ALL ABOUT ANTENNAS

According to the Institution of Elctrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), antenna is simply defined as A means for radiating or receiving radio waves. An antenna array system is defined as a radiating system consisting of several spaced and properly phased radiators.

Types of antennas on the basis of radiation pattern

Cell Site Antennas

The design of the cell site allows for:  Omni-directional antennas  Directional antennas  GPS antennas

Omnidirectional Antenna
The omni-directional antennas are high-gain and vertically polarized. The power gain (averaged over 360 degrees) relative to the half-wave dipole is 9.0 dB. Omni-directional antennas are end-supported but electrically center-fed, which minimizes the antenna pattern squint angle change over the frequency band. The antennas are approximately 14 feet long (including the mounting) and are placed in a 3-inch diameter fiberglass housing, providing structural rigidity and weather protection. The omni-directional antennas are typically mounted at the corners of a triangular platform at the top of a free-standing steel mast. Additional omni-directional antennas may be mounted at the center of each face. In the basic all-omni-directional configuration, up to six voice channel transmit antennas, one setup transmit antenna, and two receiving antennas are used. The receiving antennas feed all cell site voice channel radios, setup radios, and locating radios. Note that a combination of the all-omni-directional configuration may be used with some combination of the 3-face/6-face directional configuration.

Omnidirectional Antenna

Directional Antenna
The directional antennas are vertically polarized and operate in the azimuthal direction. They have a power gain at the antenna beam center of approximately 8.0 dB relative to a half-wave dipole. The maximum minor lobe level of the radiation patterns, in both the horizontal and vertical planes, does not exceed 15 dB (compared to the maximum radiation level of the main lobe). Directional antennas are mounted on each face of the platform, behind contoured dielectric covers. This enhances the appearance of the antenna assembly and protects the antennas from ice. The antenna mast and platform assembly is designed to minimize deflection which could shift the vertical antenna pattern. The two major sources of deflection are wind and uneven solar heating of the steel mast. The antenna system was designed to meet two wind criteria: full performance under normal wind conditions and survival under extreme conditions (such as winds up to 100 miles per hour), with limited performance degradation. For special conditions, other mast designs are available. In all systems, setup radios are fed from omnidirectional antennas. In the basic alldirectional configuration, one omnidirectional setup transmit antenna and two omnidirectional setup receive antennas are used. The directional antennas are located behind the radome cover of each face. Each face has a minimum of one transmitting antenna and two receiving antennas. One or two transmit antennas may be used with each face.

Directional Antenna

GPS Antenna
In addition to the omnidirectional and directional antenna, the CDMA cell site also uses a GPS antenna. The GPS antenna is separate from all other cell site antennas and is approximately one foot high. The GPS antenna can be placed anywhere near the cell site that is appropriate for the best reception of the required number of GPS satellites. The antenna is usually mounted on the outside of a building, not on a tower. Any obstacles blocking the antennas view of the hemisphere could result in deteriorated performance.