WIFI Panel Antennas Test

               Planning the installation of WiFi wireless cameras seems to be simple in principle, because it is enough to provide the camera with 12V power supply, hang it in the destination place (we recommend installing cameras with spacers that will allow you to hide the wires and ensure proper and effective protection against the influence of weather conditions - more in the article https://zintronic.pl/blog/pomoc-w-wybor-produktu/ucisky-do-kamer-rodzaje-i-zastosowanie) and configure it to work with our WiFi router. In short, this is the process of connecting a camera or cameras to record the area we choose. Most often, however, the most important thing for us is that we can remotely view it "live" and recorded video material. For this purpose, the camera must have a stable WiFi connection with our router - the method of checking the quality of this connection is described in the article https://zintronic.pl/blog/instalacja-konfiguracja-sprzetu-do-monitoringu/kamery-wifi-co-trzeba- know - if it is insufficient and it manifests itself in the fact that the image from the camera "jams" or we cannot connect to it at all, we need to improve the WiFi range between the router and the camera. One of the ways is to use WiFi panel antennas, which we decided to test in practice for you and share the conclusions.

                WIFI antennas - TEST

ASTRAEA 18HV panel antenna
(product specification at the link above)

NOA 12HV panel antenna
(product specification at the link above)

             The P5 Pro camera has been added to the CamHiPro app and connected to the WiFi network of the mobile router. Then, the antenna was unscrewed from the camera and one end of the antenna cable was screwed in its place, while the other end was screwed to the panel antenna. The camera with the connected antenna was in one place motionless, and the tester equipped with a mobile modem and the application moved away from the camera installation site. The necessary condition is that the antenna "sees" the modem, i.e. that there are no obstacles in the way of "visibility" in the form of buildings, trees, etc. These conditions were also maintained during the tests.

             Measurements were made at three points, where the distance between the camera and the router was 35, 85 and 200 meters. The first ASTRAEA antenna was installed (gain 19 dBi) with a 2m cable and measurements were made, then the cable was changed to 5m and the measurement was made again; the same was repeated by mounting the NOA antenna (gain 12 dBi) with two lengths of antenna cable.

Measurement at a distance of 35 meters (2 meter cable):

Measurement at a distance of 85 meters (2 meter cable):

Measurement at a distance of 200 meters (2 meter cable):

Measurement at a distance of 35 meters (2 meter cable):

Measurement at a distance of 85 meters (2 meter cable):

Measurement at a distance of 200 meters (2 meter cable):

             The tests performed clearly confirmed the fact that the use of the WiFi panel antenna brings a significant improvement in the WiFi signal between the camera and the router. If we use such a solution in an open area, where we will be able to ensure "visibility" of devices with each other so that no obstacle disturbs the signal, we are able to obtain stable operation of the WiFi network at distances of several dozen meters or even greater. Our tests have confirmed that stable operation of the camera in a WiFi network (it is assumed that the WiFi network signal strength of 70% and more allows for such stability) can be achieved even at a distance of about 100 meters with both tested antennas and with cables 2 and 5 meters. Using a longer cable, e.g. 10 meters, may cause a drop in signal strength by about 10%.