User's Manual

Preparing for Installation
Overview of the Outdoor Installation
2-10 ORiNOCO Outdoor Antenna Installation Guide
To minimize the influence of obstacles, signal interference or reflections please
note the following guidelines:
■ Mount the antenna as high as possible above the “ground” to allow
maximum clearance:
■ In open areas “ground” is the actual surface of the earth
■ In dense urban areas “ground” is to be interpreted as the height of the
highest obstacle in the signal path between the two antenna sites.
■ Avoid trees in the signal path to avoid signal absorption due to dynamic
changes in seasons (leaves/ice).
■ Install the antenna at least 2 m (6 ft) away from all other antennas.
Other situations where reflections of the radio signal may cause interference are
environments where large reflecting surfaces exist in parallel or partly
perpendicular to the antenna beam.
Environments with large reflective surfaces include:
■ Mirrored-glass buildings
■ Crowded parking lots
■ Water or moist earth and moist vegetation
■ Above ground power/telephone lines
Weather conditions such as rain or snow usually will not have much impact on
the performance of your ORiNOCO Outdoor System, provided that you sealed
all cable connectors using the weather-proofing tape.
Seasonal factors that could have an effect on signal propagation may occur in
the following situations:
■ A marginal communications quality in late fall (with no leaves on trees in the
signal path) might fail in the summer.
■ In winter, an antenna link may fail when the antenna is exposed to ice
buildup, or when the antenna elements are covered with snow.
NOTE:
Radio paths over water or extremely flat ground may require
optimization of antenna height at one end of the path. This is due to
reflections adding in-phase or out-of-phase. Adjustment of antenna
height by 1 to 3 meters should move the signal from a null to a peak.
In these cases consult your supplier to take appropriate steps to maintain or
optimize wireless performance.