I have searched the forum but I have not found this important information.
I installed a GrooveA with the provided 6dbi omnidirectional antenna (2.4 GHz) on a grounded light pole (height 5 meters, 220V cable inside it).
The device was not on the top of the pole, but at 3 meters above the ground; obviously the pole was covering a slice of the omnidirectional pattern and that was fine for me. The antenna was about at 0,02 meters from the pole.
After some days the device went into a continuos-reboot state, so I pulled it off from the pole and I tested it in my office. The device continuosly rebooted in my office too. So I resetted it and it worked again. Now three days have passed and it still works fine in my office.
So I suspect that the problem was caused by the pole’s proximity. Does anyone know what is the minimum recommended distance from a grounded pole of the GrooveA omnidirectional antenna?
Thank you for your reply. What could be the cause of the problem in your opinion?
I tried to put the device outdoor to simulate the same temperature range of the installation point, but it did not show the rebooting-problem again.
So it should not be an hardware problem related to temperature.
The GrooveA has been grounded through the FTP shield connected to the 220V earth. If the pole was not correctly grounded (I will check for it the next time I go to the installation point) could it arise this type of problem?
Static charges should not reach the devices if grounding has been done correctly. Using galvanic isolation you can not benefit cable’s shielding.
But I am going off-topic and, anyhow, I agree there are pros and cons to each solution.
You must consider ROS for the distance from the pole, if you can not measure it, minimal must be > 2,5 cm from the wire/panel inside the antenna plastic “armour”.
That is what I was afraid of. So you confirm that the grounded pole’s proximity (2 cm) causes an antenna impedance mismatch. Unfortunately I can not measure the ROS on the installation point.
How do you estimate the 2,5 cm minimum distance?
Anyhow I will increase the distance from the pole up to 13 cm, I hope it will be enough.
Thank you. I assume your test result as the minimum recommended distance. I have given to you karma.
After the new installation I will post if the problem can be claimed as “solved”.
If solved, I think Mikrotik should add a note into the GrooveA’s quick install guide (52HPn), because installing it (with the provided 6dbi omni antenna) directly on the face of a pole can not guarantee the above recommended minimum distance.
