FreeWave Technologies offers an assortment of directional and omnidirectional antennas. While there are many factors to consider in making an antenna decision there are 3 inescapable truths:
FreeWave spread spectrum transceivers have a range spec of 20 miles with a 3" long unity gain whip antenna, using external antennas will improve performance. In general yagi antennas should be used for longer point to point links and omnis for shorter links or for repeater sites. However these are simply guidelines, with proper placement the type of antenna becomes secondary. As an example we know of installations where yagis are used for repeaters, with a 10 mile link coming into the back or side of the antenna.
FreeWave offers the following antennas, the omnis may be used with either bracket or magnetic mounts:
Antenna Part Number |
Type |
Gain |
Dimensions |
Notes |
EAN0900YA |
Yagi, directional |
10 dBd |
32" Long |
45 °H / 55°V Beamwidth; 100 MPH windload |
EAN0906YA |
Yagi, directional |
6 dBd |
17" Long |
50 °H / 45°V Beamwidth; 100 MPH windload |
EAN0905WC |
Omnidirectional |
5 dBd |
33" Tall |
Donut pattern, no ground plane required |
EAN0900WC |
Omnidirectional |
3 dBd |
12" Tall |
Donut pattern, open Coil |
We also can provide omnidirectional antennas with a horizontal polarization. Horizontal polarization may be very useful when one of the transceivers in a link is co-located near a page or cell phone tower, by effectively lowering the overall noise floor up to 20dB. When using Yagi antennas this is accomplished by turning both antennas in the link so the elements are horizontal to the ground. Out of band noise may also be reduced with the use of FreeWave band pass filters.
Cable type and connector assembly are also very important. FreeWave Technologies uses low loss RF cable designed for use at 900 MHz, with every cable shipped tested on a network analyzer for insertion and return loss. Many people will attempt to provide their own cable, not recognizing the implications of not using the proper cable. Performance of the transceiver will suffer drastically if the proper cable is not used.