V8 cantenna

My first cantenna:
http://tarafoundation.org/cantenna.htm

I basically followed the design plans at, except substituted a V8
can:
http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

I haven't done precise signal strength measurements, but I'm getting 3
and 4 bars, when I used to get 1 and 2 and occasionally 3 with an omni-
directional antenna.

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:21:11 -0700, sillyputty
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>My first cantenna:
>http://tarafoundation.org/cantenna.htm
>
>I basically followed the design plans at, except substituted a V8
>can:
>http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html
>
>I haven't done precise signal strength measurements, but I'm getting 3
>and 4 bars, when I used to get 1 and 2 and occasionally 3 with an omni-
>directional antenna.
Well done !
Amazing what we pay for antennas when something so simple
works so well. BTW liked the tripod, beats my piece of wire .....

On Sep 1, 6:46 am, Shadow <sh@dow> wrote:
> Well done !
> Amazing what we pay for antennas when something so simple
> works so well. BTW liked the tripod, beats my piece of wire .....

Thanks! The tripod was free. I put a wanted ad on craigslist and got a
couple free tripods from a guy who wanted to get rid of some. The damn
SMA cable is the most expensive part. I'm thinking about ordering the
raw parts and assembling some myself. I do have some experience in
that area - I used to be a cable/antenna installer and assembled RF
cables.

sillyputty <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> The damn SMA cable is the most expensive part. I'm thinking about
> ordering the raw parts and assembling some myself.

http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?...cat=282&page=1
An antenna with a cable, costs less than the cable and connector.

Oops. "ONLY RP-MMCX REMAINS", but you could probably find others.
Another antenna/cable assy on the same site is $10.
Oops... same "ONLY RP-MMCX REMAINS" note on that one.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

sillyputty <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>On Sep 1, 6:46 am, Shadow <sh@dow> wrote:
> > Well done !
>> Amazing what we pay for antennas when something so simple
>> works so well. BTW liked the tripod, beats my piece of wire .....
>
>Thanks! The tripod was free. I put a wanted ad on craigslist and got a
>couple free tripods from a guy who wanted to get rid of some. The damn
>SMA cable is the most expensive part. I'm thinking about ordering the
>raw parts and assembling some myself. I do have some experience in
>that area - I used to be a cable/antenna installer and assembled RF
>cables.

You're can antenna looks ok, but some measurements would be helpful to
see how much gain you're really getting. Fire up Netstumbler and
compare signal levels with the can antenna, and with whatever you were
previously using.

Building SMA cables is quite different from CATV F connectors. With F
connectors, all you do is strip back the jacket the required amount,
and use a piston tool to shove in the connector. I think I could do
it blindfolded.

However, SMA is quite different. You get to crimp the tiny center pin
into place. One mistake in stripping length, and you get the pin
either sticking out of the connector, or shrinking back into the
connector. The braid also has to be perfect or you get frayed pieces
of braid all over the place or worse, inside the connector. Also, a
loose connector doesn't work. Don't forget to hide your mistakes
under some heat shrink tubing.

What you'll need is a good supply of decent connectors (RF
Industries), a stripping tool, and a crimper.
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/Misc/slides/crimpers.html>
Two of the tools shown should cover most everything up to LMR-400.
That's the HT-336K and HT-336G.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"sillyputty" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> On Sep 1, 6:46 am, Shadow <sh@dow> wrote:
> > Well done !
>> Amazing what we pay for antennas when something so simple
>> works so well. BTW liked the tripod, beats my piece of wire .....
>
> Thanks! The tripod was free. I put a wanted ad on craigslist and got a
> couple free tripods from a guy who wanted to get rid of some. The damn
> SMA cable is the most expensive part. I'm thinking about ordering the
> raw parts and assembling some myself. I do have some experience in
> that area - I used to be a cable/antenna installer and assembled RF
> cables.
>
I got around connector costs and cable losses by modifying a dongle
to accept the antenna, and then using USB cable to run from antenna
to computer. I found USB cables for $1.99 on Ebay Express. (shipping extra)
I used a TP-Link TL-WN321G it was easy to modify for the antenna.
It cost $12.99, again found on Ebay Express.
I had some trouble at final installation, I added a second USB cable ( 2 -
15FT cables)
and started getting unreliable operation. After some retesting of the
antenna
at another location, I figured out it was the extra length of USB cable.
So, one section of USB cable unless you use an amplifier type cable.
Mike

amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I got around connector costs and cable losses by modifying a dongle
> to accept the antenna, and then using USB cable to run from antenna
> to computer.

Or, just stuff the dongle itself into the can.
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg



--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:fben0h$mj$(E-Mail Removed)...
> amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> I got around connector costs and cable losses by modifying a dongle
>> to accept the antenna, and then using USB cable to run from antenna
>> to computer.
>
> Or, just stuff the dongle itself into the can.
> http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
>

Would you insulate the metal part of the dongle connector from the metal can
or just shove it thru?



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:fben0h$mj$(E-Mail Removed)...
> amdx <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> I got around connector costs and cable losses by modifying a dongle
>> to accept the antenna, and then using USB cable to run from antenna
>> to computer.
>
> Or, just stuff the dongle itself into the can.
> http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
>

Yea, I did that before I attached the dongle to a Patch antenna.
Although, I'm not sure about the gain of the antenna that is built
into the dongle.
Mike

Dispatch <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Would you insulate the metal part of the dongle connector from the metal can
> or just shove it thru?

I presumed that we would like for the USB shield to connect to the can.
That might be why my tinfoil-wrapped CDROM container didn't work as well as
a coffee can where I had a tight fit between the connector and the edge of
the cutout.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5