Integrated radio and directional antenna system

Abstract

An integrated outdoor radio and directional antenna system provides a direct RF connection(s) on the signal path between a directional antenna and radio components to remove the lossy RF cable(s). Direct connections between the various components of the integrated radio and directional antenna system enable reduced cost and ease of manufacture. In certain embodiments, the integrated directional antenna and radio system provides a direct RF connection between the directional antenna and the radio, and a printed wiring board (PWB) -mounted connector provides a direct digital connection between the radio board(s) and a medium access control (MAC) board. An input/output (I/O) interface provides a digital network interface between the MAC unit and indoor processing circuitry. The digital network interface enables packets of digital information to pass between the indoor processing circuitry and the integrated directional antenna and radio system. An external connection is made between the digital network interface and indoor processing circuitry, such as a personal computer or digital network equipment, but the losses associated with such a digital connection are less significant due to the robustness associated with the processing of digital information in a digital packet data form. In other embodiments, the integrated antenna and radio system provides a direct RF connection between the antenna and RF signal circuitry, such as an RF matrix board which accommodates polar diversity for the antenna and includes a duplexer, RF switching for multiple radios, filtering and any other appropriate RF signal circuitry. A direct RF connection also exists between the RF signal circuitry and the radio components. A direct digital connection is provided between the radio board and the MAC board, and the I/O interface provides a digital network interface with the indoor processing circuitry. In yet other embodiments, all or some of the above components described for the integrated directional antenna and radio system are integrated onto a single printed circuit board and are directly connected together and to the directional antenna.