I tested my Marina WiFi and LTE with the 40G connected and with the paddle antennas connected to the router.
In both cases I have better performance (up and down speed) with the paddle antennas on the Balance 20X
we did add the 15’ extension cables from Peplink.
Interestingly I either have a bad antenna which seems rare or the added 15’ is causing too much loss?
what else could it be?
The Maritime 40G has 4 cellular elements. How are you connecting it to the WiFi ports? Do you have RP-SMA adapters?
Where is the 40G antenna installed? Near other antennas or radar?
Yes we have (4) 15’ Peplink Brand extension cables, two have the RP-SMA adapters to connect to the back of the Balance 20X.
The 40G is on the Roof, see photo. All test were performed without any other of the electronics running e.g., Radar, VHF, starlink, etc.
Thanks for the photo. Even though the other antennas are not active, they are fairly close to the 40G - especially the VHF antenna - and the vertical metal elements may be causing multi-path interference. The radar, even though it is off, also has the potential to block the signal since its elements are very close to the bottom third of the 40G as well.
Also the 15’ extension with the 6.5 feet of existing cable is right on the border of being too long (cable length loss will overcome gain from the antenna).
Appreciate the feedback!
Have you tested the 40g antenna with and without the extension cables? Sounds like you are not surprised but the lower performance I am receiving with the 40g antenna compared to the paddle antennas???
I have a Maritime 40G installed on a pole attached to the aft davit system of my boat and have 9’ of cable extension with the built-in 6.6’. The biggest issue I have run into as an installer is antenna placement. If the antenna is too close to any vertical metal or antenna it will not work well. Try more separation or getting the antennas on a different plane. In general, I find the paddle antennas work really well when you have a good location for the router given there is no loss from cable runs. To get as good or better performance with an external antenna requires shortest possible cable runs and good antenna placement with isolation. I have more info in my article here.
