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DIY 5G antenna

drjaking

Casual Member
I'm trying to find the right spot for my new Zyxel from Three. I can get >800Mbs but only in positions I don't want the router. I want to add an/some antenna(s) and as I am both cheap and practical, I fancy DIYing it. There's a very simple 9db homemade unit here on Andrew McNeil's hypnotically geeky channel:


I'm new to this so still learning. Can anyone tell me, for the Zyxel with its four antenna ports, what would be the optimal number to build, which ports to put them on, and what the connectors are (he mentions SMA but I think the router has TS9s?).
 
I'm trying to find the right spot for my new Zyxel from Three. I can get >800Mbs but only in positions I don't want the router. I want to add an/some antenna(s) and as I am both cheap and practical, I fancy DIYing it. There's a very simple 9db homemade unit here on Andrew McNeil's hypnotically geeky channel:


I'm new to this so still learning. Can anyone tell me, for the Zyxel with its four antenna ports, what would be the optimal number to build, which ports to put them on, and what the connectors are (he mentions SMA but I think the router has TS9s?).
Tbh.. You should find a way to position the router in the position it "likes". The diy way will likely send you down a rabbit hole and you'll spend time and money you didn't plan for.
 
I do like a rabbit hole though. But point taken, sounds like you speak from experience. Trouble is, the best location is a kitchen or bathroom windowsill, both unsuitable.
 
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I do like a rabbit hole though. But point taken, sounds like you speak from experience. Trouble is, the best location is a kitchen or bathroom windowsill, both unsuitable.
I would agree with @Lucian on this, going down the DIY Route is OK if you have access to some very expensive Radio Comms Test and Devolopment Equipment.

It's bad enough doing DIY Antenna builds on the older VHF and UHF Bands but once you go over the 1Ghz mark your into a different World of Antenna Design and Trickery, you only have to look at the cheap, cheerful and cloned 4G and 5G Aerial Tat on eBay that doesn't get any close to getting near to doing the Job in hand.
 
Bumping to see if op is out of the rabbithole

GL.iNet GL-X3000 (Spitz AX) 5G NR AX3000 Cellular Gateway Router, Wi-Fi 6,​

I got a nice 5g modem but my Sherpa forgot the antennas at the hotel.
 
I have a Three branded NR5103ev2 (which does have two hopeless TS9 connectors) and I tried building Andrew McNeil's 5G antenna. Unfortunately, not having his aptitude & precision (or all the right tools), I found it really didn't do much for my mobile downloads - see my post here:

 
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I did go down the rabbit hole, but did a lot of research beforehand. If you really do want an external antenna (I use one) then go for the highest gain you can.

I have experimented with the Iskra P-62's (LPDA) and the Poynting XPOL-24. In the end I selected the XPOL-24 (~£240) for my home broadband as it is an all in one unit, albeit large, sealed unit, has very high gain, directional and has the four feeds for 4x4 MIMO.

I also use very low loss, but very stiff RF cable. So the antenna gain effectively mitigates the losses you'll have in the cable runs, but you are able to position the antenna where you want. The internal antennas have a gain of around 5 or 6 db if I recall correctly, so you need antenna that has double this if you can.

EDIT: realised this thread is a year old lol
 
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