I own a Pepwave 42G Mobility Antenna. I learned that the 1-foot QMA option is no longer being stocked, and I own the 6-foot SMA option.
I am mounting my antenna directly next to the router, and I am considering cutting down the cables and crimping on new SMA connectors. I would like to know if you have any pointers on the right type of connectors, size of coax cable used (RG?), and how to achieve a high quality SMA termination similar to factory.
In that situation I’d recommend coiling the existing cables, neatly tie-wrapping them and don’t change the connector. This is a recommendation from a guy who has, with his employees, installed thousands of connectors over the years. One must have the right tools and a bit of experience. And, smaller cables and connectors make the process a bit more challenging. Even now, we check all applications of connectors with a network analyzer and sometimes we end up cuttin’ 'em off and doing ‘em over. ;<) The only reason one might shorten these cables is for aesthetic reasons; 6’ is not too long even at higher freqs at which the 42G operates.
The coax type (including cable loss figures) is in the spec sheet: https://download.peplink.com/resources/pepwave_mobility_42G_datasheet.pdf
For the cellular & wifi elements its CFD-200.
Loss over 2m of cable would be between 0.66db & 1.74db, so you won’t get a huge improvement but you would get some.
The quality of connections is very important- a poorly terminated connector on 0.3m of cable would be worse than a good termination on 2m of cable. In terms of how to achieve that… a good quality connector, that is the right type for that specific coax type, terminated with the right tool.
Appreciate the response. I’m mounting the the router and antenna in an unused TV dome on top of the boat. I have enough room I could coil the wires inside the dome, but was considering if I did a good job of crimping connectors if I should consider shortening them with the thought I’d save maybe 1.5 db loss if done correctly and have a less messy install.
You’re right that there’s really no way that I could test them with a network analyzer. Not only do I no longer have access to one, the cables are sealed going inside the antenna.