Hello all. I am wondering if anyone has made any modifications to their wifi antenna and saw an improvement in reception?
I messed with mine after reading a how to on making an improved reception antenna - I cut off the tip of the sheathing on my antenna and then stripped a copper wire bare and spliced them together. I covered the wire with a straw and tried it out. Unfortunately I did not see any improvement.
Is there a better antenna I can buy, or a booster or something of that sort?
noDaveu said:
Hello all. I am wondering if anyone has made any modifications to their wifi antenna and saw an improvement in reception?
I messed with mine after reading a how to on making an improved reception antenna - I cut off the tip of the sheathing on my antenna and then stripped a copper wire bare and spliced them together. I covered the wire with a straw and tried it out. Unfortunately I did not see any improvement.
Is there a better antenna I can buy, or a booster or something of that sort?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You likely made it worse. Antennas are tuned for the frequency used - making them longer doesn't necessarily make them better. (antennas for AM radio generally being an exception, because the tuned length is longer than they can be practically made). For 2.4 GHz, the 1/2 wave length is about 2.5 inches (64 mm).
I simply drilled a hole in the case near where the antenna is attached to the PC board so I could route the antenna to be external to the metal case, so it's no longer shielded by it.
The root problem is that the wireless on these units isn't particularly sensitive. That's difficult to address with a different antenna. Antennas only provide gain by being more directional - they can get better performance in some directions only by sacrificing performance in other directions. In general, you'd want the best performance horizontally, and in all directions. The exiting antenna will do that, if it's oriented vertically - so drill a hole in the bottom of the chassis, and route it that way, if there's room.
Hello all. I am wondering if anyone has made any modifications to their wifi antenna and saw an improvement in reception?
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Click to collapse
Yes, I cut off the end of the coax, put an rp-sma jack on mine(see carjoying topic), and now I use an external "real" wifi antenna and the reception IS better. In fact I plan on putting a mag-mount wifi antenna on the outside of the vehicle.
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seems like that could extend the range, moving the antenna external to the case would be easy. it'd be a snap to find the 802.11 antenna.
Don't think I would like the wire hanging out.
Having a hard time getting a good wifi signal. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or ways to extend the wifi antenna?
I know someone wired it to a SMA port on the back with a normally stubby wifi antenna back there.
I toyed with this idea and was tempted to solder in the BNC jack/antenna off the spare router that I keep around just in case but eventually had to scrap it due to the limited RE in the dashboard cavity behind the HU. I used a slightly different approach which has proven to be just as effective: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=67394021&postcount=2
I did it here on my old Android 4 unit:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...rk3188-rk3066-2-din-head-units-t3193170/page2
And i did the same thing on my Android 5.5.1 unit as well.
What I do is cut off the end of the cable they provide. All the provide is a simple antenna made from cutting the coax back a bit to expose some center conductor, and the put some heat shrink on it.
I cut that off, and actually crimp on a proper rp-sma jack and mount it to the case. It's not difficult, but I am a ham radio operator, and have the correct crimping tools and experience doing it.
I do it on mine because I actually have a wifi antenna externally mounted on my jeep, and I need the rp-sma jack to connect to the coax from that outside antenna.
On the new Android 5.5.1 unit, it has TWO wifi antennas, I guess for diversity reception which can sometimes help the signals. But what I did was leave with the short stock antenna, and only put the connector on the other which goes to the external antenna. So now I sort of have one internal antenna, and one external.
nixfu said:
I did it here on my old Android 4 unit:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...rk3188-rk3066-2-din-head-units-t3193170/page2
And i did the same thing on my Android 5.5.1 unit as well.
What I do is cut off the end of the cable they provide. All the provide is a simple antenna made from cutting the coax back a bit to expose some center conductor, and the put some heat shrink on it.
I cut that off, and actually crimp on a proper rp-sma jack and mount it to the case. It's not difficult, but I am a ham radio operator, and have the correct crimping tools and experience doing it.
I do it on mine because I actually have a wifi antenna externally mounted on my jeep, and I need the rp-sma jack to connect to the coax from that outside antenna.
On the new Android 5.5.1 unit, it has TWO wifi antennas, I guess for diversity reception which can sometimes help the signals. But what I did was leave with the short stock antenna, and only put the connector on the other which goes to the external antenna. So now I sort of have one internal antenna, and one external.
