External Wi-Fi antenna

[eauvinet]

Hi Everyone,
I'm trying to improve the wireless reception of my tinkerboard with an external antenna.
To do this, I've bought an MHF4 to RP-SMA female cable and drill a 6mm hole in the case.
You can see the result in attachment. 
At the moment, the gain is small but better than nothing (from -70 to more than -60 in Wifi Analyzer)

If you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to share it.

Configuration : TinkerOS Android v13.11.0.5

[TRP]

I also want to add an external antenna, so I ordered this from Amazon:
IPEX U.fl/IPEX to SMA Female (hole) Pigtail 20cm for Mini PCIe Wifi MHF1 MHFI (Hirose U.FL 0.81mm)

It seems identical to what you said you used, but doesn't seem to fit onto the IPEX connector on the board. Do I just need to push harder, or did I buy the wrong cable? The connector, although tiny, appears larger than the connector on the jumper wire that comes on the board. Are there multiple sizes of tiny IPEX connectors?
Thanks,
Tom

[Craz_tyle]

I also want to add an external antenna, so I ordered this from Amazon:
IPEX U.fl/IPEX to SMA Female (hole) Pigtail 20cm for Mini PCIe Wifi MHF1 MHFI (Hirose U.FL 0.81mm)

It seems identical to what you said you used, but doesn't seem to fit onto the IPEX connector on the board.  Do I just need to push harder, or did I buy the wrong cable?  The connector, although tiny, appears larger than the connector on the jumper wire that comes on the board.  Are there multiple sizes of tiny IPEX connectors?
Thanks,
    Tom

Yes, IPEX MHF as I know have 4 size level.
And the Tinker Board is using MHF4 type...

[BeauSlim]

Hi Everyone,
I'm trying to improve the wireless reception of my tinkerboard with an external antenna.
To do this, I've bought an MHF4 to RP-SMA female cable and drill a 6mm hole in the case.
You can see the result in attachment. 
At the moment, the gain is small but better than nothing (from -70 to more than -60 in Wifi Analyzer)

If you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to share it.

Configuration : TinkerOS Android v13.11.0.5

Isn't that signal strength scale logarithmic?  10 times better is pretty good!  

Of course, 10 times a bad signal isn't necessarily a great signal, but it is good to know that adding an external antenna actually helps.

[SurferTim]

Thanks for the tip on the w.fl connector. I was about to buy the wrong size.

Signal strength is log scale.

It is hard to tell by the pic, but it looks like a 2db antenna. A higher gain antenna might help.

[Vapalus]

Yes, Decibel is a log scale.
If you have 10 DB more, the received amplitude should be three times higher, the received power 10 times higher.

[TLoATDaE]

I have managed to mount an external antenna, but I put it on the opposite side as you did.
Have a look at these for reference:




I find that putting it on this side by using a 90-degree mount allows for less intrusion into the case, and won't interfere with the GPIO pins even in the slightest.

What do you think?

[NealXu]

Hi... I have a somewhat similar system, and it works great. I can connect to and use wifi systems my wifi tablet would not connect to. The radio used is much more powerful than a cell phone or tablet transmitter. Not only do you need to get the signal from the wifi AP, but you have to send a signal to the wifi AP.

smt circuit board assembly

[renne]

Hi,

I do not use WiFi but ethernet. Is Bluetooth connected to the IPEX-MH4 connector (keyboard and mouse)?


@eauvinet

What's the vendor and model name of your housing?

[RawDevice]

I have managed to mount an external antenna, but I put it on the opposite side as you did.


I find that putting it on this side by using a 90-degree mount allows for less intrusion into the case, and won't interfere with the GPIO pins even in the slightest.

What do you think?

Hi,

Looks very neat.  Can you tell me where you bought the cable?  A link would be much appreciated.#

Thanks,

RawDevice