Date: 17/05/2010

High efficiency antennas for wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) networks

Pulse has introduced its new family of stubby external antennas for devices working with cellular networks as part of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. These antennas offer efficiency of more than 55% in all bands and measure less than 50mm in height. The applications suitable for these antennas include smart metering, monitoring, industrial controls, and data logging.

The stubby antennas cover frequency bands 824-960 and 1710-1990 MHz for all widely used cellular bands for 2G, 2.5G and 3G applications. They have a peak gain of 1 dBi in the 824-960 MHz range, 2 dBi in the 1710-1990 MHz range, and 2.5 dBi in the 1920-2170 MHz range, with an impedance of 50 Ohms. Operating temperatures range from -40 to 85 degrees Celsius.

Pulse's stubby cellular antennas come in two configurations. The W1900 and W1902 are straight antennas for connection to the top of a device or modem while the W1910 and W1911 have a right angle for a side connection. The W1910/11 is 49mm high and the W1900/02 is 49.5mm.

The peak radiated efficiency for Pulse's stubby antennas ranges from 50% to 65%, which is the percentage of the original radio signal which is actually radiated from the antenna. The higher the efficiency, the less power is needed from the radio and the more economical the design. A lower efficiency antenna requires amplification which draws more current, thereby increasing energy consumption. Greater signal strength provides higher efficiency resulting in higher system integrity.

"This new family of stubby antennas is a great addition to the expanding Pulse M2M antenna range," explained Elaine Baxter, marketing manager, Pulse Wireless Devices Antenna Division. "These cellular antennas are reliable and come in small form factors that enable companies to quickly bring their wireless M2M modems to market."

These antennas are avialable with SMA and SMA RP-male connector versions.