Installing the Integrated Antenna
Installation of the integrated antenna includes the following tasks. Perform the tasks in the order
presented.
Task
Action
See...
1
Select a location of the antenna on
the vehicle.
Selecting an Antenna Location on the Vehicle on
page 12
2
Install the antenna mounting base.
Installing the Antenna Mounting Base on page 12
3
Connect the antenna to the
mounting base.
Connecting the Antenna to the Antenna Mounting
Base on page 14
Selecting an Antenna Location on the Vehicle
The integrated antenna remains installed on the vehicle. The manufacturer's instructions, which
ship with the antenna components, are summarized in the following procedures. Itron
recommends consulting the antenna manufacturer's instructions in addition to this installation
guide.
Location selection criteria include the following.
■
Access from inside the vehicle to the exterior antenna mounting location is usually required.
If the vehicle has a headliner, remove nearby trim pieces or even a dome light to gain access
to the mounting location.
■
Install the antenna at least 12 inches (30 inches recommended) from any other antennas or
metal structures on the vehicle's roof that could disrupt communication with endpoints.
■
Select a location on the vehicle's roof that has as flat a surface as possible. The metal of the
roof must be 0.02–0.04 inches thick.
■
The location should be no more than one inch deep and at least 2.5 inches in diameter to
properly security the antenna base.
■
To meet RF exposure safety requirements, the antenna must be installed a minimum of 21.7
inches (55 centimeters) from where any bystanders may be located.
■
The diameter of the ground plane at the antenna base should be at least three feet for best
performance. Ideally, the ground plane should be a minimum of three times the wavelength
being received. For example, a 900MHz signal, having a 13-inch wavelength, should have a
ground plane of 39 inches.
Note:
Itron recommends that you do not trim, shorten, or secure any cabling until you are
confident of its routing.
Installing the Antenna Mounting Base
The following diagram shows the parts of the integrated antenna base.
07 May 2020
815-0207-00 REV 000
Itron, Inc. Page 12 of 44
Vehicle Preparation and Hardware Installation Guide
2 Vehicle Preparation