Laird Technologies Inc., a leader in the design and manufacture of customized, performance-critical components for wireless systems and other advanced electronics applications, announced the availability of two new dual-band external MIMO external antennas – the S245112PT directional and the S24517PT sector.

Both antennas are specifically designed to enhance the latest generation of Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology systems and make use of MIMO technology in which multiple wireless transmitters and receivers operate simultaneously. This new ‘N’ generation of 802.11 technology provides much greater data throughput rates than the previous 802.11a/b/g standards. Few dual-band antennas are currently available for 802.11n MIMO applications; however, these two new external antennas further broaden the company’s MIMO antenna product portfolio.

Designed using Laird Technologies’ proprietary RF optimization tools, the S245112PT directional panel antenna and the S24517PT directional sector antenna are both enclosed in a low-profile UV-resistant polycarbonate weatherproof radome housing. Both models have three MIMO antenna elements, each of which is connected to the WLAN Access Point via a low-loss, coax pigtail. The high gain and narrow beam width of the S245112PT antenna makes it ideal for point-to-point and long-range outdoor WLAN applications. The gain and beam width of the S24517PT makes it ideal for general purpose applications in both indoor and outdoor applications.

Radiation patterns are uniform and symmetrical, providing high-level signal density into defined coverage zones, greatly enhancing the performance of 802.11n systems. The dual-band frequency coverage means these antennas can be deployed with any MIMO radio operating in the 2.4 to 2.5 GHz and 5.1 to 5.9 GHz bands.

Both antennas offer high performance in a small housing, operate over a temperature range of -30° to +65°C, incorporate polarization diversity that increases data throughput in multipath environments, and hold the IP-67 water and dust seal rating.