I don't think you'll ever get omnidirectional to work, at least not with the current cell spacing. I've used a couple different models of pneumatic mast and all of them allowed for rotating the mast. It was actually pretty easy to rotate because the mast section is floating on air. Once locked in place it no longer rotates. I would plan to use a directional antenna and aim as part of the mast setup process. Assuming any other antennas supported by the mast are omnidirectional, you can rotate the whole mast and only worry about orientation of the HamWAN dish. I have done this with a pneumatic mast shared by VHF omni and directional LTE antenna and it worked quite well. If you can get your hands on one, I'd recommend the Poynting dish: http://www.titanwirelessonline.com/Poynting-5-8GHz-31dBi-Grid-p/at-30gr-58.h... The LHG (international version) or QRT are also good options: https://routerboard.com/RBLHG-5nD https://routerboard.com/rb911g-5hpnd-qrt Tom On Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 1:24 PM, Kyle Burgess <kd7iyt@gmail.com> wrote:
I am in the process of building a mobile communication rig and would like to add the ability to connect to the HamWAN network if the need arises. The stationary setup at my house has been quite stable with the MikroTik Metal 5SHPn radio paired with the ARC 2 ft dish antenna with an average signal strength around -59 dBm. However, for my mobile rig, I would like to avoid the need to align a directional antenna each time I want to use it, if at all possible.
I'm curious if anyone here has experimented with an omni-directional configuration. I know the quality of the link would not be nearly as good as a directional one. But, would it still be usable? If it could support a data rate around 2 Mbps, that would be more than plenty. The mobile rig will be outfitted with a pneumatic mast that can extend 42 feet. I would plan on mounting the antenna to the top of the mast to assure line-of-sight into an available cell site.
If a single omni-directional antenna wouldn't be able to provide, what other options should I look at? I had an additional thought of using sector antennas; however, I have no experience with them. Could 3 120 degree sector antennas be arranged in a cell-like configuration to provide better omni-directional coverage with a single radio? I already have a spare Metal 5SHPn, which would be ideal to utilize if possible.
I am currently in the planning stages, so any thoughts or ideas you might have on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Kyle Burgess KD7IYT
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