FONA stronger antenna

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tinkeringtech
 
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Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:08 pm

FONA stronger antenna

Post by tinkeringtech »

Hello,
Just as a FYI on FONA antennas, I tried a stronger antenna with the FONA (link below) and it worked great. It is rated as a 5dB antenna. I also tried out the adafruit 2dB antenna. The RSSI readings with the 5dB was around -80dB where I live (DC/Maryland) which typically has a 1 bar on my T-mobile cell phone.
http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electronic ... B001DTZ26O

You would also need a Fme Male to Sma Male Connector to use this antenna with the FONA.

The cool thing about this antenna is that no ground plane is required, therefore can be mounted on any non-metallic object.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_plane

Also, FYI I'm using a T-mobile pay-as-you-go SIM which charges about $.10 per text. I picked this up at my local T-mobile store. It worked great without issue. Just plug and play...
I was a previous user of the Sparkfun Cellular Shield with SM5100B which is close to $100. What adafruit is providing with the FONA at $44 is deal. The FONA is cheaper and easier to use with tons of built-in features, so nobody should complain about the FONA price :) Hoping your FONA yields goes up to further reduce the price. Keep up the great work!

LJ

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adafruit2
 
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Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:36 pm

Re: FONA stronger antenna

Post by adafruit2 »

Thanks for the notes, FONA is a labor of love!
we'll get more antennas soon, we hvae some 5dbi ones we are sampling.

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erikswedberg
 
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Re: FONA stronger antenna

Post by erikswedberg »

I am planning to try Fona in some remote areas with low signal strength. Would you recommend the sticker antenna (https://www.adafruit.com/products/1991) or are there even better ones? I plan to enclose everything in a small pelican case.

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adonise
 
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Re: FONA stronger antenna

Post by adonise »

I am using "AD20 Pentaband Cellular GSM Internal PCB Antenna w/ U.FL connector " from semiconductorstore.com http://www.semiconductorstore.com/cart/ ... duct=45469 and I am getting +CSQ: 11,0 (-91 RSSi) over Airvoice (AT&T) network which is in OK range.

I am making a mobile phone prototype and it is ok for now.

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