Can I locate the RF antenna away from the emonTx?

Bit of a newbie question here, but is it possible/easy to locate the antenna away from the emonTx (or emonPi) unit? I will need to get a signal between buildings and the range/concrete may be an issue, so ideally I'd put the antenna behind wood outside.

If it is possible to put the antenna on a cable, does anyone know where I can find a suitably terminated cable for sale and what to ask for?

JD's picture

Re: Can I locate the RF antenna away from the emonTx?

I bought a few cheap ebay 433mhz antennas to try, and they all are no better than the stock antenna (or even a wire).  But, getting the antenna on the other side of a wall or out of a metal cabinet can make a big difference.  This one was cheap and OK:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GSM-GPRS-Antenna-433Mhz-3dbi-cable-SMA-male-Magn...

JD

Bill Thomson's picture

Re: Can I locate the RF antenna away from the emonTx?

I bought a few cheap ebay 433mhz antennas to try, and they all are no better than the stock antenna (or even a wire).

Hi JD,

Did you mount your "ebay" antennas on a ground plane?

Here's a couple of pics and some info.
 

Bill Thomson's picture

Re: Can I locate the RF antenna away from the emonTx?

If it is possible to put the antenna on a cable,

Yes.

One thing to keep in mind is to keep the cable length as short as possible. Losses in the cable affect the level of the transmitted and received signal. The longer the cable is, the more it will reduce the signal levels.

 does anyone know where I can find a suitably terminated cable for sale and what to ask for?

The thread I linked to in the post above this one, has a link in it for a source of ready made RF cable assemblies.

 

crispin's picture

Re: Can I locate the RF antenna away from the emonTx?

Thanks! So if I understand right I'll be looking for RG-174 cable with male and female SMA connectors? Looks like there's a 6' cable of that kind on amazon. Hopefully I can probably poke that out under the eaves with the antenna on the end so the emonpi in the other building will get a signal.

 

Bill Thomson's picture

Re: Can I locate the RF antenna away from the emonTx?

So if I understand right I'll be looking for RG-174 cable with male and female SMA connectors?

Correct.

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