5GHz WiFi Antenna

5150–5850 MHz Is Not One Band

Every model on this page is quoted as 5150–5850 MHz, and electrically they all cover it. What changes inside that span is the regulatory treatment: part of it is indoor-only, part of it requires radar detection, and only the top 125 MHz is free of DFS. That is why one 5 GHz antenna can behave perfectly on 5.8 GHz and keep dropping channels on 5.3 GHz — the antenna is the same, the rules are not.

Antenna gain interacts with DFS in a way that surprises people: radar detection is specified at the receiver, so a high-gain directional antenna hears weather radar from much further away and the AP vacates the channel more often. If a 5.5 GHz link keeps dropping while the same hardware on 5.8 GHz is stable, the fix is usually the channel plan, not a different antenna.

Gain Is Not the Same Thing as Link Budget

EIRP is radio power plus antenna gain minus cable loss, and regulators cap EIRP rather than radio power. A 34 dBi dish fed by a 30 dBm radio would radiate about 64 dBm EIRP — roughly 2.5 kW — far above any 5 GHz limit, so the radio has to be turned down until the total is legal. Adding antenna gain only helps if the radio can stay inside the limit; past that point the extra dBi buys nothing but a narrower beam that is harder to aim.

The cheaper decibel is usually in the cable. At 5.8 GHz, RG58 loses close to 1 dB per metre, so a 3 m run can cost as much as the difference between a 29 dBi and a 34 dBi dish. Foam-dielectric low-loss cable loses about a quarter of that, which is why long outdoor runs are worth re-cabling before they are worth re-antennaing.

Path clearance matters more than either. The first Fresnel zone at mid-path on a 5 km link at 5.8 GHz has a radius of about 8 m, and the usual rule is to keep 60% of it clear — roughly 4.8 m — above ground, rooftops and foliage. A dish aimed perfectly at the far end still fades if a tree grows into that ellipse.

Where 6 GHz Fits, and Where These Models Stop

Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 add 5925–7125 MHz, with the EU opening 5945–6425 MHz. The 29 and 34 dBi dishes on this page are quoted to 6000 MHz because that is where their feed and polariser were designed; the bottom of the 6 GHz block is covered, the rest is not. A 5 GHz antenna cannot simply be re-labelled for 6E — the feed geometry and the gain-versus-frequency curve both shift, and the VSWR at 7 GHz is unknown until it is measured. If 6E is on the roadmap, specify it as a new design rather than an extension of an existing part.

The Wi-Fi antenna page covers the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz split in more detail, and the 2.4 GHz and dual-band pages cover the bands below this one.

What to Send for a 5 GHz Antenna Quote

• Link type: point-to-point backhaul, point-to-multipoint sector, or indoor coverage, and the number of links per site.
• Distance and terrain profile, including the height available at each end and whether the first Fresnel zone is clear.
• The channels actually licensed or planned — 5.8 GHz only, or DFS bands as well.
• MIMO configuration and radio model, so the ports and polarisations can be matched.
• Mounting: mast diameter, wind load zone and cable run length, which decides the connector and the cable grade.

Send those five points and engineering replies within 1–2 working hours with a model, its pattern cut and its VSWR sweep; catalogue samples ship in 3–5 days. The antenna selector filters by band, gain and mounting, the WISP page covers subscriber and base-station combinations, and the catalogue lists every 5 GHz model with its beamwidth.