You can use ADF / NASM (TIA/EIA-804-B standard) and ANT patterns in CloudRF.
These basic text formats are open and easily edited and will display a patterns azimuth (Horizonal plane) and elevation (Vertical plane), typically as 360 rows of data each.
ADF pattern data is generally in dBd and ANT is a normalised range with 0 as peak power.
ADF is the primary pattern format and all ADF patterns are public (accessible to all users).
ANT is the secondary format and is private (accessible only to the uploader).
| FEATURE | ADF | ANT |
|---|---|---|
| Access | PUBLIC | PRIVATE |
| Azimuth | 360 rows | 360 rows |
| Elevation | 360 rows | 360 rows |
| Metadata | Name, OEM, Description | Name |
| Frequency | Defined range ONLY | Any |
| Gain | Defined gain only | Any |
| Polarisation | Defined only | Either |
| Tilt | At time of use | At time of use |
| Rotation | At time of use | At time of use |
IN SUMMARY: ANT GIVES GREATER FREEDOM BUT IS RISKY. ADF ENSURES CORRECT INPUTS.
FINDING A PATTERN
There are thousands of antennas. To find the one you need/want, use the database search feature by firstly typing in your frequency eg. 100 (MHz) and clicking search to filter the results and finally typing into the search box eg. Dipole to find the closest match. You can sort results by any of the columns by clicking it.
If you can't find your pattern you can source it from the manufacturer in ADF / NASM format.
https://www.kathreinusa.com/patterns/
http://www.rfiwireless.com.au/base-antennas/patterns.html#.Wud18nUrL0o
https://www.telewave.com/resources/antenna-pattern-files/
UPLOAD A PUBLIC ADF PATTERN
Method 1: Login to the web interface then click the antenna database icon within the 'Antenna' input menu.
Method 2: Login to the web interface then visit https://cloudrf.com/antennas
Click the 'Add public .ADF pattern' link to access the form and then upload your ADF pattern. Any formatting errors will cause a failure which you will be notified of. Ensure your ADF data contains valid metadata in the header eg. gain, name, description. Any data deemed erroneous or inappropriate will be removed from the system without warning.
UPLOAD A PRIVATE ANT PATTERN
Method 1: Login to the web interface then click the antenna database icon within the 'Antenna' input menu.
Method 2: Login to the web interface then visit https://cloudrf.com/antennas
Click the 'Add private .ANT pattern' link to access the form and then upload your ANT pattern. Any formatting errors will cause a failure which you will be notified of. Ensure your ANT data contains 720 rows of data (Azimuth followed by Elevation). Do NOT apply rotation or tilt as this is done dynamically at the time of use. Any data deemed rotated, tilted, erroneous or inappropriate will be removed from the system without warning.
USING PATTERNS
Your uploaded pattern won't appear in the web interface immediately. You must reload the interface (F5) and then enter a frequency which the pattern serves eg. 99MHz into the normal frequency input box. A frequency change will cause the antenna pattern list to be dynamically updated.
OLD ANT PATTERNS
Don't worry they didn't get deleted. You can find a list of them here.