Antenna Solutions for The Mining Industry

The use of wireless technologies and antenna solutions for the mining industry is not only to optimize fleet management but to improve the safety of workers.

The Challenges of the Mining Industry

If you have ever seen a mining vehicle next to a standard pickup truck, you will understand an important challenge faced by the driver of the mining vehicle. While a pickup truck may look large, on a highway, on average being twenty feet long and weighing 4.5 tons, it is dwarfed by vehicles found at a modern mining pit. These enormous trucks, on average, are forty-seven feet long, weighing 687 tons, 152 times heavier than a pickup truck. When both types of vehicles are operating in the same location, it is critical to understand the location of each vehicle.

In the early systems, onsite WiFi networks were set up so that the onsite vehicles and operators could communicate. Standard WiFi Routers and Antennas were installed on smaller trucks, and ruggedized Routers and Antennas were installed on large vehicles as part of these collision avoidance systems.

The large mining vehicles faced installation challenges not typically found in fleet management systems. Two key challenges are:

1. Getting the signal around these enormous vehicles and,
2. Preventing damage to the antenna from the unavoidable and extremely high vibration environments to which the antennas are subject.

How Mobile Mark Developed Antenna Solutions for The Mining Industry

Mobile Mark resolved the coverage issue by installing separate antennas at key locations on the vehicle, positioned high enough and wide enough to offer enhanced wireless coverage and improved safety.

Mobile Mark customized one of its rugged and high-performing antennas by adding a proprietary foaming agent that provides protection to the internal elements while also not interfering with the wireless signal. These antennas soon became the industry standard for large mining vehicles worldwide.

Over time, additional antenna models were developed to respond to new wireless technologies adopted by the mining industry, including Private Networks at specific frequencies and broadband 5G networks taking advantage of the full 5G frequency range. In both cases, Mobile Mark was able to develop robust, rugged antennas that complemented the Routers and Vehicles of a variety of mines, including underground and open-pit mines.

For antenna solutions for the mining industry and Fleet Management, Safety, and Performance, contact us today to see what we can do for you.

Mobile Mark, “Moving Wireless Forward®.”

ABOUT MOBILE MARK, INC.

Mobile Mark Antenna Solutions designs and manufactures site, mobile and device antennas for 30 MHz – 6 GHz. Applications include GPS Tracking & Fleet Management, Cellular 4G LTE, 5Gready, WiFi, RFID, Public Safety FirstNet, M2M, Industrial IoT, IoT, Smart City Networks, and Autonomous & Connected Cars. Engineering and custom design services are available. Mobile Mark’s global headquarters, which include research facilities and a manufacturing plant, are located near Chicago, IL. An additional manufacturing and sales facility is located near Birmingham, UK. For further information, visit our website: www.mobilemark.com.