Patent ID: 6701137
Filing Date: 2004-03-02
Classification: H01Q

Abstract:
An antenna system for a tower-top installation, comprising:an antenna array comprising an array of MÃ—N antenna elements; a corporate feed for operatively interconnecting said antenna elements with a backhaul link for communicating with ground-based equipment; and radio frequency circuits proximate the antenna array for processing radio frequency communication signals between said antenna array at a tower top and a backhaul link, said radio frequency circuits configured for interfacing with backhaul signals in at least one of digital IF and digital baseband formats at the backhaul link and including: multiplexing circuitry for multiplexing between the backhaul link and multiple antenna elements of the array; analog/digital conversion circuitry for converting between analog and digital representations of the backhaul signals; frequency conversion circuitry for converting between radio frequency communication signals and intermediate frequency signals; the radio frequency circuits configured for providing the necessary processing of radio frequency communication signals between said antenna array and said backhaul link for transceiving communication signals with said ground-based equipment in one of the digital baseband and digital IF formats on the backhaul link.