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Click to collapse
in that post, you linked to an external antenna on ebay. did you end up buying that and is it good? or were you just thinking about it? in this post you mention an external antenna mounted on your jeep. is that the ebay antenna you linked or a different one?
my unit has a weak antenna on its back side outside of the box. it's fine for picking up my phone when i make it a hotspot in the car but doesn't/can't pick up wifi from the house when i am parked in the garage. phone easily picks it up. i don't know if it's just a weak antenna or the fact that it's surrounded by the dashboard housing... or both. would like to change that if i can do it on the cheap.
Does anyone know what type of GPS antenna's these units use?
I have an Xtrons PX5 Oreo head unit, but I'm having difficulty positioning the GPS antenna in a good location, due to lack of space under the dashboard.
I'd like to buy another antenna, to take apart and get rid of the plastic cover, in the hope that it will be a bit smaller and I can squeeze it under the dash
However I'm not sure if all antennas that I can buy are the same.
The socket type on the back of the Xtrons unit appears to be a type called FAKRA, and the antenna that came with the unit has a right angle connector.
I can find loads of similar looking antennas on eBay and AliExpress etc, with FAKRA plugs, but most of them are straight (so I'll need to check if a longer plug would be a problem.)
But apart from that... Does anyone know if there is anything specific I need to look out for when buying another GPS antenna ?
Some antennas say they are "Active" and are powered by between 3 and 5V, but I presume they are all like this ?
Also, I've seen splitter cables, which would suggest that I could install more than one GPS antenna, but I'm not really sure if thats possible either ??
Thanks
RogerClark said:
Does anyone know what type of GPS antenna's these units use?
I have an Xtrons PX5 Oreo head unit, but I'm having difficulty positioning the GPS antenna in a good location, due to lack of space under the dashboard.
I'd like to buy another antenna, to take apart and get rid of the plastic cover, in the hope that it will be a bit smaller and I can squeeze it under the dash
However I'm not sure if all antennas that I can buy are the same.
The socket type on the back of the Xtrons unit appears to be a type called FAKRA, and the antenna that came with the unit has a right angle connector.
I can find loads of similar looking antennas on eBay and AliExpress etc, with FAKRA plugs, but most of them are straight (so I'll need to check if a longer plug would be a problem.)
But apart from that... Does anyone know if there is anything specific I need to look out for when buying another GPS antenna ?
Some antennas say they are "Active" and are powered by between 3 and 5V, but I presume they are all like this ?
Also, I've seen splitter cables, which would suggest that I could install more than one GPS antenna, but I'm not really sure if thats possible either ??
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What for a car do you have? (brand & model)
Xtrons TE706PL. It has a FAKRA connector on the back.
Since I posted, I've ordered a generic GPS antenna from AliExpress which has a FAKRA connector on it, (for less than $10)...
So I'll see if that works.
What I don't know however if these antennas are Passive or Active. I presume they are mostly Active, where between 3 and 5 volts is supplied to the antenna, via the same cable (coax) where the signals are sent into the unit (capacitive coupling)
As GPS signals are at 1500Mhz, the loss on thin coax is extreme, so I'd be surprised if any of these antennas, which come with several metres of coax, are passive.
(But I could be wrong.. In which case I'll probably also try to shorten the coax to just the length I need, as that will also improve GPS reception)
RogerClark said:
What I don't know however if these antennas are Passive or Active. I presume they are mostly Active, where between 3 and 5 volts is supplied to the antenna, via the same cable (coax) where the signals are sent into the unit (capacitive coupling)
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What was your determination on this. Does the radio use an active antenna or passive?
btw, its an active antenna. I bought a replacement antenna from anywhere they sell active gps antennas.
Let's assume routing isn't an issue.
In a vehicle, what is the best location for the wifi antenna?
The antenna in question is from an Atoto head unit so it's a flat candy bar shape with adhesive on one side.
Stuck to the windshield (interior)?
Stuck directly in the center of the roof panel against the metal (interior)?
Does the orientation of the antenna matter?
Just like any wifi antenna, it's best placed vertically in relation to a vertical router antenna. Assuming your car is all metal, as close to the windshield as possible. If you have a car with any exterior plastic/fiberglass panels I'd mount it outside the car's frame but inside a panel.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What is the source of the WiFi network you are connecting to? If it's a dedicated hotspot or your phone that's located inside the car, it doesn't matter much where you place the antenna. I hid mine in the glove compartment. And for larger updates I take it out and place it wherever I have the best reception for a given WiFi network.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
kramttocs said:
Let's assume routing isn't an issue.
