What do you need to know when installing an outdoor antenna

Why is your signal report of 50W radio not as good as the one just 5W radio? That's because in addition to the environmental loss, the power of the radio has a lot of loss in the antenna system. So many hams like to install them antenna outdoor to reduce antenna system loss. But what do you need to know when installing an outdoor antenna?

Location Selection

First of all, it is very important to choose a suitable location for the antenna. When choosing a location, you need to pay attention to the points as below.

1. Please be far away from metal conductors that absorb and reflect radio waves. It can prevent effective electromagnetic waves from being ineffectively absorbed, resulting in a decrease in transmission efficiency;

2. Keep away from trees and buildings to reduce loss；

3. Keep away from light, telephone or tram transmission wires, absolutely not allowed to be parallel to them, which will cause influence on electromagnetic wave signals;

4. Keep away from cars and pass more roads to avoid the influence of electromagnetic waves from vehicle equipment;

5. Don't install near the TV antenna, FM receiving antenna or amateur radio antenna, which may cause mutual interference;

6. When installing the directional antenna, directivity must be considered.

Wind and lightning protection

If you want to be better for remote communication, the antenna needs to install in high location. so lightning and wind protection are very important. The wind resistance of the wire antenna is generally not large, so it's ok as long as the mast is installed with sufficient strength and fixed with a pull rope. Regarding lightning protection, if there is a taller building nearby and a lightning rod is installed, as long as the lightning protection device is within the 45° cone of opening angle, it can receive lightning protection. But if your antenna is the highest, you should install a lightning rod. and it is recommended to disconnect the antenna and the radio and connect to the ground during lightning.

Waterproof protection

Since the antenna is installed outdoors, it is recommended that the exposed part of the antenna be waterproofed with silicon rubber. otherwise the antenna is easily oxidized and causes poor contact.

Regular adjustment and maintenance

Finally, the outdoor antenna generally needs to be adjusted and repaired every three months, so the ease of disassembly is important, too. It is best to install pulleys on the mast.