Task Action See...
1
Select a location of the antenna on the
vehicle.
Selecting an Antenna Location on the
Vehicle on page 7
2 Install the antenna mounting base.
Installing the Antenna Mounting Base on
page 7
3
Connect the antenna to the mounting
base.
Connecting the Antenna to the Mounting
Base on page 9
Selecting an Antenna Location on the Vehicle
The 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—recommended 30 inches—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
7.9 inches (20 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 antenna base.
Vehicle Preparation
MC3Lite Vehicle Preparation and Hardware Installation Guide TDC-1548-002 7
Proprietary and Confidential
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