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RSD559's avatar
RSD559
Explorer
Sep 26, 2017

WIFI Antenna Output Thru Coax

I'm looking at putting a WIFI antenna on top of my ladder. Getting the signal into the coach has 2 options:
1) Drill a hole and install an RJ45 port or
2) Somehow connect through the existing satellite coax connection.
I will never be using the satellite connection, so I would like to connect into the trailer through it. Anyone have any experience with this? There was a YouTube video where a guy did it, but he didn't give any specifics about how he did it. He did have it connected to a $500 router. So I think his approach is going to be too pricey. What have you done? Thanks.

12 Replies

  • here is a explanation of why not to use tv or satellite coax cable for wifi


    So you want to transport that 2.5 GHz (or even 5 GHz ?) Wifi signal over TV COAX cable ?

    Indeed to the non-RF people you'd just think that would work. And it does BUT there will be almost no signal coming through that cable.

    The Wifi signal will be attenuated so much in that COAX cable that it will defeat the whole purpose of having an antenna on the roof. The same antenna directly on the router might even get better coverage.

    Why is that ?

    TV COAX cables are not designed for 2.5 GHz signals, TV signals go up to 1 GHz and even at that frequency you can expect a lot of attenuation.

    TV COAX cables usually have a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms, Wifi antennas routers etc. all use 50 ohms. There are no exceptions to that.

    So no, in practice this will not work at all.
  • I think you're going to run into problems with that approach because of the frequency range consumer wireless operates at (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). The typical RV coaxial wiring often seems to use 1 GHz F connectors and has hidden splitters in the walls, neither of which will work. The satellite connection *might* be a direct line with high frequency connectors, but that is not easily tested in advance without buying an expensive meter or the wireless equipment you would use. Something like this would be where I'd start my hardware research: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-outdoor/. You should be able to get adapters to convert what looks like SMA connectors to the trailer's F connector, but I'm unsure of how the performance will be.

    I actually just installed a setup like this on our trailer this weekend. I installed:
    (1) External 3 GHz F-connector port
    (1) External RJ-45 port
    (1) Dual rocker switch
    (1) PoE injector (attached to one of the switches)
    (1) weBoost 4G-X RV with 12V hardwiring (attached to the other switch)
    (2) Dual 2.1 amp USB ports

    The coax-based portions are for attaching a Yagi antenna for the weBoost where the ethernet-based portions are for a Ubiquiti NanoStation M2 to extend the WiFi range significantly. The extra USB ports are to power the local router and AT&T ZTE Mobley.

    Both the NanoStation and Yagi antenna are attached to a telescopic mast that will be installed where needed via suction cups on the side of the trailer. I did not want to permanently install this because I wanted the option to both reposition it if the overhead was obstructed by trees and to allow for it to be much higher than the trailer roof.

    I have photos that I can append from a computer if wanted (on an iPad at the moment).

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