WAP-3701 with MOXA Omni-Directional Antenna ANT-1-O-09

[RVallieu]

Can I use the NI WAP-3701 with the MOXA Omni-Directional Antenna ANT-1-O-09?

I see no offering from NI for a remotely attached antenna unit.

I am using this with a cRIO controller mounted on a remote test system and need to transfer data back to a host.

[Robert_Jackson]

Ryan, Thank you for the post and the short answer is the NI WAP-3701 has a RP-SMA RF female connector. Any antenna with a male RP-SMA RF cable will connect to both the WAP-3701 and the WAP-3711 international version. The Omni-Directional Antenna ANT-1-O-09 you reference does have a RP-SMA male connector. You could also select from a wide range of antenna from WiFi link, www.wifi-link.com. In general there are two main categories of antenna omni-directional and directional. An omni-directional antenna emits RF frequency evenly in all directions. These types are ideal for a central Access Point (AP) and then distributed clients in multiple directions. The tradeoff is the maximum distance from AP to client is reduced. The WAP-37x 1 ships with an omni-directional antenna. A directional antenna focuses the RF emission in a specific direction or plane. There are many types of directional antenna two common types are Yagi and Panel. A Yagi antenna creates a dipole of RF frequency while a panel antenna creates a horizontal and vertical plane of RF emissions that steadily increases in width and height as you get further from the AP. The next important consideration for antenna is the gain and cable length. A higher gain antenna typically delivers a longer distance and antenna cabling will reduce the total power available at the antenna. From the brief description you mention a directional antenna might be well suited for the application. I would be interested in talking more about your application so please feel free to contact me directly. Robert Jackson Product Manager - Ethernet Switches and Wireless Access Point robert.jackson@ni.com

[RVallieu]

A directional antenna will not work because the object the WAP-3701 will be on is a moving vehicle that will be tracking in a circle.

The unit will be in a fiberglass enclosure, and while we have had experience using the same set-up for remote data collection from vans on a job-site, I wanted to be able to present options to my client in case the included antenna would not work with the planned placement position.

Thank you for the quick and in-depth answer.