CTS 072: Guide to Using External Antennas

Why should you use external antennas in your Wi-Fi environment? There are many reasons you should use them. In this episode, we talk about what to look for in external antennas, what to watch out for when deploying them, and what details to keep in mind. We are used to internal antennas from our access points. Have you considered using external antennas to meet your Wi-Fi requirements? In this episode, we provide some educational material around external antennas. Yes, they do add some cost to a project but it’s not much compared to the solution they bring to your Wi-Fi network. There are use cases for external antennas and below are the topics we talk about during the episode. This episode is proudly sponsored by AccelTex Solutions. They are providing a special offer just for our listeners. If you head over to their products page and use promo code CTS Podcast 72 they will send you a free antenna sample of your choice. Episode Contents * Why use antennas, other than the ones built into the AP? * Aesthetics * Direct signal * To meet requirements * Use outdoor * Antenna types * Omni * Signal in 360 degrees * Semi-directional * Ranges in degrees such as 65 degrees, 120 degrees, etc * Patch * Directional * Dish * Yagi * Antenna details * Beamwidth * Azimuth and elevation pattern * Lobes * Gain * Passive * Connectors * RPTNC * RPSMA * Elements * Isolation * Antennas hearing each other * Horizontal * Vertical * Orientation * Antenna Polarization * Important for indoors? * MIMO * Outdoor PtP links * Design * When designing Wi-Fi be sure to use the right antennas * Deployment * Mount the antennas properly * Get the right angle * Consider spacing between antennas * Don’t connect two antennas to one access point, unless you’re using something like a DART connector on the Cisco 3802E * Personal experience * High density * Outdoor * Special use cases     Links and Resources * AccelTex Solutions (episode sponsor) * Planes, Gains, and Beamwidths via AccelTex * Understanding Dual Polarized Antennas via AccelTex * Omnidirectional Antennas * Cisco Aironet Antenna Reference Guide * Meraki – All About Antennas This Week In Wireless * CWNP WiFiTrek Conference in Orlando – Registration is open * Mojo Networks announces new