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3G Modem with External Antenna


dannymcc

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I've ordered a Pineapple V with the Elite kit upgrade.

I would like to add a 3G dongle to the Pineapple V, which I understand should be simple enough. I'm planning on drilling through the casing (Pelican?) for the two wireless antennas and would really like to add a third antenna for the 3G dongle.

Does anyone know of any 3G dongles that allow an external antenna to be connected?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Danny

Edited by dannymcc
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Hey danymcc,

the connector most modems do have is called CRC-9. I guess you'll find some antennas on ebay using that connector. I personally own the E122 GSM/WCDMA modem from Huawei which has this connector and you can find tons of antennas for it. But I personally would recommend you getting a CRC-9 to SMA pigtail and an SMA whatever-band-you-need antenna since you would have a solid connector on your pelican case and not just some antenna sticking out of a hole.

Hope this helps :)

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Has anyone drilled through the Pelican case already by any chance? I'm just wondering if there is anything to beware of before I give it a go.

I did mine last night. I used a 0.25-inch drill bit. In retrospect, I should have actually researched what the proper size for an SMA connector is. Fortunately, 0.25-inch is indeed the size of the SMA threads, according to Wikipedia. So I guessed correctly.

You have to remove the washers that came included with the pigtails. If you try to use the washers, then when combined with the thickness of the Pelican case, not enough thread is left sticking out to fully screw on the antenna.

Make sure you experiment with getting everything arranged inside the case before you commit to antennae locations. I found that the extremely short cable on the battery pack made it a bit tricky to arrange everything in such a way that there wouldn't be any stress on any of the cables or connectors, or pressing on the power switch.

I need to pick up some velcro for securing stuff down inside. With the contents left unsecured, the battery switch can easily get bumped (already had that happen once) or the pigtail connectors could get damaged when stuff shifts around. IMO it is a disappointment that the kit didn't include anything for securing the contents against movement.

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Foam would not have been the best choice thermally, however I see your point about the velcro. Will be making an update to the kit soon. Thanks for the feedback.

Also FWIW regarding 3G antennas, I can't speak highly enough about the Wilson signal processors - at least here in the US. My CDMA booster took my sprint Note2 from 2mbps to 20!

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