How To Aim A Cellular Antenna With A Self-Aiming Mount.

A directional antenna picks up a signal from one direction. It does its job when it points at the right mast, and it does it badly when it does not.

Cellular Path's overview says that aiming by hand needs a person on site with a signal meter, and that the aim drifts with weather, tower changes and vibration. Its answer is a motor that turns the antenna and a scan that does the measuring.

Cellular Path's self-aiming antenna mount has three parts.

• A rotator on a pole, outdoors, carrying your directional antenna.
• An indoor controller, joined to the rotator by a power and control cable.
• An app for iOS and Android, and a web portal, to run the scan.

There are two models. The Smart 4G model (SOCA-01-T-4G50) has its own 4G module and a SIM slot. The No Modem model (SOCA-02) reads the signal figures from a cellular router that Cellular Path has verified, over the router's 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.

• The place. Cellular Path asks for the outdoor location to be checked against its criteria before any hole is drilled.
• A pole. The rotator clamps to a pole 25 to 57 mm (1 to 2.25 in) across.
• Room to turn. The antenna must be free to rotate 360 degrees with nothing in its way.
• Cable. The power and control cable is 15 m (50 ft) and runs from the rotator to the controller indoors. Cellular Path lists extension cables of 15 m and 30 m (50 ft and 100 ft).
• Slack. Leave slack in the antenna cable below the cable clip so the antenna can turn a full circle. Cellular Path suggests 150 mm (6 in).
• The antenna. A directional cellular antenna of your choice, fixed to the antenna pole with that antenna's own brackets.
• The antenna weight. Ask us for the antenna weight the mount is rated for.

When the scan runs, the mount turns through 360 degrees and stops every 30 degrees. That gives twelve positions. At each one it takes a signal reading, and then it holds the position that measured best.

• On the Smart 4G model you choose the carrier you are scanning for in the app.
• On the No Modem model the app detects the model and asks you to choose your router's maker and model.
• Cellular Path describes a scan as taking a few minutes.
• While the Smart 4G controller scans for networks, light 1 is solid blue. Solid green means it is operating normally.
• Cellular Path says the scan records signal strength, signal quality and band at each position, and that an installer can choose a different position.

Cellular Path sets the steps out in its installation manual. This is the order, in brief. The full steps, with Cellular Path's diagrams, are on Fitting It, Step By Step.

1. 01

   Fix the rotator to the pole with its two V-bolts, then seat the antenna pole on top and fasten it with the two pole screws.

2. 02

   Fix your directional antenna to the antenna pole and connect its coax cable.

3. 03

   Fix the cable clip just above the pole screws, connect the power and control cable to the rotator, and route the cables indoors.

4. 04

   Place the controller on a shelf near the booster or router, or on a wall using the slots on its back.

5. 05

   Connect the cables to the controller. Connect the power last, once every cable is in.

6. 06

   Wait for light 1 to flash yellow and then turn solid yellow. Cellular Path says to go to the app once it does.

7. 07

   In the app, set up your account, choose the location and add the device. Smart 4G model: choose the carrier. No Modem model: choose the router.

8. 08

   Begin scanning.

A donor antenna is the outdoor antenna that feeds a booster. Cellular Path's drawing shows the rotator and antenna outside, the controller indoors, then the cellular booster and the inside antennas.

Cellular Path publishes the Smart 4G model for single-cable directional antennas, boosters and in-building coverage systems. That is the manufacturer's description of its own product, not a statement about any UK installation.

Cellular Path's manual describes the Smart 4G connections this way:

• One coax cable runs from the outdoor antenna to the "antenna in" port on the controller.
• A coax jumper cable runs from the "cable out" port to the booster or cellular router.
• The controller sits on a shelf close to the booster or router, preferably in an IT cupboard.
• The antenna, coax cables, jumper cable and booster are not included.

The controller has its own 4G module, so it measures the signal itself. For its remote connection it needs the local Wi-Fi network or an active SIM and that SIM's access point name. The SIM is not included.

We name no booster here and make no claim about which boosters suit the mount. Whether a booster setup is right for a site is a matter for the booster's maker and the installer. The mount aims an antenna. It is not a repeater.

Cellular Path describes the app and the web portal as ways to re-aim from anywhere, for example after a tower is reconfigured. The scan is run again and the mount holds the position that measures strongest that time.

A remote scan needs the controller to be connected to Cellular Path's servers, by Wi-Fi or by a SIM.

These are from the troubleshooting page of Cellular Path's installation manual.

• The app cannot connect or scan. Switch on three phone settings for the Cellular Path app: Bluetooth, location access while using the app, and local network access.
• Light 1 is red. The rotator cable is not connected. Plug the power and control cable into the controller, or check it for damage. Light 1 then turns solid yellow.
• The app will not connect by Bluetooth. Triple click the gray configuration button on the front of the controller.
• A scan failed or the app froze. Click the red reset button on the back of the controller once. It restarts the controller and keeps the settings, like unplugging the power.
• Setup did not work or could not be saved. Hold the gray button for 10 seconds until all the lights go off. Cellular Path warns that this erases every setting, location and device record for that controller.

Cellular Path's installation manual lists more, including what each red light means. Ask us for the manual for your model.

• It turns an antenna toward a signal that exists. It does not make a signal where there is none.
• The controller is for indoor use. The rotator is rated IPX2, which means protected against dripping water.

Yes. The scan turns the antenna through twelve positions, takes a reading at each one and holds the position that measured best. You start it from the app or the web portal.

Cellular Path publishes the Smart 4G model for single-cable directional antennas, boosters and in-building coverage systems.

Cellular Path's documents say an installer can adjust the position the scan chose.

Ask us for the antenna weight the mount is rated for.

Datasheets and installation manuals are listed on Documents And Videos. Ask us for the ones you need at hello@boothroydgroup.com.

• Fitting It, Step By Step
• Aim The Donor Antenna On Measurements
• Rural Antenna Alignment
• CCTV Towers And Telemetry
• Compare The Two Models