Smart Industry 1/2019

moisture, can have a catastrophic effect
on housed circuit boards.
Threats from All Angles
To meet industry needs for rugged
IoT-capable antennas, manufacturers
have begun to develop extensive,
enterprise-grade ranges specifically
tailored to resist challenging and remote
conditions. Antennas that incorporate
waterproof N-type connectors
are ideal because they are highly
resilient to shock, vibration, and other
physical disturbances, as well as being
IK09 rated against external impact
up to 10 joules.
Mushroom-style antennas in particular
are designed to enable IoT applications
and support key communications
standards such as Wi-Fi, LoRa,
and LTE for greater data speeds, low
power consumption, and long-range
transmission. These low-profile designs
reduce the threat of vandalism
or strike damage and are typically
IP67-rated (impervious at a meter’s
depth for half an hour) for protection
against dust and moisture.
No One-Size-Fits-All
Flexibility is a key consideration
when implementing IoT projects.
Each deployment has specific hardware
requirements – and indoor or
sheltered IoT deployments may not
require rugged hardware. For this
reason, it is important for designers
to identify an antenna that offers
multiple connectivity options for
greater customization, whether this
is N-type connectors, jack plugs, or
SMA pigtail cables. If the scope of a
wireless project changes from 3G
connectivity to GPS, for example, designers
must take care to ensure suitable
antennas are available from the
same range to ensure project continuity,
interoperability, and comparable
protection levels over the entire
project.
Test is Best
GTT Wireless operates a dedicated
component IP67 testing facility to
verify the durability of its N-type antennas
to ensure the aerial will not be
the weak link of an ambitious wireless
project.
The company strongly encourages
designers to test interoperability by
using a visual design tool to demonstrate
how compatible antennas can
be integrated into an enclosure. This
is particularly important when selecting
an accompanying variable-sized
rugged enclosure to ensure seamless
integration of all components. Each
component should be color-coded
Magic Mushrooms
Mushroom-style
antennas reduce the
threat of vandalism
and strike damage
and are protected
against dust and
moisture.
Out and About
With widespread use
of GPS in agriculture
to monitor vehicles
and machinery over
an extensive area,
hardware needs to
meet lots of new
challenges.
for instant identification to support
easy installation, especially for largescale
deployments with hundreds of
units.
Time to Connect the Dots
Deploying IoT for real-time, remote
applications, such as vehicle movements
and operations across a large
area, can give a major competitive
advantage, but this can be compromised
by the unreliability of poorly
protected off-the-shelf components.
Although SMA connectors certainly
have a role to play in many wireless
projects, there is little doubt that
N-type connectors are now a key
component for outdoor or remote
wireless deployments. As IoT technology
continues to mature and the use
cases expand, it is vitally important for
businesses to start to implement resilient
outdoor connectivity now.
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