Hastings Wireless: Building a 24 dBi omni-directional antenna
2004 Mar 15 - Brian Kloppenborg
Over the weekend we constructed a 24 dBi omni-directional antenna for 2.4 GHz wireless signals. The antenna was constructed using
- N-type female panel connector
- K&S Brass tubing
- 1" PVC tubing and ends
We followed instructions for the Aerialix OM2400 antenna and used their alignment template to ensure our implementation matched their design. We also found their coil construction suggestions to be quite useful. The end result turned out great:
To protect the antenna outside, we encased it inside of 1" diameter PVC. However, the physical stress placed upon the de-coupler frequently exceeded the strength provided by the solder, so we had to modify our design. Originally, the de-coupler was soldered directly to the N-connector as follows:
However, after mounting inside of the PVC end-cap, we added a ground wire between bolts threaded through the N-connector’s mounting points and the de-coupler:
In addition to the 24 dBi omni, we also soldered a small 1/4 wave antenna together for later field testing:
Related Material
A 2.4Ghz Vertical Collinear Antenna for 802.11 Applications