Antenna mounts do more than just affix antennas to vehicles, vending machines, digital signage, rooftops, or shipping containers. They can also protect the antenna and help maximize both the reliability and performance of the applications that depend on it. Those roles highlight why mounts shouldn’t be an afterthought when selecting cellular and GNSS antennas for consumer, enterprise, and mission-critical use cases.
Types of Antenna Mounts
One way to narrow down the field of mount options is by focusing on time: Will the antenna be installed permanently or temporarily? If it’s the latter, a magnetic mount is a good choice because it’s easy to move the antenna to other locations as needed.
A pole mount can be a good fit for both temporary and permanent installations. An example is a cellular-enabled video camera used to monitor a section of highway because it’s under construction (a temporary installation) or for traffic management (a permanent installation). A pole mount also is a viable option for building installations, such as when the ideal location for the antenna is a rooftop, parapet, or wall.
Some antennas are installed on mobile assets. A magnetic mount is a viable option if the installation is temporary. If it’s permanent, the choices depend on the asset type. For example, if it’s a truck, bulldozer, or forklift, it may have the style of mirrors that can easily accommodate a rail mount such as the Taoglas MA5022 for GNSS antennas.
Another option is a screw mount, which is a good fit for mobile assets such as vehicles and shipping containers, as well as fixed assets such as digital signage. Screw mounts typically are built into the base of the antenna. One example is the Taoglas Olympian III antenna for GNSS and 4G/5G.
Aesthetics and security are two other considerations that often help determine the type of mount. For example, adhesive mounts are a good fit for cellular and/or GNSS antennas that need to be inside the vehicle to keep them hidden and/or protected from damage or tampering. The Taoglas TFX125.A multi-band GNSS polymer antenna includes an adhesive backing to facilitate installations on inside of the windshield.
How Mounts Optimize Performance and Reliability
The windshield example also highlights one of the ways that mounts help maximize application reliability and performance. The Taoglas TFX125.A is designed to be mounted at the top of the windshield to ensure that it will always face up at the sky, thus ensuring a clear view of GNSS satellites.
A mount also can help ensure that end users install their GNSS antenna so it’s right hand circularly polarized (RHCP) to match the polarization of the satellite signals. When a device’s antenna and the satellite don’t have the same polarization — a problem known as mismatch — at least half of the signal (~3 dB) can be lost. That can undermine application performance and reliability because GNSS signals are already relatively weak by the time they reach the Earth.
In the case of cellular, the right mounting solution ensures that the antenna is installed in a location that maximizes link budgets to boost performance. An example is using a bracket or pole mount to enable an outdoor installation away from RF noise sources or away from thick concrete walls and other physical obstructions that attenuate signals.
Another example is how mounts help ensure end users install a cellular or GNSS antenna in a location that provides a ground plane, which optimizes the strength of the signals that it’s transmitting or receiving. (For more information about how ground planes work, see “Understanding Ground Planes for Cellular and GNSS Devices.”)
For example, a screw or magnetic mount can be used to facilitate installation of a cellular antenna on a vehicle’s roof or trunk. Those metallic surfaces serve as the ground plane.
With both cellular and GNSS, antenna height often is important for maximizing signal coverage and link budgets. A pole mount such as the Taoglas PMB.L.SYN.22 bracket kit helps make it easier for end users to install the antenna at the right height, such as a rooftop or on a rafter inside a warehouse.
A high-quality mount can withstand the elements and thus avoid passive intermodulation (PIM) due to rust and corrosion. In cellular, PIM creates RF noise that affects signal quality, performance, and reliability.
Finally, regardless of the type of mount, antenna, and technology, always follow the manufacturer’s installation guides and other documentation. This collateral provides critical information such as the antenna’s radiation pattern, which helps determine the right mount to ensure an installation that maximizes link budget, performance, and reliability. The manufacturer’s documentation also can be used to develop guides for the antenna’s end users to prevent common problems such as installing the antenna inside a metal cabinet or inside a room with steel studs.
