WiGLE.net

Anybody know anything about this antenna? I can't find any reviews or comments about it, and it costs enough that I don't want to risk purchasing it with no idea how it will perform. The cable looks a little on the skimpy side, but it's hard to tell from the pix.

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/anten ... ntenna.php

I'm not sure about that particular model, but I use an array of 4 of their "Mobile7" model ... and they're well-built. I only have one nit with them, and that's that they do not use a slightly better coax cable on them. The magnetic mounts and antennas themselves are great. (details at http://www.radiolabs.com/products/anten ... obile7.php ). Unfortunately, I have no experience with the other model you mentioned.

Thanks! I'll probably get one of those. Almost the same dbi for half the price!

The cable quality seems to 1/2 that of the fab corp. antenna, but 1/2 as long, so it probably washes out.

Wait...FOUR?!?!?!? O_o

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/anten ... obile7.php )

OK, I got one of these yesterday, so let's give it a review, shall we?



On the left: Radiolabs Model: "2.4mobile-7"

On the right: MobileMark IMAG5-2400 purchased from fab-corp.

Well, the mobile-7's antenna looks impressive. Its cable? Not so much. In fact, the cable on the unit I was supplied with looks thinner than the one advertised on radiolab's web page.

Testing it statically, I found signal strength was no better, and perhaps worse, than the dinky little fab-corp antenna.

Mobile test run results:
Radiolabs: 784 APs seen.
Fab-corp: 950 APs seen.

Conclusions: Let's not mince words. The Radiolabs Model 2.4mobile-7 is an overpriced piece of junk.

However, this purchase is not a complete waste. The antenna detaches from the base with what I believe is a TNC connector, and I found another mag-mount base on e-bay that may have a better cable.

Furthermore, my research on mag-mount bases revealed other bases for other antenna types. I'm wondering if I can kludge together a better omni-directional antenna myself.

Further experiments await!

I'm wondering if I can kludge together a better omni-directional antenna myself.

After doing some reading about antenna design and physics, I'm starting to think this wont be that easy.

So... I found this mag-mount base http://www.ebay.com/itm/380626876401?ss ... 1439.l2649 which is a BAS-89 from Antenna World if the link dies (I think it's a closeout item) which needs a RP-SMA male to TNC female adapter http://www.ebay.com/itm/271220134932?ss ... 1439.l2649 to connect to an Alfa card. The Radiolabs antenna fits this mount perfectly, and the pigtail on the BAS-89 at least looks more impressive than the Radiolabs pigtail. Sadly, when I took it out on my test course it only saw 664 APs.

You do bring up an interesting point. The images on the radiolabs site DO show superior coax. At the 2.4Ghz band, line loss will matter, significantly, in fact. Like you, I would REALLY like to find an optimal mag-mount antenna design strong enough to withstand high speeds (as I will undoubtedly have to travel some distance on the highway to get where I'll be mapping)...

The more tests I do, the more I am impressed by the MobileMark IMAG5-2400.

Could you post a larger image, or a link to a larger image? The one below is pretty tiny. Thanks!

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/anten ... obile7.php )

OK, I got one of these yesterday, so let's give it a review, shall we?



On the left: Radiolabs Model: "2.4mobile-7"

On the right: MobileMark IMAG5-2400 purchased from fab-corp.

Well, the mobile-7's antenna looks impressive. Its cable? Not so much. In fact, the cable on the unit I was supplied with looks thinner than the one advertised on radiolab's web page.

Testing it statically, I found signal strength was no better, and perhaps worse, than the dinky little fab-corp antenna.

Mobile test run results:
Radiolabs: 784 APs seen.
Fab-corp: 950 APs seen.

Conclusions: Let's not mince words. The Radiolabs Model 2.4mobile-7 is an overpriced piece of junk.

However, this purchase is not a complete waste. The antenna detaches from the base with what I believe is a TNC connector, and I found another mag-mount base on e-bay that may have a better cable.

Furthermore, my research on mag-mount bases revealed other bases for other antenna types. I'm wondering if I can kludge together a better omni-directional antenna myself.

Further experiments await!

I've been meaning to replace that dinky little pic. See the original post above for new image.