The 868 MHz 4 dBi Omni-Directional Fibreglass Antenna is a high-performance, purpose-built antenna specifically engineered for the 868 MHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, which is widely utilized across Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and parts of Asia. This frequency is critical for low-power, long-range wireless applications, most notably LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) and various proprietary Internet of Things (IoT) protocols.
Delivering a nominal gain of 4 dBi in an omni-directional pattern, this antenna provides an excellent balance between vertical beam width and horizontal range, ensuring superior signal coverage in diverse terrains. The radiation pattern is uniform across a 360-degree radius, making it an ideal choice for gateway installations requiring comprehensive coverage from a central point.
The entire radiating element is protected by a durable, UV-resistant fibreglass (FRP) radome. This robust construction is essential for long-term outdoor deployment, offering exceptional resilience against harsh environmental factors, including heavy rain, extreme temperatures, coastal salinity, and high winds. This antenna is designed for maximum longevity and minimal maintenance, making it a reliable foundation for any deployed IoT infrastructure.
Core Technical Specifications and Features
The design of this 868 MHz antenna prioritizes stability, efficiency, and durability, ensuring optimal performance for long-range, low-data-rate applications.
1. Precision-Tuned 868 MHz Operation
The antenna is meticulously tuned to operate within the 868 MHz frequency band (typically 863 MHz to 870 MHz). This narrow-band focus ensures extremely low Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR), typically <1.5. A low VSWR is crucial for low-power radios, as it maximizes the energy transfer efficiency between the radio and the antenna, translating directly into greater effective radiated power (ERP) and, consequently, longer communication distances and improved link stability. This high efficiency is vital for maintaining robust links over the long ranges characteristic of LoRaWAN deployments.
2. Enhanced 4 dBi Gain Profile
The 4 dBi gain profile provides a significant improvement over standard unity-gain antennas (0 dBi or 2.15 dBi), effectively boosting the signal range without excessively narrowing the vertical beam. The moderate gain ensures the antenna can maintain connectivity with devices located at varying elevations or those deployed in slightly non-flat terrain, an essential characteristic for wide-area IoT deployments. The balanced gain concentrates the RF energy where it is needed most—along the horizon—while still allowing for sufficient vertical coverage to connect sensors on tall buildings or below the antenna's direct line of sight.
3. Industrial-Grade Fibreglass Radome
The use of high-strength fibreglass for the protective housing is fundamental to the antenna’s resilience. The radome material is selected for its superior dielectric properties, which minimally affect RF signal transmission while offering robust mechanical protection. The antenna is typically rated for a high level of Ingress Protection (e.g., IP67), guaranteeing complete protection against dust and water immersion. Furthermore, the fibreglass construction provides exceptional resistance to chemical corrosion and UV degradation, ensuring its integrity throughout years of continuous outdoor operation.
4. Secure and Universal Installation Interface
The antenna is designed for easy pole or mast mounting, usually utilizing a supplied U-bolt kit made from corrosion-resistant materials like galvanized steel or stainless steel. This reliable mounting system ensures quick, secure installation and reliable structural integrity even when subjected to significant wind loading. The antenna typically features a standard N-Type Female connector, providing a universally robust and weatherproof interface for connection to low-loss coaxial cables, a standard requirement for professional outdoor wireless infrastructure.
Key Usage Scenarios and Applications
The high-performance and resilient design of the 868 MHz 4 dBi Omni Fibreglass Antenna make it perfectly suited for large-scale, long-range wireless infrastructure built on the 868 MHz ISM band.
1. LoRaWAN Gateway Deployment
This antenna is the optimal choice for an external antenna on LoRaWAN gateways. Its omni-directional coverage and 4 dBi gain allow a single gateway to cover vast areas in rural settings or provide necessary sectoral coverage in urban deployments, supporting thousands of end-node devices (sensors). It is foundational for building reliable and scalable smart city, smart agriculture, and utility metering networks operating on the 868 MHz band across Europe and related markets.
2. Smart Metering and Utility Monitoring
Utilities require reliable, long-distance communication to connect distributed assets like water, gas, and electric smart meters. The antenna’s long-range capabilities ensure that data from meters scattered across a large district can be reliably collected by a central data concentrator. This centralized communication reduces the infrastructure complexity and operational cost associated with manually or locally collecting meter data.
3. Agricultural Technology (AgriTech) and Environmental Monitoring
In large farms, vineyards, and remote rural landscapes, the 868 MHz frequency and the antenna’s extended range are vital for connecting soil sensors, weather stations, irrigation control systems, and livestock trackers. The robust fibreglass design withstands the harsh conditions of agricultural environments, including exposure to fertilizers, high humidity, and mechanical disturbances, ensuring continuous data flow for precision farming initiatives.
4. Industrial and Campus-Wide IoT
The antenna is widely deployed in industrial settings, such as large manufacturing plants, university campuses, and logistics hubs, to establish private, low-power wide-area networks. It enables seamless asset tracking, environmental sensing (e.g., temperature, humidity, air quality), and machine health monitoring across the entire site perimeter and within large buildings, simplifying data acquisition from numerous endpoints.
5. Smart Building and Facility Management
Within dense urban environments, the antenna can be positioned on rooftops to provide coverage for smart building sensors, including parking occupancy, waste management monitoring, and local environmental controls. The high gain helps penetrate surrounding structural obstacles and ensures reliable uplink from devices located in basements or lower floors.
