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+--- Thread: Antenna coax length advice (/thread-313.html)
Antenna coax length advice - Padraic - 16/02/2024
Hi Sean & everyone. I'm currently using a Teltonika RUTX50 5G router here at home and I frequently use it in my campervan with a Poynting Puck 5 . I'm currently thinking about upgrading the antenna to a Poynting Mimo 4 17 as it will have connections for all 4 antennas.
I'd also like to use an extension cable as I need to place the router in a different place but I'm wondering will it be too long. The antenna has already got 2 meters and the extension cable is 3 meters. Will this length degrade the signal?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards Padraic.
RE: Antenna coax length advice - Seán - 25/02/2024
From looking at the 3m extension cable, it has a signal loss of about 1dB on the low frequency sub 1GHz bands and about 2dB on the high frequency bands. This signal loss is unlikely to have much impact especially in areas where the signal would be -100dBm RSRP or better. As the antenna is omni-directional, you will more likely face issues with interference from other masts than from slightly weaker signal strength.
Depending on your available storage space, it may be worth getting and packing a directional panel antenna that you can temporarily mount on a vertical pole (e.g. satellite dish tripod or a bicycle rack, if fitted) whenever you end up in an area with a very weak signal or with a lot of interference.