Taoglas Hercules WS.02 2.4GHz Permanent Mount Antenna, 2m TGC-200

WS.02 Hercules is a high efficiency, high gain thread mount 2.4GHz wireless antenna for external use on vehicles and outdoor assets worldwide. Omni-directional gain across the frequency bands ensures constant reception and transmission making the WS.02 an ideal solution for a ZigBee® Wireless Mesh for remote applications e.g. – remote metering. It has been designed for heavy-duty work with extra thick threads; with durable UV-resistant IP65 rated PC housing, it is resistant to vandalism and direct attack. At only 29 mm high it complies with the latest EU height restrictions directives for roof-mounted objects, whilst also enabling covert operation with a diameter of 49mm. Many module manufacturers specify peak gain limits for any antennas that are to be connected to that module.

Those peak gain limits are based on free-space conditions. In practice, the peak gain of an antenna tested in free-space can degrade by at least 1 or 2dBi when put inside a device. So ideally you should go for a slightly higher peak gain antenna than mentioned on the module specification to compensate for this effect, giving you better performance. Upon testing of any of our antennas with your device and a selection of appropriate layout, integration technique, or cable, Taoglas can make sure any of our antennas’ peak gain will be below the peak gain limits.

Taoglas can then issue a specification and/or report for the selected antenna in your device that will clearly show it complying with the peak gain limits, so you can be assured you are meeting regulatory requirements for that module. For example, a module manufacturer may state that the antenna must have less than 2dBi peak gain, but you don’t need to select an embedded antenna that has a peak gain of less than 2dBi in free-space. This will give you a less optimized solution. It is better to go for a slightly higher free-space peak gain of 3dBi or more if available. Once that antenna gets integrated into your device, performance will degrade below this 2dBi peak gain due to the effects of GND plane, surrounding components, and device housing.