The J Series and K Series unlicensed radios both have two antenna ports. These can be of great benefit under certain circumstances. The ANT1 port is always used if only one antenna is required, but how and when do you use ANT2?

There are two different ways in which the ANT2 port will come into use:

1) In a radio configured as a Bridge repeater, the user may configure the radio as a Dual Antenna Bridge. In this case, all communications upstream (towards the Access Point) will occur on the ANT1 port, and all communications downstream (towards the Remotes) will occur on the ANT2 port. So ensure you connect the antennas appropriately!

It may be desired to have a high gain yagi antenna on ANT1, as the path to the Access Point is long or obstructed, and more gain is needed. Alternately, on ANT2 you may desire to have a low gain omni to communicate with Remotes scattered around the Bridge. Or perhaps a second yagi might be required on ANT2, to communicate with a Remote or Bridge further out.

2) In a radio configured as an Access Point or Remote, the second antenna port may also be enabled. In this case, the radio will always transmit on the ANT1 port, and it will always receive on the ANT2 port. This feature is rarely required, but will be useful in situations where filters or amplifiers are necessary (eg in order to overcome losses in cabling and/or filters, or add filters to reduce interference).

Released for: Schneider Electric Saudi Arabia