Design rule, normative
Passives only
No active electronics, no management function, and no powered component inside any radome. Every element terminates in connectors driven by the unit's radio subsystems.
OSI-ORB-A1 · Version 0.9 Draft
ORB-A1, the antenna system.
One radome containing multiple independently fed apertures that together cover every operating band of the platform, from 470 MHz to 7.125 GHz. Passive only, and second-sourceable by design.
Section 1
One heavy part number.
One panel serves the Compact SKU; three panels, one per 120-degree sector, serve the Flagship. The only accessories are a transport dish and a UHF range-extender yagi, populated where site geometry demands them.
Design rule, normative
Second-sourceable
The design is owned by OSI and shall be manufacturable by any qualified antenna house from the delivered documentation alone.
Design rule, normative
Single-SKU site
A standard deployment stocks one heavy part number and at most two small optional ones. Mast assembly reduces to connector families and torque values, with no field RF engineering.
Section 2.1
Three aperture groups.
The panel follows the established multiband macro-panel pattern of stacked, isolated apertures within one enclosure, extended below and above the usual cellular span.
2.1 UHF group
One wideband column, two ports
The lower portion of the radome carries a wideband column covering 470 to 928 MHz continuously, fed through an integrated diplexer with a crossover around 700 to 750 MHz, presenting separate TVWS and HaLow ports.
2.1 Mid-band group
NR+ and legacy access
The mid-band group covers the NR+ allocation at 1880 to 1930 MHz and the 2.4 GHz access band, which also serves the platform's 802.15.4 Thread and BLE radio at utility-class coverage of the trailer and laydown zone.
2.1 High-band group
CBRS and the access arrays
The high-band group covers CBRS at 3550 to 3700 MHz and the Wi-Fi 5 and 6 GHz spans to 7.125 GHz, and includes the high-gain access array.
Section 2.2
Per-band electrical requirements.
Gain figures are targets for RFQ response. Bidders state achievable gain, pattern masks, and trade-offs per section, along with front-to-back ratio, upper sidelobe suppression for AFC and SAS coexistence, and null-fill for close-in coverage.
| Band section | Frequency | Gain target | Pattern | Polarization | Ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TVWS, UHF column | 470 to 608 MHz | 8 to 10 dBi | 120-degree sector | Dual slant or V | Via diplexer |
| HaLow, UHF column | 902 to 928 MHz | 8 to 10 dBi | 120-degree sector | Dual slant or V | Via diplexer |
| NR+ | 1880 to 1930 MHz | 10 to 12 dBi | 120-degree sector | Dual slant 45 | 2 |
| Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz | 2400 to 2483.5 MHz | 6 to 8 dBi, rule-limited role | 120-degree sector | Dual | 2 |
| CBRS | 3550 to 3700 MHz | 15 to 17 dBi | 120-degree sector | Dual slant 45, 4 streams | 4 |
| Wi-Fi 5 GHz | 5150 to 5895 MHz | High-gain array, macro class | 120-degree composite | Dual | Per array design |
| Wi-Fi 6 GHz | 5925 to 7125 MHz | High-gain array, macro class | 120-degree composite | Dual | Per array design |
The 2.4 GHz section is intentionally modest, reflecting FCC point-to-multipoint EIRP treatment above 6 dBi and the band's legacy-access role.
The optional n53 section, 2483.5 to 2495 MHz, sits immediately above the 2.4 GHz edge and is populated only where a licensed floor is procured. Bidders state the achievable filtering and the isolation mask between the two, which is the hardest adjacency on the panel.
Section 2.3
The high-gain access array.
The 5 and 6 GHz sections implement a high-gain, wide-angle array in the class demonstrated by macro-coverage outdoor Wi-Fi: enough aggregate array gain to serve standard, phone-class client devices at 1.5 to 2 km within the sector.
- Wide coverage composed from stacked narrow beams.
- Receive-side array gain explicitly recognized as the uplink-closing mechanism.
- Out-of-band filtering integrated per the isolation table.
- Characterized per beam where beams are independently fed, since 6 GHz standard-power operation registers antenna gain with the AFC and per-beam data determines granted power.
Section 2.4
Isolation is designed in.
Cross-section isolation within the panel is a designed property, not a field problem.
- Minimum port-to-port isolation between any two band sections is 45 dB.
- Called out for higher targets: HaLow to NR+, for harmonic and PA noise paths.
- 2.4 GHz to NR+, as adjacent spectrum.
- CBRS to the Wi-Fi 5 GHz lower edge.
- Wi-Fi 5 GHz upper edge to 6 GHz, contiguous spans sharing array real estate.
- The UHF diplexer provides at least 50 dB TVWS-to-HaLow port isolation, serving as the primary inter-radio filter for the tail bands.
Sections 2.5, 3, 4
Mechanical envelope and accessories.
The UHF column sets the envelope, and the accessories exist for the exceptional link.
2.5 Panel
2.6 to 3.0 m, 25 to 40 kg
Macro-panel width and depth, mounted to the ORB mast interface and meeting the survival wind rating for exposed sites, with published effective projected area for mast and guying calculations. One documented connector map at the base, keyed so mis-connection is physically prevented.
Section 3
Transport dish, optional
A 5725 to 5850 MHz point-to-point antenna in the 30 to 36 dBi class, roughly 1.5 to 3 degrees of beamwidth, engineered for the Part 15.247 fixed point-to-point provisions. Requires stated deflection limits under rated wind, an alignment aid interface, and hooks for RSSI-trend misalignment detection.
Section 4
UHF range-extender yagi, optional
A dedicated TVWS yagi, 470 to 608 MHz at 10 to 12 dBi, recovering the few dB the wideband column concedes on its hardest shot. Not part of the standard site kit: it exists for the one link per corridor that needs it.
Sections 5 to 7
Characterization is a regulatory asset.
Pattern and isolation data is consumed directly by AFC registrations, SAS filings, and white space database entries, and referenced by the coordination ledger. Acceptance adds chamber verification, environmental qualification, wind-load structural verification, and a field trial commissioned by non-specialist personnel.
- Full three-dimensional gain patterns, per band section and per SKU.
- Peak and envelope gain versus frequency.
- Per-beam patterns for the high-gain access array.
- Port-to-port isolation matrices across the full isolation table.
- VSWR and passive intermodulation performance.
- Manufacturing tolerance analysis showing pattern stability across production units.
- All data machine-readable, suitable for ingestion by the coordination clients.
Bidding on the panel?
ORB-A1 is issuable as a design and manufacturing RFQ. We will send the full document, including ownership and second-source terms.