Effect of antenna height on reception

[VanTalk00]

I'm thinking about whether to roof-mount or pole-mount an antenna, and I'm wondering about the effect of antenna height on reception.

How high should you go?  Is it more important for a directional antenna than an omni antenna?

Also, do they work better the more distant they are from the metal roof of the van or does it make no difference?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[highdesertranger]

height is everything for an antenna. the higher the better for any type of antenna. I once thought of using a weather balloon to get an antenna really high but then thought better about it. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

By letting us know what type (cell, tv ??) of antenna you are wanting to mount, we can be more specific.

I have two antennas for my cell phone booster. One is a truckers antenna (omni) with a built in ground plane as I have a fiberglass top and the antenna is mounted on the back as high above the van as I could get. It has a spring on the base in case I catch something low hanging. When this one doesn't help, I put up a directional antenna on a painters pole attached to the side of the van. The painters pole allows for easy pointing the antenna and easy deployment. The painters pole also has sway (in the wind) the higher I get it.

The higher the antenna, the better.

The metal roof of your van would act as a good ground plane for a omni directional antenna. Directional antennas are not dependant on a ground plane.

 

[VanTalk00]

By letting us know what type (cell, tv ??) of antenna you are wanting to mount, we can be more specific.

I'm interested in cell reception.  I've seen two types of setups to consider - a WeBoost and a MOFI4500-4GXeLTE-SIM4 as favored by Will Prowse, but I don't know much about either.

 

[B and C]

I don't have any experience with the wired router one. I have no need for ethernet ports on a router. What I do have is a Wilson cradle that I can put my phone in (hotspot option on phone) or my jetpack. Best of both worlds. Looks like they changed models from when I bought but here looks like the replacement: https://www.weboost.com/products/drive-sleek

I also have a truckers antenna that the cradle stays connected to most of the time. This is what it looks like: https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/rv-trucker-spring-mount-antenna-kit-w-mount-308433/

The directional antenna that I have is the one in a plastic case, not the bare element antenna as we are in a mobile environment.
Like this: https://www.weboost.com/products/314411

I don't remember exactly which cable I got for the directional one but what I do remember is it is LMR400 low loss. Just have to be sure to get a cable with the correct ends on it.

This is what I use and it works well for me and are my recommendations. The painters pole is cheap and collapses to a manageable length.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Altitude matters.

Just getting the antennas above the 'ground clutter' will always help.

'Ground Clutter' is an RF term and it simply means all the junk (trees, large boulders, cliffs, other vehicles, hills, power lines, billboards, etc) that you would bump into if you were wallking. These also negatively affect 'line of sight' RF signals, which is what cell phone and cellular data signals are.

So, in an open field or desert with no obstructions, 8 feet might be high enough to reach a tower 20 miles away, but if you drove 10 miles closer to the tower, but parked inside a box canyon, or a dense forest, the signal might be un-usable even with the antenna on a 50 foot mast.

Practically speaking, for simplicity and decent performance, 15-20 feet above ground will strike a good balance between usability and portability. 

If you plan to always be in dense forest or very hilly terrain in the boonies, then you might want to budget for an even taller mast and support structure.

 

[MrNoodly]

Mine is mounted a little over 12 feet. It works often enough.

<img src="https://image.ibb.co/bxXqoA/a4w.jpg" alt="a4w" border="0" />
<img src="https://image.ibb.co/iqC1vq/a6w.jpg" alt="a6w" border="0" />

 

[VanTalk00]

Mine is mounted a little over 12 feet. It works often enough.

Looks good.  Do you put it up and take it down when you set up, tear down camp?  I can't imagine you leave it up on the road.   :-/

 

[B and C]

Everyone I know takes them down when moving.

I only put mine up when the signal from the trucker antenna is not enough so it is not an everytime I stop to camp I have to put it up.

 

[MrNoodly]

...Do you put it up and take it down when you set up, tear down camp?

Yes. I just need to give a wing nut on the top U-bolt a quarter turn to loosen it enough to slide the pole out.

 

[B and C]

The Weboost doesn't have as much separation requirement like this has. My trucker antenna is only about 5 feet higher and about 5 feet horizontally away from the cradle. The directional antenna is only needed when I get in the outback away from civilization. The directional antenna has given me cell (voice) service when my phone had no bars otherwise. It all depends on how far off the grid you are going to go.

 

[Lyndacole]

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[maki2]

Lyndacole is a new member who has not posted anything else. Be aware to be very cautious when clicking on such links from new members who have made no other postings in the forum including an introductory one.

 

[calico]

I'm thinking about whether to roof-mount or pole-mount an antenna, and I'm wondering about the effect of antenna height on reception.

How high should you go?  Is it more important for a directional antenna than an omni antenna?

Also, do they work better the more distant they are from the metal roof of the van or does it make no difference?

Thanks,

Jim

I started out with the MOHU Sky 60 antenna that I had elevated on a 24 ft (?) fiberglass pole.

I now have DISH satellite but also carry something similar to this https://antennadeals.com/HD8008.html as a back up.

 

[ByeBye]

I have a weboost Drive 4G-X OTR and just started using my directional antenna. At about 23 ft it makes all the difference in the world. 

I am leaving that in the camper and just bought a used cradle weboost to put in the truck cab attached to omnidirectional 

Some pics of antenna (20ft window washer pole) set upon my build thread