data from software simulations. All final RF data presented by Airgain is measured.

Ground Plane

A nearly flat, horizontal conducting surface which helps to reflect radio waves from a mounted antenna. If an antenna is not ground plane independent, then it must be mounted to a ground plane for optimal performance.

External vs Internal (or Embedded) Antenna

An internal antenna can be integrated inside a device such as a smartphone, whereas an external antenna can be mounted outside of a device.

Outdoor vs Indoor Antenna

Not to be confused with above, outdoor refers to if the antenna is rated to withstand outdoor environmental conditions such as rain and extreme temperatures. A common indicator is the Ingress Protection (IP) rating.

Ingress Protection (IP) rating

Formatted as IPXY, where X indicates protection against solids and Y indicates protection against liquids. The industry standard for X is a value of 6 which means dust-tight. The industry standard to be considered outdoor rated is at least 5 for Y which means protection against water jets, but higher numbers generally indicate more protection such as 7 for protection against immersion up to 1 meter in depth and 9K for protection against powerful high-temperature water jets.

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO)

Technology that uses multiple antennas at the receiver and transmitter to send more than one data signal simultaneously over the same radio channel to minimize errors, optimize speed and improve capacity.

Cellular Elements

Refers to the number of individual cellular antennas, which are also available for MIMO. At least two are required for full 4G LTE support (as well as Band 71 and CBRS), and at least four are required for full 5G support.

Cellular Frequency Ranges

The current US industry standard is 4G LTE (698-960 MHz, 1700-2700 MHz), but new 5G antennas expand coverage to include most of 600 MHz to 6 GHz.

Wi-Fi Elements

Refers to the number of individual Wi-Fi antennas, which are also available for MIMO.

Wi-Fi Frequency Ranges

The US industry standard is Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz, 5.0-6.0 GHz), but new antennas are taking advantage of Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 with additional coverage for 6.0-7.1 GHz.

A group of satellites that send position and timing data from their high orbits, with the Global Positioning System (GPS) being one of them.

Omni-directional Radiation Pattern

Refers to the antenna having similar RF performance in all directions. Any deviation from a perfectly omni-directional radiation pattern requires that the existing signal be diverted into a preferred direction.

Peak Gain: Isotropic

Refers to how much more power is transmitted in the direction of peak radiation compared to an equivalent isotropic antenna with a perfectly omni-directional radiation pattern and is expressed in units of dBi (decibels relative to an isotropic antenna). Higher peak gain comes at the expense of weaker signal in other directions, with 15 dBi considered very high and 3 dBi considered low. Keep in mind that peak gain will be diminished with added cable loss.

Cable Loss (Attenuation)

Attaching coaxial cable to an antenna introduces resistance. The resulting power loss is amplified with increased length, smaller diameter, and higher signal frequency. A standard cable is LMR-195 with 0.2” diameter, which loses 11 dB/100 ft at 900 MHz and 30 dB/100 ft at 5,800 MHz. Another common cable is LMR-100 with 0.1” diameter, which loses 23 dB/100 ft at 900 MHz and 64 dB/100 ft at 5,800 MHz.

Isolation

A measure of how much interference there is between antenna elements when one absorbs radiation from the other. The higher the absolute value of isolation, the less interference there is, with diminishing returns above 20 dB.

Return Loss

A measure of how much the RF signal is reflected back from the antenna due to impedance mismatch with the coaxial cable, instead of radiating out into the world. Zero return loss would indicate there is no loss in the returned signal and therefore all of the signal is being reflected. A low return loss like -6 dB would result in 25% of the signal being reflected, whereas -10 dB would result in only 10% of the signal being reflected.

Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR)

A dimensionless ratio that represents return loss in a different scale. VSWR of 3 is equivalent to -6 dB return loss and VSWR of 2 is equivalent to -10 dB. Notice that the values are inverted, so in this case lower VSWR is better.

Average Efficiency

A measure of how effectively the antenna is able to convert power supplied to power radiated, taken as an average over a specified frequency range for each element. This accounts for factors such as return loss, isolation, and cable loss. Good antennas are at least 40% efficient.

Correlation Coefficient

A measure of the independence between adjacent antenna elements, similar to Isolation. A lower value means multipath signals can have a higher degree of independence for optimal MIMO performance.

Right Hand Circular Polarization (RHCP)

Standard GNSS radiation pattern which maximizes gain at the Zenith.

Axial Ratio

Ratio of the vertical electric field to the horizontal electric field response, typically between 0.8 and 1.0.

Gain@Zenith

Zenith refers to the highest elevation angle, or perpendicular to the patch antenna, and is where gain is maximized. This value is amplified by the LNA.

Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)

Amplifies low-power signals without significantly degrading their signal-to-noise ratio, providing better reception of weak GPS signals.

Noise Figure

Represents the amount of noise contributed by an amplifier, typically between 0.5 to 1.5 dB for a LNA.

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