Foretravel Owners' Forum

I saw this pic of Steve & Michelle's WFR boost attached to the old Winegard crank up mast and it got me to thinking...


Can I do the same thing but use a 9.5" outdoor omni 3G/4G antenna like this one pictured below?  The mast can rotate for optimum TV or cell performance depending on what is needed.  So, with the antenna 20-25 inches higher I'm thinking reception may be better than directly attaching to the roof?  Yes? No? I don't know much about cell reception so I have no idea if this is a worthwhile idea... 
 

From my brief reading today it does appear that having an antenna located higher will result in better cell reception. I can't find much on possible interference between UHF tv antenna and cell antenna located in close proximity to each other. Is that a concern?

If you are going to stack antennas from two or more different bands, yes, they need to be separated as much as possible. Ideally, that would be at least two wavelengths of the lower frequency. Since all broadcast television is in the UHF bands now, 470-900 MHz, we're talking about a 70 centimeter wavelength or less. Double that, and you are at 140 centimeters minimum separation for ideal conditions. 140 cm is just over 55 inches. A cell phone antenna would normally be a vertical antenna, so it doesn't need to be rotated. A television antenna, though, is a horizontal antenna, so it should be aimed at the transmitter. This is quite an oversimplification, but it should give you something to go on.

I just looked at your original post, and you mentioned putting the cell phone antenna 20-25 inches above the television antenna. While that isn't ideal, it will help. Keep in mind that you cellphone is only putting out about 0.6 watt of power, so anything you can do for the antenna is going to be a help.

Thanks David

David - Thanks.  Does the distance separation apply horizontally also or are there other guidelines for that dimension?

It would be the same either way. If you are mounting two antennas on a boom, common practice is to mount them the proper distance apart, and then attach the boom to the mast at the balance point, or as close as is practical.

Antenna theory and practice is an interesting field. I know just enough to be dangerous, and I'd like to know more. There are quite a few hams who operate small, low-power radios with really NICE antennas and get better results than those with big, fancy (read: expensive) radios and less efficient antennas.

Being an old ham with sperience, when you have two antennas for the same frequency, one day one is better than the other, the next day they swap, the weak one yesterday is the better one today. Everything changes, so if you have one good antenna, leave it alone or get another and never be happy.
Dave M

Yes... I completely agree. Antennas I built on my parents' house in Spokane when I was 14 or 15 worked when they shouldn't have worked.... and antennas I bought and paid good money for seemed useless.

I hear bedsprings are effective; but almost no one still uses bedsprings. Hard to load up foam.  :P~~~

Craig

Craig, One of the best 80 meter antennas I ever loaded up and used, consisted of a coiled up long wire, that I had just run thru the basement and out thru the window frame work, and being late at night, I just left the large coil of wire laying on the ground to be strung thru the trees in the morning, well just for giggles, I loaded it up, got all 599 reports all night, next day strung it thru the trees, and was the poorest antenna I ever tried.
Go Figure that one.
Dave M