Help with cellular antennas

[Jason McKittrick]

I need some advice. I just bought my Sprint PCS Novatel Merlin S620 EV-DO card today. I found a place on the web to buy the external antenna cables and antennas, however I am not sure how to go about choosing an antenna for my card. Beside being EV-DO compatible what else should I be looking for to give me the best distance and performance. Or do they make a big enough difference to even bother with them?

 

[Tyler Allison]

You are looking for a DB rating. The higher the DB the better the performance.

When you buy the attachment to your card you need to make sure they ask you for what card it's being connected so you are sure to get the right size/style of connector.

 

[Jason McKittrick]

Tyler, thanks for the info.

 

[John Erwin]

Jason,

Wilson Cellular has an adaptor for your card. They have several antennas and mounting options that would be suitable.

I have an NMO "trucker" antenna, but not everyone wants to drill holes in the car. I've also had good performance out of the mag-mount models, and I've heard the glass-mounts are decent as well.

You don't need to worry about "EVDO" or other data standards when selecting the antenna; antennas are "cut" for the frequencies that are used. Most of the external cell antennas on the market will work with both GSM and CDMA providers. As Tyler mentioned various models provide different gain characteristics.. however almost any quality external antenna will provide a noticeable improvement.

Here's their link: http://www.wilsoncellular.com/

 

[Nic Wilson]

Wilson Cellular has an adaptor for your card. They have several antennas and mounting options that would be suitable.

We carry the largest selection of antennas and mounting options in the business. We will even create a customized product for you if necessary. Oops, I have nothing to do with this actually....I don't even own Wilson's Leather and Goods or the popular sporting goods company, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night!