Are you in the market for a new antenna? 4G (LTE), 5G or maybe something different? Make sure to read this article that covers all basics. In this article we will discuss Poynting antennas mostly, since they’re the best in our opinion, but the information given is also applicable to other brands like Scan or Panorama.
Choosing an antenna can be tricky and even a little daunting for the uninitiated. That’s why we should jump a little bit in three specs before jumping in this article; IP Rating, peak gain and frequency bands. What do they do? how do they influence what you should buy? You can read each of those articles by clicking on them.
At mifi-hotspots.com we’re experienced at choosing the right antenna for you, so if you have any questions give us a call tel:+31165380003 or / and email us at info@mifi-hotspots.com.
From its roots in 1990, Poynting Antennas has grown to become a substantial supplier of advanced antennas. The holding company, Poynting Holdings is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's (JSE) AltX.
Poynting manufactures antenna products in the range of 3 MHz up to 8 GHz. On our website mifi-hotspots.com we are offering all kind of Poynting antennas for mobile broadband GSM/3G/HSPA/LTE, WLAN and more.
Besides all of this, Poynting just makes very good looking antennas.
Now, you’re ready to choose your antenna. The first question you’ve got to ask yourself is: is the antenna going to be moving while you're using it?
If you're on a boat, campervan, mobile home, or another moving object pick an omnidirectional antenna rather than a directional one. The orientation of your antenna with respect to any base station will change as you move through space if you are a moving object. Omni antennas can be utilized in this situation because they don't need a set orientation and can broadcast and receive radiofrequencies in any direction.
You'll need a marine antenna if you're mounting your antenna on a boat out at sea. These are normally extremely weather- and water-resistant, and they often have a salt-resistance coating to prevent corrosion. You'll need good range while at sea, therefore they're often larger and have high gain. Poynting OMNI 291's are IP68 rated and adhere to the requirements for salt spray resistance.
Since these are sea antennas, creating a MIMO (multiple-in, multiple-out) array with two of them will yield the best performance. For the required spatial diversity, the antennas must be separated by at least 60 cm both horizontally and vertically. The Poynting MIMO 402 and MIMO-3-V2 can also meet these requirements if you need something smaller.
The antenna won't need to be as weatherproof if you're putting it to a road vehicle, but it still needs to be able to endure road shocks and bumps in addition to being exposed to the elements.
Particularly if you're driving a large vehicle under bridges, size is probably going to matter more. As a result, we will provide an alternative to Marine antennas that has a flatter profile. We advise using the MIMO-3-V2-12 for this purpose. This is ideal for all purposes because of its low profile omni-directionality and IP and IK ratings.
Choose the MIMO-3-V2-15 version if you require GPS and WiFi in addition to cellular service. Poynting's PUCK-5 also meets these requirements, therefore it would be worthwhile to consider even though it won't perform as well because of its significantly smaller size.
If you're not relocating, a fixed wireless access solution is what you need. This makes utilizing a directional antenna possible, but whether you mount it in an urban or rural region does matter.
Since there are more buildings blocking the way in metropolitan locations, it is considerably more challenging to maintain a direct line of sight to your neighbourhood mast. Buildings will reflect base station signals in unanticipated ways, making it difficult to position an antenna properly to capture these reflections.
This issue is resolved by an omnidirectional antenna, which effectively receives signal from any direction. As a general rule, use a directional antenna if you can see your base station from where you will be installing it (LoS; Line of Sight). In this situation, the Poynting XPOL-2-5G is the best choice.
You might benefit from a Yagi antenna like the Poynting LPDA-92 LTE in this location, but since it’s so powerful you have to let a professional install it. Installation-wise, the XPOL-2-5G is significantly more accommodating while still delivering good performance.
As was previously stated, directional antennas won't work as well in cities. In this case, omnidirectional antennas are your go to, but if room is limited, you won't want anything too big. Because of this, mounting the antenna outside is a major factor to take into account.
If you have to install it indoors, you need to consider a smaller antenna and, ideally, it will allow you to mount it directly into a window so there are fewer obstacles between the antenna and the signal you wish to receive, which will improve performance.
The Poynting XPOL-1-5G would be the ideal fixed wireless access antenna in metropolitan areas, in our opinion. It performs well throughout a wide frequency range, whether you put it indoors or outside. It’s also 5G ready for locations that already have access to the technology. Poynting PUCK-2 also meets these requirements if you're ready to forgo performance in favor of a lesser price.
There you have it. As many applications there are, there are even more solutions. This article has covered all there is about antennas in the basics. Want to learn more about what solution might work for you project, problem or application? Get in touch and we’ll help you right away.
Halderbergselaan 7a
4741 AA Hoeven
The Netherlands
T: 0031 165 380003
info@mifi-hotspots.com
