Develop Bugs

External Antenna

Anyone ever use one? If so, what do you think of this?
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_antenna_combo_em_removal.html
Not interest in saving my brain, but in extending my 3G and 4G range.

I'm a little interested as well. For $50, it had better give great reception.

I heard my friend talk about this today. I hope it works.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I have used them from Wilson Electronics with great results...Don't know about these

Hold the (cell)phone - that one doesn't cover the LTE frequencies. Here's a nice indoor one that covers 700 MHz.
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_all_bands_8db_panel_indoor.html
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.

rtompkins3 said:
I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think that it plus into that jack on the bottom back of the TBolt.
Looks to have a rubber plug in it now.

I thought that was covering a screw

Has anyone tried either of these or any other similar device? I recently moved and now my signal has gone to hell (I'm lucky if I get one bar), so I'm seriously considering one of these.
Any reviews/feedback?

rtompkins3 said:
I thought that was covering a screw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what ive heard.
i also would like to see how this thing connects..

Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?

wgoeken said:
Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?
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Click to collapse
I know on the droid and several other phones, there are little Antenna diversity jacks so that you can plug in extended or high-gain antennas (usually underneath the battery covers). I have seen the metal connectors (but not in a standardized form) on the inside of the case that connect to the antenna leads inside the back cover. You could potentially solder some leads from those to a proper antenna connecter that you mount on the back of the phone or inside one of those rubber fitted screw-holes. Then you could plug in and unplug your external antenna. As far as standardized connectors for external antennas, I don't think the T-Bolt has one.

emailed that site. heres what they said:
The is a small plastic cover, about 1/4" in diameter, on the back
of the phone. You may remove, very carefully, with a needle, and
the antenna port will be exposed.
Notice, however, that we recommend using the ExtAntPro™ adapter
with the Thunderbolt, because of the very small antenna port. The
regular adapter, which comes with the antennas, falls off very
easily, although it does still work.
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Click to collapse
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.

gohamstergo said:
emailed that site. heres what they said:
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I second that. I had these antennas for a couple years. I never found the antenna connection on the last couple phones I had, so I never even cared to pull the rubber plug, but it is indeed the antenna plug, these antennas work great, special during long drives, or for when I visit relatives who live in the woods, with a very weak signal. Thanks!

nope not covering a screw i double checked

I would never hook up an external antenna to a phone again. I did it once with my old Samsung Epix, and while it improved the signal when I disconnected the antenna I lost all service, so my phone was basically useless after connecting it.

What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.

avatar120 said:
What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have one of these at my work as well. Great signal outside, but not so much in the basement of the building. As soon as we moved into that building, getting one of these installed was a top priority of mine. It made a HUGE difference, although mostly for non-VZW!

external antenna
Search U.FL on wikipedia
That appears to be the connector under the rubber plug on a thunderbolt.
I cant find any that just go straight except ipx connectors at rfconnector.com
Does connecting an external antenna affect the internal one at all?

LAMPEY said:
Search U.FL on wikipedia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TB jack is not a Hirose U.FL. It looks more like a MS-156.

Externall Antenna Port?

I was wondering if i could buy like a small external antenna to put into my dinc. I have the extended battery so I think it will give enough space for a small external antenna. Is there any out there I been googling it, nothing really comes up to what I want to see, haha.

You will not be directly connected to the antenna amplification section of the phone.So it would essentially pointless,But just for s#@ts and giggles,You could make one!!!!! The only jack I would try it on is the 3.5mm minijack!!! Like I said you will not be connected directly to the phones antenna but you may get a phantom effect and you'll also get noise!! I know where your trying to go with this but there's too many variables to get what your looking for! It would be nice though!

lol alright I will just give up on the matter. I just hate not having freaking service anywhere. Do those things that attach to the cars actually increase range?

I believe there is a port for an external antenna under the battery door. It's on the right side at the bottom, right below the battery, there is a circular cap over it.

I think thats some sort of service port . I looked into this a few months ago. Dont remember exactly but I came to the conclusion that there wasn't anything to be done with it.

External antenna mod:
http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-incredible/132850-external-antenna-mod.html

A temporary fix for low signal and slow data speeds!

