Hi
I have ordered a 42g, now I need to make a mount for it.
i want to mount on the end of a pole, as opposed to on a clamp mounted on a pole.
according to the tech sheet the thread is a 1.25 inch pipe thread With a TPI of 11?
assuming that’s true can I ask how long that thread is?
i am going to turn up an aluminium adapter that the antenna can screw into that fits the top of the pole, and ideally I want it to screw all the way down, I could wait for the antenna to arrive but I would like to make it in preparation to it arriving.
As I am making this can I ask, is there any advantage to have a Flat ground plane as part of this mount so it is immediately below the antenna, ie at the adhesive tape level. And if there is i am assuming aluminium would not be effective, and also I am also assuming stainless steel would be effective……
thanks
and what size should it be- same as antenna 1.5 times it’s diam or……
Hi Phil,
Please check the picture below showing antenna dimension. We will also improve our datasheet in the future by providing more technical details about the enclosure and dimensions.
In case you will have a flat ground plane which is immediately below the antenna it will help to improve the antenna peak Gain. You can find Gain and Efficiency graphs in the MB-42G datasheet with and without ground plane. We did testing using aluminium ground plane, so it will work. Below you can find some pictures taken from the lab.
Does the ground plane need to be bare?
i have some aluminium/plastic/aluminium composite material 4mm thick that is painted, white as it happens, it’s a commercial product by dibon, but the Aluminium skins are quite thin, 0.3mm with polyethylene in between. Then vehicle skin, maybe 0.5mm, will be some 3-4 inches lower.
would this be a suitable ground plane?
or does it need to be thicker aluminium or bare aluminium? I have heard both……
i have also heard that about 254mm square is ideal, but I see yours looks more like 600mm, which is probably too big based on the vehicle moving.
i cannot put straight on my roof as there are stainless bars around it supporting solar cells with aluminium sides….so I am mounting on a pole which will sit 3 ins above the roof, raising to about 6-8 at standstill hopefully to reduce attenuation from the surrounding steel/aluminium/air con unit.
anyway what are your thoughts on the composite And size?
Hi Phil,
the thickness is not important and 0.3mm should be enough. So in case you have plastic with a thin layer of aluminim this would work. Also, I suggest to check if the metal layer is electrically conductive. Just in case it is worth double checking. For our testing we used 600x600mm ground plane, but we didn’t do any research how gain changes or is affected with a small ground planes and it is hard to comment.
Lastly, I wouldn’t focus too much on having a reflective surface as the Peplink antennas were designed with work without a ground plane and the antenna will do the work.
Phil, I know it’s been a while, but I have a question about the gain values for the 42G without a ground plane. I have a fibreglass travel trailer and was thinking of mounting the 42G to the included ACW-881 L mount, so obviously there’s no ground plane then. I have searched the web, but cannot find what the gains are for the 42G without ground plane. Can you please let me know where I can find it?
Thank you kindly!
Rich
Hi Richard,
you. can find antenna gain with and w/o ground plane on our datasheet. Here is the link 
The top four lines on the graph are with ground plane…the bottom four are without it!
