Tag: antenna

How to select an outdoor antenna for a 4G/5G Router

Before you start the search for an outdoor antenna for your router, consider the following questions:

  • Do you need a cellular antenna, WiFi, GPS, or something that combines these connections?
  • How/ where do you need to mount and how far is it in relation to your cellular router?
    • This will help determine the amount of cable needed.
    • Does the antenna include cable? Is it enough or will you need more?
  • Will your application be traveling or stationary?
    • Most travel applications and locations in more suburban/ urban areas should use an omnidirectional antenna
    • Use a Directional antenna if there is little to no obstructions between your location and the cell tower, and:
      • You are in a weak signal location  
      • There is only one tower in your area
  • What cellular frequencies does your router support?
    • Ensure you select an antenna that covers the same, or more frequencies than your router. These are listed in the specifications of your router and the antennas.
  • What type of connectors does your router use, and how many ports are there?
    • This will allow you to confirm the connector type(s) needed on the antenna cable. 
  • Does the antenna need to meet certain size requirements?

Gain

Gain is another factor to consider when selecting your antenna. Gain can be thought about like focusing the signal. The higher the gain, the more focused the antenna is on the signal in a particular direction. For an omnidirectional antenna, imagine a ball that flattens, extending outward. For a directional antenna, imagine a cone is made longer but the base of the cone is made smaller. A lower gain antenna might not have as much range as a high gain antenna, but it does allow for a wider degree of sight to the tower. This can be important to note for mobile applications, especially marine as boats will rock on the water at varying degrees. 

Frequencies (from Peplink)*

  • Low band: 600-960MHz
  • Mid band: 1700-2700MHz
  • High band: 3400-4200MHz (5G)
  • ISM band: 5100-6000MHz (5G)

*The frequency band naming is not official and was made for easier explanation and comparison.

Example Antenna Solutions

Note the specs at the links below. Some include cable, which range in length from 6-15ft, others do not include any cable. 

*MiMO Antenna Solutions

When you have a device that requires multiple antenna connections, look mainly at products from MobileMark, Panorama, Pepwave, and Poynting.

5G/ Cat 18 Cellular ONLYLTE Cellular ONLYWiFiLTE & 5G Cell + GPSLTE & 5G Cell + GPS + WiFi
Omnidirectional Antennas
Panorama MAKO Dome Antenna for 4×4 Cellular/5GPanorama Omnidirectional MiMo Wall Mount AntennaPepwave Mobility 02 2 x WiFi Dome AntennaPepwave Mobility 40G 5-in-1 Dome Antenna for LTE/GPSPepwave Mobility 22G 5-in-1 Dome Antenna for LTE/WiFi/GPS
Directional Antennas
Panorama 4×4 MiMo 4G/5G Directional AntennaPanorama Directional 2×2 MiMo Wall Mount AntennaDirectional WiFi Panel Antenna (2.4Ghz)Pepwave IoT 20G Panel Antenna for MiMo Cellular/5G & GPS—

*SiSO Antenna Solutions

When you only need a single antenna connection, look mainly at products from MobileMark, Panorama, Poynting, and SureCall.

LTE5G/ Cat18 (Limited Range)5G/ Cat 18 (Full Range)WiFiGPS
Omnidirectional
MobileMark Covert Mount 3G/4G/LTE AntennaSureCall Ultra-Wideband Outdoor Omnidirectional LTE/5G Antenna—9.5″ Outdoor Omni WiFi Antenna (2.4Ghz)
LairdThru-Roof Phantom Antenna
Directional
SureCall Wide-Band YagiSureCall Ultra Wide Band Outdoor Yagi AntennaMobileMark Wideband Log Periodic AntennaOutdoor Directional WiFi Panel Antenna (2.4GHz)—
Wilson Outdoor Directional 3G/4G/LTE Panel Antenna——Yagi Wifi Antenna (2.4Ghz)—

Location of Install

If needed, further narrow down results by the type of location you will be installing the antenna.

*Fixed MiMO

This list includes mobile antennas, which can be used with included or additional mounting hardware for fixed installation.

