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Cell antenna installation

S

SlimJim

Member
Finished up installing a new antenna and router on my 29RL. It was a pretty easy install, just a couple of recommendations to pass on.

Equipment used:
  • Parsec Husky Pro antenna with grounding plane
  • GL.Inet Spitz AX / GL-X3000 router
In my opinion, the Spitz is the best router option currently available if you need to modify IMEI and do band locking. I also have Peplink equipment which I really like and has some nice features. But in this case I had a cell plan that required IMEI modification plus the Spitz has a current gen 5G cell modem that is faster than anything else I've used. Also helps that it runs on 12v.

For the install, I found the best location to be the top of the pantry closet. It's a lot of dead space anyway, has nothing above it so is great for an antenna wire entry and is easy to tap into the 12v power used by the pantry light.

Few notes on installing the antenna:
  1. I used the kitchen maxxfan as a point of reference and lined up the roof hole with that, about 6 ft from the fan. The exact measurement doesn't matter a lot, if you are roughly in the center of the pantry ceiling that should be great. I could have been an inch or two closer to the outside wall but really didn't want to get too close to that so I'm happy where it ended up. I used a long drill bit and went up from the inside all the way through the roof, then did two 1 1/2 in holes, one from the bottom and one from the top of the roof.
  2. The antenna will come with a locking nut which isn't needed for RV use. It has a 3M adhesive on it plus will be sealed in with Dicor so it's not moving. Just be sure to remove the nut before feeding the cables through the hole.
  3. Dicor makes a cleaner for the roof which I used to wipe down the area well before sealing anything. Apply the self-leveling sealant to finish up, one tube was dnough for everything.
For the power tap:
  1. Unscrew the motion light and fish out the main 12v power line. It has slightly thicker wire than the light itself.
  2. Note the position of the hole and drill a hole in the same position but higher up in the closet. There is a vent PVC and framing on either side of the hole which doesn't leave a lot of extra space (about 3-4 inches), so alignment is important.
  3. Feed some wiring down or put a cable fish down the new hole so it can be pulled through the hole for the motion light.
  4. Connect a barrell plug to the new cable, test voltage to be sure polarity is good.
Some pics of final install
IMG_2941.pngIMG_2959.png


Performance has been stellar, can't think of anything I would do differently. Also love having the router work even without shore power.
 
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