Directional Patch Antenna Signal Width Question

[Dean Romanelli]

Hi All,

How wide in feet/meters can I expect the coverage beam to be if I use a directional patch antenna with 8 gain on the 2.4gHz? I have a space I need to cover, which is 187 feet deep by 219 feet wide.  I need the whole space covered. I was going to field AIR-ANT2588P3M-N=, but I've read on Cisco's site that the higher you go with the gain, the shorter the beacon width becomes, so that it can reach further deep. If that is the case and this won't work, I don't know what anyone wouldn't just use an 8 gain Omni like the 2480V-N instead. 

[patoberli]

I can't answer that question, because I've never tested/calculated it.
It also depends a lot on how much coverage you expect at the outer reaches, or what your use case is. If you want to offer phone services on the edge you need to have a much higher coverage than just some 'sending emails'.

Here is a ton of information including the expected radiation patterns for most Cisco antennas: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/aironet-antennas-accessories/product_data_sheet09186a008008883b.html

[Haydn Andrews]

Best way to see the propagation of different antennas is using site survey software like Ekahau and then you can predict what the signal for different antennas will do in the environment.

You also need to make sure you don't go over the max EIRP allowed for your regulatory domain as well