Hey guys, just got my DInc2 Monday and found that the signal strength was no better than the Eris I had before it. The problem with the eris was that there was nowhere to connect an external antenna. After messing around with my new DInc2, and reading this forum, I found that by using the antenna that I bought for my eris: http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electronics-Trucker-Mirror-Antenna/dp/B001DTZ25A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323615483&sr=8-1
and the passive antenna adapter
http://3gstore.com/product/1691_passive_antenna_adapter.html
that I never could get to work to boost my eris' signal, I was able to DRAMATICALLY increase my signal and data speeds!!!
I have the antenna pointed in the general area of my closest tower.
I cut the end off the adapter, and stripped the wire. I then slid the wire into the antenna contact on the PHONE SIDE...not the cover. I went from 2 bars of signal and an average of -95dbi without the antenna, to a STEADY 3 bars and an average of -86dbi with the antenna. The back cover has to be off for this to work, so it's only a fix if you are at home, or somewhere stable where you can just connect it and set the phone on a table somewhere.
If anybody knows where I can pick up some kind of small alligator clip or ANYTHING that would allow me to more permanently attach the antenna while I'm at home, I'd love to hear it. I think if I had a better connection between the phone and the antenna, the signal would be that much better.
Here are the speedtests I took this morning. The first three are without the antenna, and the 2nd three are with the antenna

Antenna fix
You could get a spare back and drill into the area where the connections are and solder the wire to the contacts on the back.
Try it with the stock antenna intact. If the signal is not better, interupt the trace of copper for the stock antenna.
Enjoy...

Poking around in the back of my phone, I pulled off a tiny rubber cover located just above the SD card slot. Just underneath is what appears to be an antenna port. I have a Wilson antenna that I used with an old flip phone from back in the day, but the adapter I had did not fit. I ordered this one off of E-bay: Wilson 359909 Antenna Adapter LG, Motorola, Samsung,HTC (160641678739) - even though it did not explicitly state it would work on the Dinc2. In the meantime I spliced off the end of the adapter I already had and put the exposed wire in the antenna port. I noted an immediate increase of signal strength of -5dbm. Unfortunately, the ebay adapter arrived and it also does not fit. I think if we could find the right size adapter, we could drilll a hole in the back of the cover and it should seat nicely. Anyone have any thoughts?

I see that port. I didn't get any signal at all when I put my wire into it though. Anybody know what this port is for if not for an antenna? I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed this before.

I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed this before.
I agree. Maybe wishful thinking got the best of me!

I just hope there's something to this!

I shoulda thought more before posting. There is no doubt in my mind that I got a signal increase with the external antenna as compared to the last signal reading prior to taking off the cover (and having no signal at all).
Question is - could I have inadvertently touched something else in addition to that port?
At work till tomorrow afternoon and will retest then.

It IS an antenna port
I have attached pictures of the "setup", and a screen shot displaying my dbm's with the cover off and the antenna attached. Cover on signal status was -96 dBm and with the antenna attached it was -87 dBm.
Hopefully this will get someone a lot smarter than me interested in figuring out what kind of adapter would work on this port.
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback!
View attachment IMG_20111215_105537.bmp View attachment 2011-12-15_11-06-09_540.bmp View attachment 2011-12-15_11-07-26_527.bmp View attachment screenshot-1323982757531.bmp

Umm i get 2meg download speed with no app and the back on. Remember the phones internal antennal is actually the back door of the phone. Did you do those first speed tests with the back on? Try flashing a new radio. The newest one ending in .1111 is great!
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App

Thanks for the advice! I flashed the .1111 radio a couple days ago and have noticed that the dead spots on my 1.5 hour drive to work have gotten shorter and my average dl speeds have increased from an average of .5 Mbps to about 1.2 Mbps
My hope is that with the right adapter, I could plug in an external antenna (pictured in my previous post) and cause those dead spots to disappear all together.
By taking the back cover off and plugging the bare wire of the adapter into the port directly above the SIM card slot, I get better reception than I had with the back cover on. Problem is, it's a very precarious connection. I think if I could find an adapter that actually fit in that port, I could drill a hole in the back of the cover and plug and unplug as needed.

Wimax frequency

Does anyone know what exact frequencies Sprint uses for Wimax ?
I made an external antenna port on my Evo, now it's time to make an external antenna itself

I'm seeing 2.5 GHz, I will look for continue to look for specifics

Wikipedia has a huge write up on WiMAX. I'm not sure the exact information your looking for, but under the technical information section, they pretty much give you everything.

