| September 2004 What
polarization is required?
Most communication systems use either vertical, horizontal
or elliptical (RHC-right hand circular or LHC-left hand circular)
polarization, with vertical dominating commercial VHF/UHF applications.
In some instances, the selection is determined by the installation
site, with the antenna oriented to provide the best performance.
If this is anticipated, your antenna should provide mounting
for either polarization.
Selecting the proper polarization for the system can enhance
the overall performance by minimizing the interference from adjoining
systems. For example, by installing you system orthogonal to
other systems in the area, you can provide up to 20 dB of isolation.
This will result in up to a 99% power reduction of the interfering
system! Elliptical polarization can sometimes decrease fading.
Many systems are challenged because they must interface with
handheld transmitters. These units move around a room or warehouse,
with the antenna often pointing many degrees off-axis. To accommodate
these application, the fixed antennas often use circular or elliptical
polarization with a hemispherically shaped pattern trading off
high gain for reasonable gain in all directions.
tron Wireless
Technologies, Inc. and the author retain the rights to all intellectual
property
contained herein.
This information should be used as a guideline
only to help you in the appropriate selection of an antenna.
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