Hi All,
I have given thoughts in installing 2 Pepwave BR1 inside an operational VSAT dome.
It would be a simple installation as there are CAT cables and Power Cable from the VSAT (220VAC)
Does anyone know if the router would interfere with the VSAT? The frequencies we use are Ku-Band.
Thank you!
J
I would not see any issues with this.
Just make sure your clearances are there as those terminals can do some damage if contact is made! (seen an AC unit installed in a dome, was fine until the yacht went north and the antenna looked lower on the horizon and made contact with the AC unit!)
Thanks GNO,
Is there a flexible antenna which can go around the inner dome that you would recommend?
As I understand, antennas should be 3m away from each other at least. I am thinking on using the Main and Aux I guess changing polarization would help correct?
Thanks,
J
Hello @Jcol7884m,
You may find it better to go with the new MAX HD2 Dome, have you evaluated using this?
Happy to Help,
Marcus 
We would also look at using a proper marine omni antenna like the omni-402 from Poynting.
The HD2 dome mentioned by @mldowling is also a great choice.
Hey GNO and mldowling,
For now I believe that the MAX HD2 Dome is too expensive for my purpose.
It’s a great idea, but out of my budget.
I like the idea of introducing a omni-402 inside, but I don’t know if there would be enough space for the dish to rotate.
Maybe something a bit smaller? I have seen the Taoglas mimo antennas, they look like the sort of thing I am looking for.
What do you think on using the PCB antennas? Maybe I could stick them on the dome:
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/taoglas-limited/FXUB66.07.0150C/931-1202-ND/3724559&?gclid=Cj0KCQjwla7nBRDxARIsADll0kCRGAHe64s4Guth8y5y6aPybzLQmI0x2lqYoFuhaD3alBabQTBxPSAaAqLhEALw_wcB
Thank you all!
You are not going to get decent range with such a small antenna.
You wouldn’t be able to mount the omni-402 inside an active VSAT dome - something would end up broken!
Could you mount the omni-402 near the dome and mount your BR1 inside the dome? Nice short cable run and you can purchase a very nice stainless-steel marine mount for the Omni-402 so its a nice simple installation.
Unfortunately no, I would like to keep everything inside the VSAT dome.
Problem in yachts is not only getting the right spot, it’s about making it look good!
As I know the VSAT dome is made of a compound that frequencies can penetrate with minor losses, it would be good to have it all nice and dry.
Is there any antenna that you would recommend that isn’t very tall?
Thanks guys!
HI @Jcol7884
I know how yachts are, that’s mostly what we do!
Send me an email and I’ll send you some photos of the recent installs we have done with the Omni 402 and Taoglas Pantheon. Cant share them publicly… [email protected]
The Taoglas Pantheon would fit inside a VSAT dome but you would be better mounting it on the exterior. If you’re mounting it low down in the dome, the RF properties of the base of the dome are not the same as to top half as the VSAT equipment doesn’t need to transmit or receive though that part.
So…
Installing a HD4 MBX (to replace a Median4G unit) on a large yacht today and guess what I found?
Time to get some bigger antennas in there!
(Actually, we are going to install 4x Omni 402 on the top deck with the HD4 located directly below them - 2m cable run so will use the supplied tails and no extensions!)
I can’t believe I came across this after this thread…
Told you!
This is the future in yachting Haha.
I believe that if the dome could be modified by factory to allow frequency penetrate through the fiber below, there would be no better place.
The base is built for strength rather than RF penetration properties…
I’m sure if the antenna was built into the fibreglass, you could make a pretty wicked antenna!
I guess I dont understand the need to hide the antennas. Yachts can have so many antennas, especially for redundancies. What is another 1-2 antennas. If that means better signal/connectivity, I would want that. Small MIMO antennas typically dont have good polarization/alignment of the antennas whereas a longer 1x14 or mast mounted antennas may be able to get better signal on the horizontal plane. On yachts the antennas could be 20-50’+ higher, much higher than say a vehicle on the road, where the antenna could be more even with the cell tower versus the antenna much lower on a vehicle. I could be wrong about all of this but this is my high level understanding.
I Agree with you @mystery
If they want good reception, they need good antennas which means something which might be more visible.
We have be lucky with our clients that they are ok with the additional antennas (usually we are replacing something) and we try to keep things symmetrical.