LTE5G/ Cat18 (Limited Range)5G/ Cat 18 (Full Range)Cell + GPS + WiFiWiFi
Omnidirectional
Panorama Omnidirectional MiMo Wall Mount AntennaPepwave 20G Maritime Antenna for MiMo Cellular/5G & GPSPanorama Dome Antenna for 2×2 MiMo Cellular/5GPepwave Mobility 40G 5-in-1 Dome Antenna for LTE/GPSPepwave Mobility 02 2 x WiFi Dome Antenna
Directional
—Poynting XPOL Directional MiMo 4G/5G AntennaPanorama 4×4 MiMo 4G/5G Directional AntennaPepwave IoT 20G Panel Antenna for MiMo Cellular/5G & GPS—

*Mobile MiMO

LTE5G/ Cat18 (Limited Range)5G/ Cat 18 (Full Range)WiFi
MobileMark LTM Thru Roof AntennaPepwave Mobility 22G 5-in-1 Dome Antenna for LTE/WiFi/GPSPanorama Dome Antenna for 2×2 MiMo Cellular/5GPepwave Mobility 02 2 x WiFi Dome Antenna
Pepwave 40G Maritime Antenna for 4×4 Cellular/5G & GPS———

If you need assistance selecting an appropriate antenna, don’t hesitate to reach out to the 5Gstore team by phone or chat!

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Working Remote in Rural Kentucky on LTE

In our business, even before the pandemic, we’ve been helping customers find ways to work remotely. As an experiment I wanted to test this out for myself. So, I took a week trip to our family farmhouse in Isonville, KY. This is in a remote area with lots of hills and little to no cellular reception. In the recent past we have been able to achieve a better signal, though it usually teeters around one bar, if we are lucky!  

Knowing the challenge of getting a good enough cellular signal – and that I would need to be able to maintain VoIP calls and load webpages and videos correctly – I decided to go with two styles of antennas. One would be an outdoor omni-directional antenna and the other would be an outdoor high gain Yagi antenna. The Omni-directional antenna I went with was a SureCall Ultra-Wideband LTE/5G Antenna. The Yagi antenna was a SureCall Ultra Wide Band Outdoor Yagi Antenna. 

My antenna setup

I also decided since this would be a test for future use, I wanted to do a temporary setup. I bought some standard 2 foot length 1.25 inch PVC tubing from the local hardware store and a few fittings to fashion a temporary mounting pole in the upstairs room of the farmhouse. The Peplink router I used was a Pepwave MAX BR1 Mini LTE-A. 

Armed with my Pepwave Max BR1 Mini, the antennas and the PVC I went to work on getting the antennas mounted and aligned for the best signal acquisition I could obtain. I used the data from cell mapper to get an idea of where I needed to aim the Surecall Wide-Band Yagi Antenna and an app on my phone (which I use when I go hiking) called GPS Status (iOS Link | Android Link) to aim the antenna precisely.

Results from GPS Status

Using the stock antennas on the Pepwave Max BR1 Mini on the second floor I had a signal value of -119dBm, and this is a horrible signal to be sure. After connecting the omni-directional antenna to Cellular Main and the Surecall Wide-Band Yagi Antenna to Cellular Diversity I was able to acquire a signal value of -73dBm. This was a HUGE improvement. I ran a speed test with the stock antennas, and I was only able to get about 4.5Mbps down and 0.4Mbps up. With the antennas in place, I was able to get 19.8Mbps down and 8.7Mbps up. This was about 15.5 miles to the nearest tower from the farmhouse.

Distance from farmhouse to tower; Frequency bands use in the area

As another test I decided to try and use my old cellular router, a Netgear LB1120. This is what I had used prior to receiving the Pepwave Max BR1 Mini. With the stock antennas I had absolutely no signal. With the SureCall Wide-Band Yagi antenna, I aimed it at the one and only cellular tower that had the band it supported in the area (Band 4.) The result was staggering, to say the least. I went from no signal to a signal of -89dBm. Now while that doesn’t sound like a huge improvement, let me explain why this result was so jaw dropping. The tower I was connected to was just shy of 24 miles away!

Distance from farmhouse to cell tower
Additional frequency info for the area

My results with these antennas have given me the ability to have a future permanent setup at a very remote rural location that I can reliably work from. With a relatively low budget. I know that other people in “Rural America” have this exact same issue with not being able to get steady service in an area that is usually not serviceable. My results are a testament to how well these antennas perform.

You can check out the products we used (just with longer cables) at the following link: https://5gstore.com/cart/33660

If you have any questions please give us a call and we will be happy to assist you Monday – Friday 9am to 6pm CST (833) 547-8673.

Tests performed and addressed in this article were done, and details written by David W. with the 5Gstore team.

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