While the MAX BR1 MK2 has two cellular antenna connections, MAIN & DIVERSITY/AUX, reading these forums, AUX is not really AUX. For the unit to work, there always needs to be an antenna connected to MAIN, and for improved reception, there can optionally be a separate antenna connected to the AUX connector.
Seeing the AUX connector, put into my head that it would be ideal for my use case to have two antennas. One antenna for normal usage, and a backup antenna for use when the main antenna is not available.
I am wondering if there exists an manual antenna switch that works with cellular frequencies? So that an operator can switch to the auxiliary antenna when the main antenna is not available. While I had hoped for automatic switching, manual switching would be good too.
Hi Allan,
Although its true that with CAT4 modems the aux connection was mainly MIMO for improved reception only, LTE-A / CAT6 upwards actively use the second antenna for transmit and receive (typically on its own frequencies).
You should connect both as a matter of course and use a good quality MIMO cellular antenna to do that.
Antenna switching is possible typically in a solid state relay format where you apply a voltage to choose between connected antennas. Ham radio stores sell them.
Hello @ayates,
If you need redundancy between antennas, we would recommend you go with one of the Pepwave Multi Cellular modem models, such as the Pepwave MAX HD2 and above.
Then you can automate and enhance your connection offering directly from within the Pepwave eco/firmware system.
We have not done antenna switching for many years, the advantages of the Pepwave routers that have dual modems outperform and are more reliable than having the antenna connection changed.
Happy to Help,
Marcus
I hope it’s okay to piggy back on this topic, but my need is related and yet I have a different reason for wanting a switch. But I just got a transit and found that I would like to switch between the default interior antennas and a roof top poynting antenna. For instance I would like to use my poynting for most occasions but when I need to use my weboost it has an internal antenna that my transit doesn’t pickup well with the external antenna. So I sometimes need the transit to use an external antenna and sometimes an internal antenna and I need a switch to select between different antennas. Where can I get a switch (preferably a manual switch).
