{"id":156,"date":"2009-05-28T18:21:10","date_gmt":"2009-05-28T18:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravtrack.com\/GPStracking\/?p=156"},"modified":"2009-05-28T18:21:10","modified_gmt":"2009-05-28T18:21:10","slug":"antennas-for-a-ravtrack-vehicle-tracking-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/antennas-for-a-ravtrack-vehicle-tracking-system-156\/","title":{"rendered":"Antennas for a RavTrack vehicle tracking system"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a RavTrack system you will need antennas for vehicles, as well as base stations, and possibly repeaters if your particular system uses any repeaters.\u00a0\u00a0 Here will will discuss common antennas for all three uses.<\/p>\n

The Raveon “GX” series of tracking transponders used in a RavTrack system can be configured to operate as a vehicle unit, a base station, or a repeater, all by software configuration.\u00a0 Each GX transponder will have 2 antenna connections.\u00a0 One is for a\u00a0GPS antenna, and the other for a\u00a0UHF antenna.<\/p>\n

Here is a picture of the GX transponder in the standard enclosure.\u00a0 Note that the\u00a0GPS antenna connector is\u00a0an SMA female, while the UHF connector is a BNC female.\u00a0 They are at opposite\u00a0ends of\u00a0the\u00a0transponder.<\/p>\n

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\"transponder-and-antenna-connectors\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

Note that if your transponder is the weatherproof version\u00a0 the UHF connector is TNC female.\u00a0 Transponders installed in vehicles for tracking purposes will require both a GPS antenna and a UHF antenna.\u00a0We have a few antennas that\u00a0are combination GPS and UHF antennas.\u00a0 When these are offered the antenna cable(s) will terminate in 2 separate connections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The GPS antenna receives the GPS satellite transmissions by which the transponder\u00a0will determine its precise GPS location.\u00a0 Note that the location is actually that of the antenna itself, which may be important to remember especially when dealing with large vehicles or other objects.<\/p>\n

Once the location is determined the\u00a0UHF antenna is required to allow transmission of\u00a0the vehicle location.\u00a0 The UHF antenna should be a “mobile” antenna chosen to match the proper transmission frequency of your system, as well as selected to best\u00a0suit the type of vehicle.\u00a0 The UHF antenna is almost always larger than the GPS antenna so size and styling can be important criteria.<\/p>\n

Anther important criterion\u00a0is\u00a0the manner in which\u00a0the antennas mount to the vehicle.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is best to have the antennas as high up on the vehicles as practical, and generally speaking larger (UHF) antennas are typically better performers.\u00a0 However an overly large antenna may not just be unsightly but prone to damage as well.\u00a0 Some vehicles will\u00a0be equipped with an “antenna bar” in order to mount the antennas.\u00a0 As multiple antennas may posssibly compete with one another, it is best\u00a0if a skilled RF technician is consulted or contracted to perform the installation.<\/p>\n

Antenna mounts come in a variety of approaches of which the 3 most common are magnetic mount, through-hole mount, and flange mount.\u00a0 The magnetic mount is most suitable for temporary installations, although the magnets are quite strong and the antennas may stay put even under\u00a0challenging circumstances.\u00a0 The through-hole mount is the sturdiest and most permanent, but requires a hole be drilled through the vehicle surface (or antenna bar).\u00a0 The flange mount approach is typically used to grip the vehicle trunk lid, if this is available.\u00a0 All of these mounts are available in “NMO” style where the UHF antenna physically threads on to the mount itself.\u00a0 Here are some quick photos:<\/p>\n

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\"nmo-mag-mount5\"<\/p>\n

NMO style magnetic mount<\/p>\n

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\"nmo-antenna-combines-to-mount6\"<\/p>\n

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Antenna threading onto NMO flange\u00a0 mount.<\/p>\n

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\"thru-hole-nmo-mount4\"<\/p>\n

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Thorough-hole mount.<\/p>\n

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For more information on NMO mounts see the post “The versatile NMO antenna mount” in this section at:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/ravtrack.com\/GPStracking\/2009\/the-versatile-nmo-antenna-mount\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Oftten the GPS and\/or UHF antenna will have a magnetic mount base or through-hole mount base incorporated as the antenna base.\u00a0 Here is a photo of a combo GPS\/UHF antenna with a through-hole base:<\/p>\n

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\"combo-antenna-thruhole\"<\/p>\n

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In some vehicle deployments the UHF antenna will not only broadcast location but will also receive transponder broadcasts from other fleet members.\u00a0 This ability is fairly unigue to Ravtrack.<\/p>\n

Once a location broadcast hits the air it is ready to be received by other fleet members but also by a base station or possibly a repeater.\u00a0 Sometimes the base station is mounted on a mobile command vehicle, and special antenna considerations are in order.\u00a0\u00a0 However, typically the base station antenna is on top of a building, or an antenna tower.\u00a0 Usually an omni-directional (all direction) antenna is used, as the vehicles can be broadcasting from many different locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most common omni-directional base station antenna is made with a fiberglass sheath.\u00a0 Here is a picture:<\/p>\n

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\"fiberglass-antenna\"<\/p>\n

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This sort of antenna typically mounts onto a pole or mast the customer provides.\u00a0 Check to see if the actual mounting hardware is included with the antenna.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This antenna is also very effective for repeaters.\u00a0 Sometimes, if a repeater is used the base station will use a directional antenna pointed at the repeater antenna.\u00a0 Here is a picture of a Yagi style directional antenna used for this purpose:<\/p>\n

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\"yagi\"<\/p>\n

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Antennas can act as lightning attractors, so you may want to investigate lightning arrestors for some installations.<\/p>\n

Here are some general rules if thumb when dealing with antenna installations::<\/p>\n

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Survey your area for best antenna locations<\/span><\/p>\n

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Use <\/span>the largest antenna you can tolerate and afford<\/span><\/p>\n

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Make certain the antenna will work in your frequency<\/span><\/p>\n

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Determine your mounting and support early<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mount the antenna as high as practical<\/span><\/p>\n

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Try to keep the antenna cable short, and use good grade cabling<\/span><\/p>\n

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Take precautions against lightning and surge<\/span><\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t forget signal cable and power for your transponders<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hire a skilled RF technician if at all possible<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a RavTrack system you will need antennas for vehicles, as well as base stations, and possibly repeaters if your particular system uses any repeaters.\u00a0\u00a0 Here will will discuss common antennas for all three uses. The Raveon “GX” series of tracking transponders used in a RavTrack system can be configured to operate as a vehicle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raveon.com\/data_radio_info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}