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suprz's avatar
suprz
Explorer
Jan 25, 2020

Cellphone signal booster antenna question

I have a wilson sleek that I will be using in my RV. It came with the small magnetic "shark fin" style antenna. I know it needs a ground plane to work correctly but my plan is to use a strip of metal attached to my roof with eternabond tape for the antenna to sit on. That way I can still detach it when not in use for the winter months. The profile of the antenna is such that it looks like it will use more of its side profile to get signal instead of straight ahead. So what if I used a 5 inch deep by 12 inch long piece of metal? It would have more of a side profile to reflect the signal onto the side of the antenna. Yes, I understand I could be losing some signal from straight ahead, but I'm ok with that. I'm not an expert but this seems logical. What do you think?
  • crcr's avatar
    crcr
    Explorer
    Jan 25, 2020
    I used a Wilson Sleek for many years. The instructions with my Wilson Sleek stated that the antenna needed at least a 4 inch diameter metal base. So I attached a custom piece of sheet metal a little over 4" diameter to an extendable pole that I erected when camping. It worked fine. So to answer your question, as far as I know, the size of your metal base mentioned should do the job just fine.

    Last year I moved up to a WeBoost Drive 4G-X, a vastly superior cell signal booster, also from Wilson Electronics. Re the Wilson Sleek, keep in mind that those are out of production and should you need replacement parts for them, you can't always find them.
  • _1Flyboy's avatar
    _1Flyboy
    Explorer
    Jan 25, 2020
    ....Call WeBoost (Wilson Electronics) toll free; they have good service reps; get all the answers you can handle....
  • suprz's avatar
    suprz
    Explorer
    Jan 25, 2020
    #1Flyboy wrote:
    ....Call WeBoost (Wilson Electronics) toll free; they have good service reps; get all the answers you can handle....


    Unfortunately I did... one rep told me I didnt need a ground plane, another said I did and told me the booster I had wouldn't work with 4G service... until I told him the box states it does work with 3g and 4g networks.
    I tried calling a third time to also ask about separation of the antennas etc... again not a clear answer

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