Hi all, I have a 7-in-1 antenna installed now (Mobilemark LTMWG 942 7-in-1 Omni-Directional Antenna 5G/600Mhz – MobileMustHave.com) that I’d like to use with my new MAX BR2 Pro. I know it doesn’t have enough cellular antennas to connect the BR2 to all of its ports (it needs 8 antennas for that, and the Mobilemark antenna has 4), but I only have two SIMs in the BR2 anyway.
The BR2 has ports labeled 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D. If I have a SIM in slot 1A and another in slot 2A, which ports should take the roof antennas (4 of them), and which should I leave with the paddle antennas?
I assume I should have half with the roof antennas and half with the paddles just to keep them all set up with antennas, but let me know if another configuration is better. FYI, I have a replacement antenna that will cover all ports but it isn’t installed yet.
If you install firmware 8.3 there is a “two antenna mode” that you could enable. It tells you which port to plug the antenna into when you enable it.
For best performance you should have two 4x4 mimo antennas. Ideally with some separation.
Your comment about “only two sims” struck me. Having more sims isnt really relevant. If you have one sim in SIM-A of each modem, then your set. No reason for more sims unless for carrier failover or data caps.
Thanks @erikufrin – I was thinking that each of the SIM slots used two of the antennas so it could switch between them as needed. Is that not the reason for 8 antennas (4 SIM slots)? Or does the active SIM for the Cell 1 modem use 4 antennas? I don’t really know what the requirements are for 5G.
Without the 8.3 firmware (I have a support ticket open to get updated firmware for other reasons), I guessed and plugged 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B into the roof antenna and used paddles for 1C, 1D, 2C, and 2D. So far, I think it’s a bit better. But I really have no idea.
Should I plug the 4 roof antennas into all of Cell 1 and then use all paddles for Cell 2, instead?
I’m hoping for some guidance on what to do with my current antenna so I can take advantage of it now, instead of using only paddles. Thanks!
Two modems, each modem has two sims. Only one sim can be active in a modem at a time. Each modem has 4 antennas for MIMO.
So you can either split the 4 roof top antennas between the modems having 2 each with 2 inside paddles each, or dedicate the outside 4 antennas to one modem and the other modem uses all paddles inside getting worse signal.
If you use one carrier / sim primarily with the other as backup, then doing all 4 to the primary probably makes sense, or maybe just having both sims in one modem and switching between them as needed.
If you use the sims equally then splitting the antenna makes sense. In my experience splitting MIMO between inside and outside is fine, it’s definitely giving the antennas diversity.
If this is an RV with fiberglass walls then the inside antennas will work ok, I am currently doing this with my Max 5G as I haven’t installed a roof antenna yet, and honestly the reception has been fine everywhere.
Would be interesting to know the technical details of 2 antenna mode vs just having two external and two internal going, its seems like the 4 antennas even though 2 are inside would be superior to just turning off two antennas.
Thanks, @jharrell it’s good to hear you’re getting good reception. We’re not in a 5G (or particularly good 4G) area at the moment so my testing is pretty limited until we move to the next location. Leaving the paddles off entirely definitely wasn’t good, but the way I have it set up now seems to work (it’s not great, but it’s tolerable). I’ll do some testing with all paddles on Cell 2 and see how that goes, too. I’ll post what I find out.
Just an update. I have the roof antennas all plugged into one modem where I am using T-Mobile, and my router is using Band 71 as I’d hoped. The other SIM is AT&T and it works fairly well with 4 paddle antennas. For now, this setup is working for me.
Hi there.
Did you ever get a clear answer to your question about what antenna ports to use with the two sim slots?
Im having the same issue here… I have a high gain array Ive been using with a different bonded unit an dId love to get it to work with my new Br2 Max Pro… Just need to know what antenna connections relate to the sim card slots…
Thanks
Manny
I’d say you’re on the right track. I’ve had similar setups before, and it worked well to put the roof antennas on the main SIM slots (1A and 2A) for better signal, and then use the paddle antennas for the remaining ports. That way, you ensure good coverage for the SIMs while still keeping all the ports connected. Just make sure to test it once it’s all hooked up, sometimes the performance can vary a bit depending on your environment.