Cell antenna options February 16, 2005, 07:10:24 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50865We have followed the excellent posts with pictures showing various options for inside and outside antenna options. Thanks to all who have contributed.We want max signal as we plan to use the Version cell phone for our internet and phone to stay connected.My impressions are that the external options with Wilson Trucker antenna give the most DB signal gain but should be lowered when travelling. Initially we plan to be on the go a lot and the raising and lowering could get a bit tedious. Plus the potential for antenna damage if you forget the lowering process ;-)The internal options give a bit less gain but eliminate the installation hassle. However we don't need one more thing to stow or get in the way.My search has lead me to the "thru the glass" mount options which "could" strike a good balance. Problem is that the Wilson models have a warning for "single pane glass only". I remember on the factory tour seeing the new double pane windows that will be on our 2005 MB that we will be getting in April/May.Questions are:Is there anyway around this problem? Are the over the cab side windows double pane as well?Thanks, Ron and Linda Tenny goinabee's 8284
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #1 – February 16, 2005, 07:48:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50866Ron and Linda,You might want to read the archives of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InternetByCellPhone/They seem to be uniformly against the through-the-glass antennas. In particular,
Cell antenna options Reply #2 – February 17, 2005, 08:18:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50885Linda & Ron, Two comments regarding the Wilson Trucker Antenna and my mount (www.fobria.com/toad/LD/LDenhance.htm):1. I have found that the antenna works just about as well when down in the traveling position as it does when upright.2. By mounting the antenna near the ladder and using the marine rail clamp, it is about 10-second job to climb halfway up the ladder to change the antenna's position from vertical to horizontal. I don't find it at all tedious.And boy, that antenna sure helps. I'm sending this from Suwannee River State Park in north Florida, where I have no bars at all on my Verizon phone, yet it still is good enough for data trandsmission!Ted H'02 FL NE 12"Linda Tenny" LTenny@...> wrote:My impressions are that the external options with Wilson Trucker antenna give the most DB signal gain but should be lowered when travelling. Initially we plan to be on the go a lot and the raising and lowering could get a bit tedious. Plus the potential for antenna damage if you forget the lowering process ;-)Ron and Linda Tenny[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #3 – February 18, 2005, 08:56:02 am Yahoo Message Number: 50893I'd recommend anyone buying a Wilson Trucker Antenna try mounting it on the ladder with the top of the antenna just below the roofline. Ours adds a lot when it's even lower than that.best, paulQuote Two comments regarding the Wilson Trucker Antenna and my mount (www.fobria.com/toad/LD/LDenhance.htm):Quote 1. I have found that the antenna works just about as well when down in the traveling position as it does when upright.Quote 2. By mounting the antenna near the ladder and using the marine rail clamp, it is about 10-second job to climb halfway up the ladder to change the antenna's position from vertical to horizontal. I don't find it at all tedious.
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #4 – February 18, 2005, 10:00:44 am Yahoo Message Number: 50895Quote I'd recommend anyone buying a Wilson Trucker Antenna try mounting it on the ladder with the top of the antenna just below the roofline. Ours adds a lot when it's even lower than that.best, paul An antenna might work when it's inside a metal building or even in a 55 gallon drum (if there's a way for enough RF energy to leak out). However, this doesn't mean that's the best way to mount them!! Likewise, the cell phone system is designed to have antennas mounted vertically (vertical polorization). They'll work laying down flay - - maybe, but not as well in fringe areas as if they're up straight.If you are going to go to the trouble of mounting an outside antenna, then why not give the antenna as much an unobstructed 360 degree view of the sky as practicable? Anything conductive (your LD is a good example) will block or attenuate the signal. It may not stop the antenna from working most of the time, but there will be those times when it would only work if mounted in a better location.all the best,bumper
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #5 – February 18, 2005, 11:28:02 am Yahoo Message Number: 50900Quote"...is designed to have antennas mounted vertically (vertical polorization)..."Quote"If you are going to go to the trouble of mounting an outside antenna, then why not give the antenna as much an unobstructed 360 degree view of the sky as practicable?"all the best,bumper bumper As an Electronic Tech for the past 40 years I am in total agreement. Vertically polarized antennas need to be vertical to get the best transmission or reception patterns.But tell me this, once you've got it mounted, how do you fish the coax cable into the LD. I'm presuming you have a temporary method, not a hard wired path through the roof.Steve S. Lazy Bones
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #6 – February 18, 2005, 12:28:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50908Quote But tell me this, once you've got it mounted, how do you fish the coax cable into the LD. I'm presuming you have a temporary method, not a hard wired path through the roof.Steve S. Lazy Bones Steve,I haven't yet installed a cell phone antenna on Yonder. I will be adding an aircraft transciever and maybe a cell phone antenna later on.Good question! To a degree, I've made my living hiding wires within existing structures, inventing a number of speciallized tools for the purpose ("Grabbit" tm. . . . sold by Labor Saving Devices, patent now expired so no more tool royalties :c( and founding an alarm company. Motorhomes, especially well made tight ones like LD, present some unique challenges for hiding wiring, for sure. And even with some 30 years of wire running, or supervising same, there's lots of projects that'll leave me scratching my bald head.For starters, I prefer to use voids in the existing structure that provide a floor to ceiling path. On an MB, that means the fridge, the valve side corner of the shower enclosure, or the wardrobe, among others. If there is no convenient through the roof hole, one could always do as LD does (or is that duz?), which is to add a faux roof vent fitting for the coax or other wiring. It may also be possible to use LD's installed "wire-run" roof vent fittings. The one they installed for my as yet unused sat dish, is over the rear upper cupboards, so hiding the wire there would't present too much of a challenge.One thing for sure, there will be *no* exposed wires on Yonder. To my mind, settling for exposed wiring is an admission of defeat!all the best,bumper
