3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

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james211
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3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by james211 »

So I'm very new to all this LTE stuff so forgive me if I'm asking something stupid. I work in motion/photography and I recently picked up a cellular bonding solution that has four modems, each with two antenna's, additionally it has wifi built into it so it has two wifi antenna's as well.

Given that this is a mobile device for streaming, I'm going to be building it into a pelican case with battery power.

Is there a solution for an antenna that could be mounted inside of a pelican lid that could utilize that many modems plus wifi?

I'm pretty sure that if I leave the stock antenna's inside the pelican that will diminish my reception so my alternative is to install exterior antenna ports, which is fine - if I do this, are there any rugged antenna options I should consider?

Attached is some inspiration - but I believe with this one the case would need remain open for optimal reception.
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BillA
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by BillA »

Two things to consider.
1. If the case is made of metal, then you would definitely need to have it open for the signal be received/transmitted.
2. If it's made of plastic, then it would work with internal antennas, as long as you stand the case on it's bottom edge, because the antennas have to be vertical for proper polarization.
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by james211 »

Are there antenna's that are not polar dependent?
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by Didneywhorl »

How many LTE antenna ports does the device have?
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by james211 »

I have four of the units below, each one has two antenna's and the base unit these plug into has two wifi antenna's.

Hers what each modem looks like: https://teradek.com/products/node?variant=38200125709
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by Viper67857 »

Omg at that price with a cat4 modem inside... Makes cradlepoints look cheap. You could probably get better speeds from a single cat20 modem inside a WG series router with a couple flat panel mimos in the case (of course the case would have to be upright and pointed in the general direction of the tower), not to mention better battery life... If you can sell just one of those modems for anywhere near the retail price, it would pay for the entire setup I just described, including your case and power supply.
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by james211 »

Viper67857 wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 5:59 pm Omg at that price with a cat4 modem inside... Makes cradlepoints look cheap. You could probably get better speeds from a single cat20 modem inside a WG series router with a couple flat panel mimos in the case (of course the case would have to be upright and pointed in the general direction of the tower), not to mention better battery life... If you can sell just one of those modems for anywhere near the retail price, it would pay for the entire setup I just described, including your case and power supply.
My apologies in advance, but I'm not here looking for criticism on the setup, we each have our own setups which serve their own purposes, I'm just here looking for advice on antenna's.
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Re: 3G/4G/LTE - Wifi Antenna Suggestions

Post by Viper67857 »

So what type of areas will you be primarily working in? If you'll be mostly in/around metro areas, constantly surrounded by multiple towers from all providers, then those 3-5 dbi omnis would suffice. If there's room in the case they could even be mounted directly to the modems and still be vertical when the case is flat and closed.

If you're often going to be more remote and need more gain, then stripping down some flat-panels and mounting the innards in the lining of the case could work. The downfall is that those are somewhat directional, and if you're planning on operating with sims from multiple providers and the towers for those providers are in different directions, well I think you see where I'm going with that...

I guess the most versatile solution would involve a row of bulkhead connectors along the front/sides of the case, with some type of cover to protect them during transport. You could screw on the omnis when in areas where signal is good, and have some flat panels on tripods with a couple meters of cable to attach in areas where signal is not so good.
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