In a vehicle, what is the best location for the wifi antenna?
The antenna in question is from an Atoto head unit so it's a flat candy bar shape with adhesive on one side.
Stuck to the windshield (interior)?
Stuck directly in the center of the roof panel against the metal (interior)?
Does the orientation of the antenna matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anywhere you get best signal strength, suits your taste and is least safety risk.
cannondale0815 said:
What is the source of the WiFi network you are connecting to? If it's a dedicated hotspot or your phone that's located inside the car, it doesn't matter much where you place the antenna. I hid mine in the glove compartment. And for larger updates I take it out and place it wherever I have the best reception for a given WiFi network.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I guess that's true. I was in the mindset of the gps antenna needing a good location but for wifi yes, my phone will be the main source and that means it will only ever be a handful of feet away. I like the glovebox idea so you could pull it out and put it whenever the cord will let you if needed.
Thanks everyone!
I've got one of these Alps F9212B 1 din head units from AliExpress from the seller Carlaoer
Android 9.0 1din Quad-Core Car GPS Navigation Player 7'' Universa Car Radio WiFi Bluetooth MP5 1 DIN Multimedia Player NO DVD
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001147862560.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1aff4c4dvndEM7
When it's in the car parked outside my house, the WiFi won't connect to my home WiFi, I've also tried tethering via WiFi to my mobile inside the car and that really struggles to connect too.
I took the unit inside the house where the WiFi is obviously stronger and the WiFi will work, but the transfer rate is really slow in comparison to my phone which is connected to the same router in the spot as the head unit.
I've taken the unit apart to have a look inside, there's two very short blue wires (about 1 inch in length) that are used for the bluetooth and wifi.
Some observations and thoughts....
I was going to try tracing the WiFi wire back to the chip on the board and soldering a proper shielded pigtail, but the traces are hidden behind some kind of mod board. I'll post a picture in a moment to see if anyone can tell me what the WiFi chip might be?
I've noticed that the WiFi wire is showing continuity with ground on the board (whereas the bluetooth one doesn't), was wondering if this could be the source of the problem possibly too?
After doing quite a bit of googling, the motherboard appears very similar to this one in this video
Any help much appreciated
Here's some photos I took.
There's the top and bottom of the board. (bottom board shows the mod board that has been attached to underside of the connectors)
Also a close-up of the blue BT and WiFi antennas, they are both 40mm in length from the top of the connector
There's also the pinout diagram shown in the manual and on the device itself.
And also a screenshot of the OS version that the device is using.
Some observations:
On the bottom side of the board under the silver shielding with the 13 sticker on there's MT6627N chip (which google says is an all in-one WIFI, BT and GPS chip. The silver cover just pops off with a screwdriver. Doesn't appear to be any solder points or connections to attach an antenna.
So both the paper manual and device manual confirm that the same pin is used for WiFi. However the device manual has 30mm marked next to it. I measured the wire and it's 40mm, will this extra 10mm make a difference I wonder?
Here's the datasheet for MT6627 - https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/791003/MediaTek/MT6627/1
On page 16 it mentions the RF port and Antenna port can be connected directly with a trace of 50 ohms
Also found a diagram that shows single antenna implementation
I have pretty much the same unit. Been trying to improve the wifi myself. Checking around, I found two possible methods. One, is soldering a RP-SMA pigtail to the wire on the end of the connector, and then screwing an actual antenna onto it. I haven't tried it yet because I am still waiting on the part. The second was cutting the size of the wire to the designated size. The wire on my connector is nearly 3 times the length, but since I have so much extra wire, before I cut it, I want to test the antenna method.
Hope that helps.
DroidX2 said:
I have pretty much the same unit. Been trying to improve the wifi myself. Checking around, I found two possible methods. One, is soldering a RP-SMA pigtail to the wire on the end of the connector, and then screwing an actual antenna onto it. I haven't tried it yet because I am still waiting on the part. The second was cutting the size of the wire to the designated size. The wire on my connector is nearly 3 times the length, but since I have so much extra wire, before I cut it, I want to test the antenna method.
Hope that helps.
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Click to collapse
Do you have photos of your unit? Is it the same board layout as mine?
While I don't have pics of the board at the moment, here is a link to the Unit I have. https://www.amazon.com/Android-Navigation-Bluetooth-MirrorLink-Subwoofer/dp/B09135FMM1?dchild=1
Have you done any modifications that fixed things?