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #7 – February 18, 2005, 12:30:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50909We now have our Wilson cell antenna mounted on the ladder with about 1' sticking up above the roof. I was told that as long as the black can on it is above the roof line it will work optimaly. It works spectacularly in that location. We also used it just laying on the back of the couch for a year and it worked pretty well. Before permanently mounting it, we would go up on the roof and attach it to the rail on the drivers side next to the dinette, then bring the cable in the window. The back of the couch use was when we were driving. Caveats... we also bought the heavy metal spring for the rod but we hit a tree branch last week and the rod broke anyway. It would be better to have the antenna mounted on the drivers side as there is less chance of hitting low branches on that side. Of course, our ladders are all on the passenger side. Mounted on the rail on the drivers side it would be higher than mounted on the second rung of the ladder. I'm not sure how we are going to do it when we fix it. We ran the cable down the refrigerator vent which is very close to the ladder in our RB. From there it goes to the floor and across the aisle underneath the floor in a cable run that LD builds in. It then comes up inside the closet and out to a connector mounted on the wall behind the dinette. We use a 6' extension if we are using it at the dinette and a 10' if we are using it in the cab. The extensions can be put away when you aren't using it or don't need them. It's a very neat setup and I'm really happy with it.Jonna, in Tortuga 2001 RB - still on the beach in Perula
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #8 – February 18, 2005, 12:40:58 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50910Quote But tell me this, once you've got it mounted, how do you fish the coax cable into the LD. Oh, Oh!! Just thought, though haven't looked yet . . . it might be doable to drill down through the center (inside tubing) of one of the support mounts for the luggage railing. Then exit the coax out the side of the rail. If inside logistics work out, that would provide a nice clean install . . .BTW, although longer drill bits are available commercially, good ones were not so available when I started doing security systems in the mid-seventies, so we made our own. To do this, we use a lathe to center drill the annealed end of a twist drill bit to a depth of about 1/2". Then silver solder the drill bit to a suitable length of spring steel wire, either 3/16 or 1/4 diameter depending on drill size. The chucked end of the spring steel has 3 flats ground on it as hard metal won't chuck securely if smooth. I mention this in case anyone wants to make their own.bumper
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #9 – February 19, 2005, 09:05:10 am Yahoo Message Number: 50939We ran the cable from our Wilson down our MB's ladder, into the rear passenger side storage area, and up the end of the sofa.best, paul
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #10 – February 19, 2005, 09:22:46 am Yahoo Message Number: 50940In our case we did as you said. Trees quickly broke off the 3 radial arms (ground plane?), followed by breaking the antenna off its mount right above the spring. The spring was of little help - it apparently was taken from a truck suspension it was so stiff. I then taped the antenna (vertically) to the ladder much lower than it was when it was attached (vertically) to the horizontal rail on the roof and a tree broke it off, too. It now hangs upside down supported by the coax cable and swings in the breeze. IF I was to replace it, I would mount it (vertically) on the ladder as I did, but with the tip of the antenna at the top of the horizontal rail on the roof. It might have a chance of surviving there, and will still be a big improvement over no Wilson at all. Keep in mind that location does give a good shot at about 270 of the 360 degrees.BTW, the Wilson instructions do recommend installing it on the driver's side..... My story tells you what happens when you ignore recommendations >best, paul
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #11 – February 19, 2005, 01:17:17 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50949"It now hangs upside down supported by the coax cable and swings in the breeze." Hey Paul, that's what ours is doing. You think it is a Mexico thing?Jonna, in Punta Perula, Jalisco
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #13 – February 19, 2005, 07:17:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50957Steve, bumper, et al, I rest my case for my marine clamp, railing-mounted Wilson Truckers Antenna. The antenna is nice and vertical above the LD when locked in the upright position. When moved to the travel position, it sticks up no higher than the railing, and thus seems to be pretty safe from damage. It probably doesn't even take 10 seconds to switch its position. As for the cable, I ran it down the fridge vent and then through a cable run I installed through the bottom rear of the fridge compartment. From underneath the fridge it was an easy run over to under the sofa and up through a hole for the seat belt mount. There's about 7' of cable inside the LD, which allows use of the phone just about anywhere in our FL.Ted H'02 FL NE12Steve wrote: As an Electronic Tech for the past 40 years I am in total agreement. Vertically polarized antennas need to be vertical to get the best transmission or reception patterns.But tell me this, once you've got it mounted, how do you fish the coax cable into the LD. I'm presuming you have a temporary method, not a hard wired path through the roof.Steve S.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #14 – February 20, 2005, 11:24:06 am Yahoo Message Number: 50983Paul,According to my Acronmy finder, http://www.acronymfinder.com/ROFL has two meanings:ROFL Rolling on Floor Laughing or ROFL Rene Ord for Lommepengene (Danish TV program) Could you please clarify which one you intended? With Engineer-types you can never be sure of their exact meaning.Barry 01 r rb tx
Re: Cell antenna options Reply #15 – February 20, 2005, 01:08:19 pm Yahoo Message Number: 50991Ya got me! I'm Danish >
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