In the world of RF, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all antenna. A stadium antenna is designed for capacity and a restricted coverage area, while a macro base station antenna may be optimized for high gain and requires RET (remote electrical tilt) functionality. Some sites require concealment or must comply with strict building codes or municipal by-laws.
You don’t have to be an RF engineer to design an antenna. At DENGYO, our core competency is in designing and manufacturing quality antennas. We do the heavy lifting so that you can focus on the key performance specifications. Let’s look at some of the key parameters that can be specified when designing a custom antenna.
Base Station Antenna customization options
- Frequency Bands
Multi-band antennas serve multiple frequency bands with a single antenna and minimizes footprint. An operator’s spectrum holdings may vary by area and by frequency, so the combination of frequency bands deployed may vary by area/site. We tailor to the customer bands with antennas that have wide frequency performance at all the popular spectrums from 617 MHz to 6 GHz. - Number of ports
The number of ports on an antenna varies greatly to match both frequency bands and radio configurations. From a simple 2 port antenna for limited spectrum like low band 617-894 MHz with 2×2 radio configuration; to 28 ports at low band, mid band, high band with 2×2 radio configuration; to 4×4 radio configuration or 8×8 radio configuration for MIMO applications where necessary. The number of ports at each frequency will vary to match the radios used for any bands or sub bands within the antenna’s frequency range. - Gain
Gain is typically maximized at the different frequencies, while at the same time each frequency band needs to have the gain provide similar coverage to match the radio. The higher the frequency, the higher the attenuation and hence the shorter the range. Higher frequencies usually require higher gain to reach the cell edge. This however can also be managed by using MIMO configurations that will also increase the effective reach of the signal. The lower the frequency the larger the antenna elements and antenna dimensions will vary depending on the gain needed. - Horizontal Beam Width (HBW)
One method to adjust coverage and capacity is to engineer the radio sites with different HBW antenna configurations. The very popular 65 degree HBW is typically used for a 3 sector site. If an engineer wants to add capacity to same site often they will reduce the HBW to 45 degrees or 33 degrees to add sectors from 4 to 6, or even more, with narrower beam antennas. A narrower HBW typically requires a wider antenna with antenna elements side by side. This allows more radios to be connected and therefore increase capacity at the site. Providing antenna designs to suit the customer needs for HBW is yet another customizable option. - Vertical Beam Width (VBW)
The VBW of the antenna is used to also optimize the coverage area of where the radio signals are transmitted to and received from. A very large vertical beam will spread the signal in a larger area and must be managed carefully. For smaller VBW typically more antenna elements are stacked to reduce the beam which also adds gain. Adjusting the VBW for an antenna is therefore a desirable customization option. - Passive Intermodulation (PIM)
These unwanted PIM signals that can cause problems with signal integrity and impact data rates to and from the mobiles need to be managed very carefully. Minimizing any nonlinear interaction of the signal while being conducted and transmitted by the antenna is critical. The current standards are often revised to higher requirements as new standards evolve for higher data rates from analog to GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE, 5G and higher. We have seen requirements evolve from -150 dBc to -153 dBc to even -159 dBc (using two 20 watt signals). - Remote Electrical Tilt (RET)
This requirement is tied very closely to the radio configuration required. The RET mechanically changes the phase of the different antenna elements so that the antenna beam is adjusted vertically. For each radio configuration, the RET device will allow the adjustment of multiple antenna beams for the radio(s) connected to the associated antenna ports. So having one command to the RET device control two beams for a 2×2 radio configuration or 4×4 or 8×8 is desirable. We provide options for any number of radio configurations. - Size and Weight
The final dimensions of an antenna are always a critical requirement for mobile network operators. Minimizing the antenna’s final size and weight is an important design consideration. Tower loading and wind loading must be managed since most towers will have multiple antennas for each sector and will often have antenna at multiple levels. Making sure the site is physically robust is very important. Also, often for leased towers, operators may have leasing costs that will vary by size and weight.nfiguration.
The Design Process
Our design process is a robust process where all the considerations above (as well as many more) are evaluated against our capabilities and existing designs. The number of antenna elements for gain, HBW, VBW are considered and accounted for. Simulation of the design is the first step to ensure the design is capable. Specifications are then provided with antenna radiation patterns to customer for approval. After simulation the initial engineering units are built and evaluated. Materials are carefully selected for PIM performance along with the other requirements. RET configuration and mechanical design is then completed. After initial engineering build and evaluation small adjustments may be made for final mass productions considerations and performance.
Manufacturing and Testing
During the engineering evaluation documentation is completed so that at the end of engineering evaluation the product is ready for mass production. Testing methods and equipment required to measure compliance are determined so that each product is manufactured and tested the same way each time, to ensure dependable and reliable performance. Each antenna is tested to ensure customer never has an issue and there is test data available for each unit.
