Antennas with different polarizations don’t work well together – if they work together at all. That’s a problem if you install a replacement antenna with a polarization that doesn’t match that of your other antennas. Let’s say a base station uses a vertically polarized antenna to communicate with mobile equipment. A horizontally polarized antenna is then installed on a vehicle. Unless the vehicle and the base station are close together, these mismatched antennas won’t support reliable communications.
Understanding Antenna Polarizations
There are many different antenna polarizations. In addition to vertically and horizontally polarized antennas, there are devices that have a 45-degree slant pattern. There are also antennas with either a right-hand circular polarization or a left-hand circular polarization. These latter two types only work with antennas that have the same polarization. In other words, an antenna with a right-hand circular polarization won’t work with an antenna that has a left-hand circular polarization – or anything else.
Multi-Polarized Antennas vs. Single-Polarity Antennas
MP Antenna solves these and other challenges through multi-polarization. With a multi-polarized antenna, devices can communicate regardless of differences in polarization. With our base station example, a vehicle with a multi-polarized antenna can send and receive signals from a mountaintop, underground, or while on the same plane as the base station. In other words, the vehicle antenna doesn’t need to have the same vertical polarity as the base station antenna.
Underground Mining Example
Multi-polarized antennas are especially useful in mining operations with line of sight (LOS) obstructions. However, some underground mines use antennas with a right-hand circular pattern. Because these antennas can only communicate with other antennas that have the same radiation pattern, communications with mobile assets can suffer. By using mining network antennas like the ones in the MP-0930 series, however, base stations and vehicle operators have established better communications.
Automated Warehouse Example
With single-polarity antennas, automated warehouses that have multiple zones can experience poor communications in some areas and non-exist communications in others. By using the multi-polarized Micro Omni antenna, however, warehouses have improved communications – and without changing infrastructure. In other words, warehouse operators have kept their existing infrastructure and configuration. All they needed to do was change their antennas to solutions from MP.
Ask MP Antenna for Replacement Antennas
Do you need to replace antennas for mining or agriculture networks, indoor or outdoor deployments, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), unmanned systems, transit and rail, or HAM radio and scanners? How about land mobile radio, mobile data, or DAS and BDA? Multi-polarized antennas from MP Antenna have solved tough challenges in these and many other applications. To learn more, contact us.