Multi-beam antenna with multi-device control unit

A base station antenna for a telecommunications system comprising:

• a plurality of beam systems supported by an antenna housing, each beam system comprising a plurality of antenna elements for directing a beam of electromagnetic energy in a propagation direction, a plurality of phase shifters operatively connected to the antenna elements for tilting the beam propagation direction, a control device operatively connected to the phase shifters for operating the phase shifters to tilt the beam propagation direction, and a gear-motor unit operatively connected to the control device for electro-mechanically driving the control device to tilt the beam propagation direction;
• a receptacle supported by the housing;
• a multi-device control unit configured for manual insertion into and removal from the receptacle operative to selectively control the beam propagation direction of each beam system;
• and
• at least one modular switching device operable to interface between the multi-device control unit and the motors and position sensors of the antenna systems to allow a single set of control electronics of the multi-device control unit to selectively control the beam propagation direction of each beam system.

A method for providing a base station antenna for a telecommunications system with optional multi-beam RET control functionality, comprising the steps of:

• providing an antenna operator with an antenna comprising a plurality of beam systems supported by an antenna housing, each beam system comprising a plurality of antenna elements for directing a beam of electromagnetic energy in a propagation direction, a plurality of phase shifters operatively connected to the antenna elements for tilting the beam propagation direction, a control device operatively connected to the phase shifters for operating the phase shifters to tilt the beam propagation direction, and a gear-motor unit operatively connected to the control device for electro-mechanically driving the control device to tilt the beam propagation direction;
• provisioning the antenna prior to delivery to the antenna operator with a receptacle supported by the housing;
• provisioning the antenna prior to delivery to the antenna operator with a switching device operable to interface between a multi-device control unit and the motors and position sensors of the antenna systems to allow a single set of control electronics of the multi-device control unit to selectively control the beam propagation direction of each beam system;
• and
• in response to a request from the antenna operator for optional multi-beam RET control functionality received after initial delivery of the antenna, providing the antenna operator with the multi-device control unit.