HawkEye 5500 Installation Guide - 6/23/2020
Installation Procedure
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IRIDIUM & GPS ANTENNA
The HawkEye 5500 Iridium and GPS antennas are external to the unit. Both antennas are recommended
to be positioned in a location where they have clear visibility of the sky and should not be angled at a degree
greater that 8° in reference to the horizon.
Iridium antennas have strict limits on cable loss and often require thick or specially shielded cables that
may have limits on the types of cable bends necessary for vehicle installation. If you have any questions,
regarding cable selection, bend limits or cable length limits please call us for more information.
The Iridium satellite constellation is comprised of 66 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites that traverse the sky
every 8 to 10 minutes. At any given time, there may be from 1 to 3 satellites in view with varying locations
in the sky, at times as low as the horizon.
NOTE:
Transmission from the antenna may be affected by and can affect the operation of other systems.
It is the operator’s responsibility to evaluate the location for any possible RF interference. The antennas
should be positioned at least 12 inches (0.30 meter) from any L-band antennas, particularly GPS, TCAS,
and Transponder antennas.
CELLULAR ANTENNA
The HawkEye 5500 comes in two configurations, internal wide band cellular antenna and external antenna
connection. The default configuration is with the internal wideband antenna.
If using the internal antenna, please ensure the unit is installed in a location where the it is not surrounded
by thick or heavy metal as it may affect antenna performance. If you are installing in a scenario where heavy
shielding may be employed around the unit (e.g. armored vehicle) it may be beneficial to use external
antenna.
Please contact us if you have questions regarding retrofitting units to use external antenna.