Thank you
I know the theoretical range of Wimax, would be nice to know what frequencies people are seeing.
Does anyone know if in ##DATA#, Center Frequency is an actual freuqency phone uses to connect ? (Here are the values:* 2647000, 2657000, 2667000 I would assume it's 2.647Ghz/2.657Ghz/2.667Ghz) ?
However, if I go into ##33284# (FieldTrial / Wimax Engineering) it's* 2551500 for Center Frequency (after turning 4G Radio)
Anyone cares to share their ##DATA# and FieldTrial / Wimax Engineering ##33284# center frequencies ? I just want to see how much variation there is.
Its important to get as close to right frequency as possible when calculating segment length on antenna.

I am showing 2.525Ghz with the bandwidth of 10Mhz. What type of antenna are you going to use? I hope you have access to a Service Monitor to check the SWR of your antenna. How are you connecting the antenna to the phone?

Thank you for sharing kf2m
I am going to build omni-directional antenna based on this design (but from thicker cable)
_www.rason.org/Projects/collant/collant.htm
Unfortunately I do not have any equipment to check SWR.
As far as connecting an antenna to the phone, I've made a slight cut out on red cover where 4G antenna terminals are and attached small connector for center wire of coax cable to the terminals (I do not know about what to do with ground, but let's see if I get away without it). Black cover closes normally, without showing any modifications externally.
I will share results after the weekend, whether it's a success or fail

Sounds interesting. I haven't seen anything like this for the Evo. Please keep the thread updated, and if all works maybe a write-up?
~ I'm a fungi

arch111 said:
Thank you for sharing kf2m
I am going to build omni-directional antenna based on this design (but from thicker cable)
_www.rason.org/Projects/collant/collant.htm
Unfortunately I do not have any equipment to check SWR.
As far as connecting an antenna to the phone, I've made a slight cut out on red cover where 4G antenna terminals are and attached small connector for center wire of coax cable to the terminals (I do not know about what to do with ground, but let's see if I get away without it). Black cover closes normally, without showing any modifications externally.
I will share results after the weekend, whether it's a success or fail
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That antenna is gonna be hot with common mode RF (hence the BALUM's at the base). Plus it is designed for 2 Meter operation, WIMax is like 10-11cm. I would not recommend using that. It also uses RG58 COAX which is way too thick, using thicker COAX like RG8 is going to be way too thick (massive line losses). The coax used for our purposes is about as thick as 14-16 gauge wire, RG58 is about 1/4", and RG8 about 1/2" thick. By design our phones use a 1/4 wave dipole antenna built into the chassis/frame. My measurements might be off but a full wavelength antenna is about 2.75" so a dipole antenna mounted vertically would be more effective, and without the grounding/ground plane issue you would have with an omni. At higher frequencies your SWR would be even more critical. Too high and your output circuit is going to overload from RF feeding back, and either pop the final output, or let out the magic smoke. A WiFi antenna is a close match, and using a LC matching circuit would be a better choice (or you can cut it down since WiFi is at 2.4Ghz, and WIMax operates at 2.5Ghz). Again you are going to need some sort of measuring device to properly match your antenna. Also using an antenna without a ground-ground plane, or reflector your SWR is going to be off the charts. To receive it is not much of an issue, but once you start pushing RF down the wire then it's a whole new ballgame.
Check here for some ideas.. http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Antennas/WiFi/
Hope I gave you a bit more information to work with.
Good Luck
73 de KF2M

[Q] "Backpack Antenna?"

Does anyone know of an external antenna for the GN? Perhaps a backpack style or battery door or even a case that plugs into the external antenna port?
I live in an area where I often have very weak or no signal. I have tried several radios and have similar performance on most of them. So I figure the better fix would be a better antenna.

The part you're looking for is very elusive. People have tried with similar butbwrong parts and borked their phones. Nice thread about it in gs2 forum.
sahibunlimited picks his nose. in his sleep.

From what I've seen here, plugging an external antenna in is a very bad idea.

Don't plug anything into that port. You'll permanently break the internal antenna. Read the thread in sgs2 forum.

Thanks. I'll take a look over there.

Here is the other thread if anyone else will benefit from it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1273292&highlight=antenna
I guess as of now I will just suffer since I really dont want to goof up the connector. I did destroy the connector on my Vibrant and had to solder bridge it. I used the wrong connector and it got stuck and actually ripped the connector off of the vibrant, so i solder bridged the 2 points on the board before even powering up the phone for fear of blowing out the radio while not having the antenna connected. It worked the same after "removing" the connector so it wasnt a complete loss.
Oh well maybe Ill look into a wilson amp or something similar.