Why use very low profile 868 MHz antennas for utilities and IoT

Very low profile 868 MHz antennas can be very useful for remote wireless deployments for utilities.

Remote water monitoring of flow, water level, pollution, gas monitoring including leak detection and metering applications often use 868 MHz licence free bands to communicate data.

In many applications, an external 868 MHz antenna mounted on a pole or wall may be more than adequate for the installation. But in those environments where an external antenna is required, but with a key element that it must be discreet and unobtrusive, what antenna can be deployed?

In many cases, system designers would turn to puck style antennas, low profile robust, surface-mount antennas that, more often than not, can be screwed onto a street cabinet or utilities enclosure. Antennas like the Button 868 antenna are commonly installed in this way.

But what if the need is for even lower profile antennas that can sit flush on a drain cover and be so low profile that they are very discreet? Standard screw mount puck antennas can’t do this. Such an antenna would need to be fully sealed and waterproof, robust enough to withstand impacts and be fed by a cable exit underneath so it would not be visible once installed with a mounting option that doesn’t require being screwed down with a locking nut underneath.

EAD Antennas has delivered such a solution with the PLATCH 868 antenna. Measuring just 14mm in height, the PLATCH 868 antenna is a reduced height, compact, low profile antenna. Fully silicon sealed and waterproof with a cable exit underneath, this antenna is designed for height-critical applications. It can be mounted directly onto drain covers, meter pit lids and such infrastructure using high grade adhesive or via 3 mounting holes in the radome. It is ideal for low-height applications including meter-pit lids, parking systems, datalogging and utilities applications