Thread: Extending the range on a mobile

dBi or dBd? There are different scales

Well the one used by all antenna manufacturers.

In fact I just looked and DBi

Mobile One NextG Phone Antennas

That is the antenna I had in the middle of the RRC roof

Regards Philip A

dBi is an interesting measurement of an omnidirectional antenna!

dBd is far more suited to measuring them.

Isotropic antennas essentially exist in the world of theory only...

And 8dBi is in reality only 5.85dBd.. (But the dBi figures help sell...)

I put an 8db gain antenna on my RRC to improve my mobile performance. It was fine until in hills when you could receive for many ks but the other person could not hear you as the radiation pattern was flat.
After I broke the antenna under a motel entrance I replaced it with a little 4 inch in the middle of the roof and that worked much better.

The shorter stubbier antenna has better gain characteristics for hillier terrain than the longer antennas. Which are suited more for distance.

The small antennas radiate a shape akin to a fat donut, where the taller antennas are a flatter projection, which may also be slightly more pronounced in some directions depending on it's mounting location.

Hi

I recently got a Telstra 4G WiFi Advanced Pro X (Huawei E5786) modem for mobile internet and I have been looking at antenna options.

The main purpose is to have good internet when camping not when mobile. So I was thinking one of the Mimo Panel antennas might be the go, such as this one

External Mimo 3G 4G 4GX Antenna Suitable FOR Huawei E5786 Mobile Modem | eBay

or an RFI unit

LTE MIMO Directional 4G Panel Antenna 698-2700MHz - RFI Wireless

My current thinking is to have a pole, possibly mounted on a bull bar swivel which folds down along the side of my roof rack. Then when I stop I can attach the modem to the top of the pole and swing it up vertical. It will need to be able to be rotated of course. The panel antennas seem rugged enough to do the job.

There is always the option of putting the modem in a bag, attaching some rope and tossing it over the nearest branch

Steve

Or use a sand flag if you carry such a weapon

Originally Posted by gavinwibrow

Or use a sand flag if you carry such a weapon

Thanks for the input !

Yes my thinking is now more along the lines of a detachable pole and its always good to have double duty items

These are a possibility if they are not too flexible

Telescopic Poles flag amatuer HAM radio antenna squid pole

I have also spotted a 1.5m aluminium pole on EBay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/27199457188

Steve

We did this with the van, radio and 4G.

I like the window awnings