When it comes to designing WLAN solutions for challenging environments, such as (warehouses, industrial, manufacturing, etc) things can get complicated easily. Among different requirements, one crucial requirement is AP and/or antenna mounting. When using access points with external antennas there are few things we need to think about:
- Type of access point
- Type of antenna
- Coverage requirements
- Mounting locations
- Mounting solutions
- Time
- Budget
I recently had to do some design for a warehouse/mechanic garage. This site had a high ceiling with metal beams and other metallic structures hanging from the metal beams. Lights, fans, heaters, etc. As you can see from the way lights are installed on those metal beams, there is barely any space for me to mount anything. Mounting the antenna and access point separately meant I had to make some compromises on the location of the AP and the antenna. This added to much time and effort, as well as lead to a busted antenna and access point.
AccelTex provides some excellent antenna options and mounting solutions. The following link shows some AccelTex Warehouse Solutions. I reached out to Brian Smith and Bruno Mejia to discuss different options.
This solution allows AP and antenna mounted together on a single mount. It can then be mounted to the beam using an articulating arm. I needed my AP separate from the antenna on one side, so this did not fit my requirement.
I liked this mount, single mount, allows AP and antenna to be mounted side by side, use 3/8 threaded rod and beam clamps to mount it on the beam. Nice and simple design. You can mount the AP facing up or facing down. I was using Mist AP 43E’s in my design. I did not want the BLE array to be facing up. Making the AP face down was not an issue. However, the total width and design of the mount were note going to let that happen. The antenna would have covered the BLE array.
I received a phone call from Bruno and he mentioned if I can put my requirement on the paper to give some visual insight. I’m not an artist but I tried.
AccelTex’s design team did a great job and converted my rough drawing into a pretty awesome working solution. I had an opportunity to test the mount after it came out of the manufacturing and the design met all the requirements. I was concerned about the weight of the access point, antenna and articulating arm. The design team added additional thickness to account for that and after I put everything together, what I got was pretty impressive.
The rectangular hole in the middle for the antenna cables allows cable management
Allows time-saving and ease of install. Installers can build up the whole setup on the ground and simply take it up on the lift to mount it. The use of all threads allows it to be dropped to the desired height.
NOTE: One important detail that is important to mention is that the hanger bracket is remove able. This allows you to flip the mount giving you ability to position the AP on the top and antenna on the bottom.
A small rectangular hole in the middle allowed me to run the wires through it; this allows for a cleaner install.
Overall the design allows for excellent, flexible, creative, easy, and time-saving options to utilize this mount. From the bullet points mentioned earlier, certainly helps with the 4 related points:
- Mounting locations (Do not have to worry about installing them separately)
- Mounting solutions (Provides a single mounting solution)
- Time (Saves lots of design and actual install time)
- Budget (Reduces the cost of installation)
Many thanks to to the AccelTex team for their help with this solution that will add great value to WLAN design.