External cell antenna

[John H]

I plan to mount a removable 10’ telescopic pole on my RV’s rear bumper for an external cell antenna. I have been looking at options for bringing the cable into the trailer and was wondering about drilling a small hole in the outside shower cubby for a waterproof connector. After looking under the vanity it appears that the outside shower is just a plastic box that is easily accessible. We never use it so it would be just a matter of raising my antenna, opening the shower box and connecting the coax to the adapter when needed. The other end of the cable would be run inside under the tub and up the inside of the wall to a coax wall jack.

[norty1]

How do you wash?

[John H]

Originally Posted by norty1

How do you wash?

Ok wise guy.

[WeRJuliian]

Perhaps more to the original point, what kind of antenna are you mounting?
I'm guessing this is a cellphone "booster" of some kind?

Ian, the shameless geek from Scotland

[John H]

Originally Posted by WeRJuliian

Perhaps more to the original point, what kind of antenna are you mounting?
I'm guessing this is a cellphone "booster" of some kind?

Ian, the shameless geek from Scotland

Yes a cell phone directional yagi/ beam style of antenna. Occasionally we are in locations that the signal is a little weak, effecting our internet hub and cell phone. It doesn’t happen all the time so I don’t want to mount something permanent, it would just be there if needed. I’m not sure if this is a good plan or not

[WeRJuliian]

Cool... how do you go about locating your carrier's nearest tower ?

[John H]

Originally Posted by WeRJuliian

Cool... how do you go about locating your carrier's nearest tower ?

There is an online map of tower locations for each province.

[WeRJuliian]

I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but in our favourite spot, there are mountains in the way.. :-)

I'd be interested to hear how that works out for you.

[John H]

Originally Posted by WeRJuliian

I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but in our favourite spot, there are mountains in the way.. :-)

I'd be interested to hear how that works out for you.

Yes the mountains would be a challenge for sure. I will have to give this some further thought, I’m a little nervous about drilling the hole and making sure the connector is sealed properly so water cannot penetrate.

[travelingjw]

John,
As long as you mount on a vertical surface, I would use caulking material around the penetration. If you purchase something that has gaskets on both side, I would still seal it with caulk (clear). Don't overthink it, caulking (window) is flexible and made for temperature fluctuations as long as you stay within the manufactures temperature specs.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by John H

Ok wise guy.

I honestly did see the outside part!

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by John H

Yes the mountains would be a challenge for sure. I will have to give this some further thought, I’m a little nervous about drilling the hole and making sure the connector is sealed properly so water cannot penetrate.

Copied from the CELLULAR SIGNAL BOOSTERS social Group

I just purchased the Uniden U65 Cellular Signal Booster for my wife (Mother's Day) as we spend the summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains in north GA. We are located in a valley surrounded by 2K - 4K mountains. The cell tower is 4.3 miles away so the MAX signal outside the TT is either "No Signal", 99% of the time "1" bar and an occasional "2" bar, and constantly dropping calls. Sending pictures was non-existent, "Text Messages" were sent and received once in awhile. So I decided to splurge and purchase a Cellular Signal Booster. After a lot of research I decided on the Uniden U65. I purchased the U65 because it has enough power to give a good signal in our house also.

I opted for the "Directional Outdoor Antenna" as that model gives the BEST performance. Since the TT is stationary and there is only one Cell Tower, I mounted it, aimed it and plugged it in. I also opted for the "Directional Indoor Antenna" since I did not want any signal feed back going toward the exterior antenna which would degrade the antenna performance. I set the system up in less than an hour. Cranked it up and I had 4 bars in the TT, pictures received/sent in seconds, no dropped calls. Wife is VERY HAPPY NOW!

Well worth the $$$

I mounted the directional antenna on a PVC pipe attached to the rear ladder. I ran the antenna wire down the pole, under the TT, cut a slot to fish the antenna cable up through a 3/4" hole I drilled in the floor of the rear storage compartment (under bunk bed), ran the wire to the front end of the storage compartment, came up through a nice slot between the bunk bed and the wall, went up the wall and mounted the interior directional antenna above the bathroom door, which is next to the bunks. I foamed all the openings, in the underbelly plastic and the hole in the floor.

So here it is September and DW still is very happy!!!

I am looking for an "A"/"B" antenna switch so I can switch between the interior antenna and when I purchase another antenna it will be an outside antenna. This way if we are sitting by the creek we can switch to the outside antenna.


Don

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/g...+boosters.html

[RAurand]

If you are running coax cable, why not just feed it into the TV feed? You already have outside and inside connectors for that?

[John H]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

Copied from the CELLULAR SIGNAL BOOSTERS social Group

I just purchased the Uniden U65 Cellular Signal Booster for my wife (Mother's Day) as we spend the summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains in north GA. We are located in a valley surrounded by 2K - 4K mountains. The cell tower is 4.3 miles away so the MAX signal outside the TT is either "No Signal", 99% of the time "1" bar and an occasional "2" bar, and constantly dropping calls. Sending pictures was non-existent, "Text Messages" were sent and received once in awhile. So I decided to splurge and purchase a Cellular Signal Booster. After a lot of research I decided on the Uniden U65. I purchased the U65 because it has enough power to give a good signal in our house also.

I opted for the "Directional Outdoor Antenna" as that model gives the BEST performance. Since the TT is stationary and there is only one Cell Tower, I mounted it, aimed it and plugged it in. I also opted for the "Directional Indoor Antenna" since I did not want any signal feed back going toward the exterior antenna which would degrade the antenna performance. I set the system up in less than an hour. Cranked it up and I had 4 bars in the TT, pictures received/sent in seconds, no dropped calls. Wife is VERY HAPPY NOW!

Well worth the $$$

I mounted the directional antenna on a PVC pipe attached to the rear ladder. I ran the antenna wire down the pole, under the TT, cut a slot to fish the antenna cable up through a 3/4" hole I drilled in the floor of the rear storage compartment (under bunk bed), ran the wire to the front end of the storage compartment, came up through a nice slot between the bunk bed and the wall, went up the wall and mounted the interior directional antenna above the bathroom door, which is next to the bunks. I foamed all the openings, in the underbelly plastic and the hole in the floor.

So here it is September and DW still is very happy!!!

I am looking for an "A"/"B" antenna switch so I can switch between the interior antenna and when I purchase another antenna it will be an outside antenna. This way if we are sitting by the creek we can switch to the outside antenna.


Don

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/g...+boosters.html

Thanks for that information Don, that's another option to explore as well.
John

[John H]

Originally Posted by RAurand

If you are running coax cable, why not just feed it into the TV feed? You already have outside and inside connectors for that?

I use the TV feed for my portable satellite dish. Also the TV feed is RG6 cable and the cell antenna uses LMR 200 cable with FME connectors. My mistake for saying that I was using coax.