Remote Control antenna extension?

[Homey_B]

Hi!

I have a new Forest River 5th wheel, and it came equipped with a Lippert based remote control system for activating the slides and jacks. Was a nice idea, but there's always a bump in the road, right?

Even with a totally charged remote, the base unit only processes the commands if you're standing within 5 feet of it. I found the master installed under the stairs, after removing the partition between the storage space and the back of the stairs. What surprised me was that the system has a simple wire antenna, it is about 6 inches long, and it was potted down in a huge glob of polished epoxy.

I wanted to move the antenna more to the outside of the RV, but it's way too short to work with!

Is there any reasonable way to uninstall the micro-sized antenna that is there and replace it with a newer (longer) one? I know from my ancient ham radio days that you just can't solder a new piece on it, but there has to be a real option to make the system a bit more usable.

Any information and/or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!

j

[shastagary]

they are probably keeping the range short to prevent another camper next to you from the possibility of operating your slides. but that is very short range. 1/4 wave at 433mhz if that is what it is would be 6.5 inch antenna. full wave antenna would be 2ft-1.9 inches.

[GordonThree]

Sounds like a 433mhz ISM design, I have several remote relays that also use a simple wire antenna. I agree just soldering a longer piece of wire on isn't likely to help.

Question is, is it really just a simple piece of wire (hopefully of the correct 1/4 wavelength length), or is it just the end of a coil antenna, and the coil is inside the box somewhere.

These instructions look helpful:

Clicky

Can you get inside the control box to inspect the rest of the antenna?

Other than that, just make sure the wire is as straight as you can make it, maybe use a piece of plastic tubing to keep it that way. Try moving it to different orientations, out, down, sideways, etc.