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Acampingwewillg's avatar
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Nov 26, 2019

Wilson Cell Booster?

Just thinking out loud but don't know much so here I am to ask....

So I have on the motorhome one of the older Wilson amps and trucker antenna with the necessary spacing between outside antenna, amp and inside antenna, have had this for many years. Recently I went and purchased the Directional RV65 system(the system that comes with the telescoping pole...I realize this is only suppose to be used once stationary but I have a couple of questions:
1) the cabling/Coax seems to be the same in both old and new system...would it be ok/advisable to use the old cabling for the New equip providing they are the same rather than re-routing again through the MH?
2) At first I though I would get an Omni antenna to place on the MH while traveling down the road and set the fixed mount when arriving at a destination, but I'm wondering two things here, using the new electronics(amp) to connect to a new Omni directional antenna? or use the new electronics with the older trucker antenna while in motion?

Bottom line is that everything is a Wilson product but the compatibility between old and new is what I curious about. I asked Wilson about using the new amp while traveling with a Omni and of course they replied that the RV65 is for stationary use only due to the power output of 65db opposed to the 50 db on their mobile units.

In the long run, I'm really just wondering about having to rerun the cabling...if not, it all becomes a lot easier to install. Thanks for any input.
  • ktmrfs's avatar
    ktmrfs
    Explorer II
    Nov 28, 2019
    Acampingwewillgo wrote:
    MrWizard wrote:
    I have looked at the specs of these different packages sold by Wilson
    It appears the same amp specs
    It's the big pole and bigger antenna that produce more gain
    I would use the old coax. The new equipment with a New multi band trucker antenna while driving , I wouldn't put any worry into the only use while stationary comment, I think that's CYA on case of stupid people


    Yes, I think that CYA statement was exactly as you say! Even the way Wilson responded to my question indicated in the wording, "it's not designed for this but everyone does it". I kind of got the just of what was being said!


    yup. I believe that FCC spec's limit the gain on "mobile" units to 50db + any antenna gain. But the limit doesn't apply to "fixed" units, such as in home, stationary RV etc. So...... to comply with FCC limits they state stationary use only and kinda drive it that way with the external pole mount antenna. But again, use a permanent roof mount omni when driving down the road, who would know!
  • Acampingwewillg's avatar
    Acampingwewillg
    Explorer II
    Nov 27, 2019
    MrWizard wrote:
    I have looked at the specs of these different packages sold by Wilson
    It appears the same amp specs
    It's the big pole and bigger antenna that produce more gain
    I would use the old coax. The new equipment with a New multi band trucker antenna while driving , I wouldn't put any worry into the only use while stationary comment, I think that's CYA on case of stupid people


    Yes, I think that CYA statement was exactly as you say! Even the way Wilson responded to my question indicated in the wording, "it's not designed for this but everyone does it". I kind of got the just of what was being said!
  • ktmrfs's avatar
    ktmrfs
    Explorer II
    Nov 27, 2019
    MrWizard wrote:
    I have looked at the specs of these different packages sold by Wilson
    It appears the same amp specs
    It's the big pole and bigger antenna that produce more gain
    I would use the old coax. The new equipment with a New multi band trucker antenna while driving , I wouldn't put any worry into the only use while stationary comment, I think that's CYA on case of stupid people


    I looked up the spec's again. the RV 65 along with some of the other "RV" amps are 75 ohm output, NOT 50 ohm systems like many of the older amps were. Highly likely older non RV systems were 50 ohm. So highly likely one would need to replace the 50 ohm outside antenna cable and exisiting antenna with a 75 ohm system.

    IMHO the switch to 75 ohm was a wise idea. Low loss 75 ohm cable is much less expensive and much smaller and easier to work with than an equivalent low loss 50 ohm system. The equiv 50 ohm cable is about 1/2" in diameter and almost a semi rigid cable and very expensive.

    trucker antenna is 50 ohm. so to avoid impedance mismatch and high VSWR and gain loss you should use a 75 ohm external antenna. I don't think they make a 75 ohm trucker antenna, but the do make a 75 ohm omni with a build in ground plane.

    Inside antenna system is still 50 ohm so no need to switch that.

    RV65 amp give 15db more gain than the Drive X RV with 50db max gain, couple that with a taller pole and a directional antenna and overall system could be a winner in very low level signal areas.

    Drive X RV is also a 75 ohm external impedance system. I have that unit in my RV and it works great.

    Most of the other systems are 50 ohm.
  • MrWizard's avatar
    MrWizard
    Moderator
    Nov 27, 2019
    I have looked at the specs of these different packages sold by Wilson
    It appears the same amp specs
    It's the big pole and bigger antenna that produce more gain
    I would use the old coax. The new equipment with a New multi band trucker antenna while driving , I wouldn't put any worry into the only use while stationary comment, I think that's CYA on case of stupid people
  • Acampingwewillg's avatar
    Acampingwewillg
    Explorer II
    Nov 26, 2019
    Thank you for that reply...I kind of figured I'd be re running the cable. I may just leave the old system in place ( when I say old, I mean like 6-7 years old and I bought it used to begin with.) Thanks again

    "ktmrsf"....you nailed the essence of my question, much appreciated.

    I was thinking of mounting the internal antenna on the ceiling but I will determine that when I get to it.
  • ktmrfs's avatar
    ktmrfs
    Explorer II
    Nov 26, 2019
    If I remember correctly the RV65 is a 75 ohm system between the external antenna and the amplifier. The older system is highly likely to be 50 ohm, so you WILL need to run new cable. I suspect the reason Wilson switched to 75 ohm on the RV 65 and a few other RV systems is that low loss 75 ohm cable is much less expensive and easier to handle than low loss 50 ohm cable.

    The wilson comment on stationary use only is for regulatory compliance. Mobile systems are limited to 50db gain, stationary systems can have more gain. If you want to use it with a fixed antenna you will also need to get a 75 ohm antenna.

    The antenna from inside the trailer to the amp is still a 50 ohm system.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Nov 26, 2019
    I was using the earlier model WILSON CRADEL unit that had an external antenna.

    I had this installed up behind my POPUP TRAILER VALANCE curtains that goes around my whole interior ceiling.

    This was used with my older Verizon MIFI unit and worked rather well connecting several of my cell phone devices to the Verizon internet...

    The cradle was the ideal thing to use with the MIFI unit or cell phone placed in the cradle... A great local hot-spot for around my camp site setup...

    The external antenna was installed on the roof of the POPUP trailer..

    Worked well until I upgraded things over the years... Doesn't do much for me now... I guess it is this 2G-3G thing using different frequencies...

    Might be the same thing when using the older WILSON Amplifiers?

    Roy Ken
  • rockylarson's avatar
    rockylarson
    Explorer
    Nov 26, 2019
    See if I understand: I have an OEM omni antenna on my roof that my one and only WeBoost amplifier is connected to while in route. At destination the pole gets setup and the WeBoost directional antenna is turned for best target cell tower. The same coax but there might be an old Wilson adapter in there somewhere.

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