Develop Bugs

Exec - HTC Universal External Antenna

:?: I need a cable to connect to the phone antenna ports on the device - the port is smaller than the ones to be found on some mobiles (such as my old trusty Nokia 6310i) and I need to find out what type of connector is needed.
Does anyone know where a cable can be obtained or what type of connector is needed ?

I need a connector also
It took me weeks to find the special connector for my XDAII. Now I'm in the same boat for the Universal (JASJAR). I've been searching the net for a while to no avail, but hopefully I find one soon and let us know. :?

Sorry just too lazy to go through the manual so decided to ask the enlightened friends on this forum. I want to know if the antenna socket provided at the back of the Universal is for GSM signals. The GSM signal in my home room is too weak so I thought that attaching an external antenna would be beneficial to the strength of the GSM signal. But obviously even if it is so attaching an antenna would be possible only once we have found a suitable connector.
Kind Regards

I mounted an antenna outside my house
For the last 2 years (with my XDAII) I've used an antenna I ran through my outside brickwall and mounted outside my house. It helped the phone go from NO reception to a pretty good signal. I still have the cable running to my office/desk and all I need now is the connector. It has to be out there somewhere. I ended up buying my previous connector from http://digikey.com, but it ended up costing $30 ... but it was worth it. I'll do more digging today and see if I can find out more.
Oh and by the way, I was using GSM on my XDAII and the manual for the Universal says the connector (closest to the center or USB) is for GSM/GPRS.

Anyone find out what adapter fits the jasjar? My adapter for the pda2k does not fit.

I'm still looking
I've sent emails to PDAGold, HTC in Taiwan and i-Mate to not avail. I'm going to keep on looking. Obviously someone has to know.

Some progress - I've found out the connector type
The connector on the phone is a Amphenol MHC-H196.
I've posted a pdf with all the specifications of the connector on the circuit board ... http://wiki.xda-developers.com/uploads/MHCH196.pdf
Now it's just a matter of finding the correct adapter.

Well I gave up trying to find one and made my own
After spending many hours looking and getting an official "not available" from digikey.com (who I got my XDAII adapter from) and imate techsupport ... I decided to make my own. I haven't been able to test it with my Jasjar yet, though, since it's still being repaired at Topp Solutions in Miami.
I ended up using 26 gage solid wire (which is .4mm diameter) and a .062 inch (1.6mm) diameter female pin connector. This is smaller than the diameter of the connector on the phone, which is actually 1.82mm. Although, I expect it to expand slightly (permanently) when it's slid over the connector on the phone. Obviously, it's very crude for now. I just want to see if it works then I might make a prettier one. I included some pictures for fun. By the way this cost me about $9 in material (which I can use for other projects) vs. $35 for the last adapter I bought for my XDAII through Digikey.

From down under , land of long white cloud...
We have had the same issue ( product known as Jas jar)
My user name in this forum is Digs also, see our discussion :
REF: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=18&TopicId=7105
Did you see the interesting comments made by WilsonsElectronics. HTC really stuffed up with this one.
Is there any news on this matter.
At the moment I have sent an information pack to www.pasternack.com and I am currently waiting for a response. These people do customised products. See under technical support. I will keep you friends informed.
http://www.pasternack.com/ContactUs/ContactInformation.asp

I am after an adapter to get a signal booster... www.digitalantenna.com
I talked to them about three products. there email follows
Description Part Number List Price
60dB gain repeater system 4KSBR-50U $699.95
40dB gain repeater system 4KMR-30U $559.95
Direct Connect Amplifier DA4000 $299.95
DA4000:
The DA4000 amplifier must be purchased with an antenna and cell adapter cable and is a direct-connect system. The antenna is placed on the roof and connects to the inside amplifier which with the correct adapter would then connect to the cellular device. We have many adapters for different phones and air cards. If we do not have the adapter for your type of phone or air card the other option is a wireless repeater. However the direct-connect amplifier can provide higher performance because you are directly connected to it. Please use the link at the bottom of this email to download our 2006 on-line catalog. On page 28/29 is our Cell Adapter Cables which lists the adapters per make/model of cellular phone or PC card.
Description Part Number List Price
Direct Connect Amp. DA4000 $299.95
9dB cell antenna 288-PW $129.95
Cable 340-50NM $79.95
Adapter Cable pg 28/29 $19.95
4KSBR-50U:
The 4KSBR-50U system comes with an external antenna, 50' cable, amplifier/repeater, power supply and an internal antenna. So the external antenna can be installed on the roof with the cable going to the amplifier/repeater inside the house. The internal antenna is also plugged into the amplifier/repeater and is installed inside the house. There must be 40' separation and a wall/roof/bulkhead structure between inside and outside antennas.
With a good cellular signal outside the house the 4KSBR-50U system can reach as far as 40 feet from the internal antenna. Generally the SBR can penetrate 1 or 2 inside walls only and each wall will reduce the 40 feet coverage. Also keep in mind the weaker the outside signal the closer you will need to be to the inside antenna. The 4KSBR-50U system must have a signal that is at or greater than -90db to be able to amplify/repeat it.
4KMR-30U:
The 4KMR-30U, 40dB gain dual band cellular repeater system, comes with an external antenna, 30' cable, amplifier/repeater, power supply and an internal antenna. So the external antenna can be installed on the roof with the cable going to the amplifier/repeater inside the house. The internal antenna is also plugged into the amplifier/repeater and is installed inside the house. There must be 20' separation and a wall/roof/bulkhead structure between inside and outside antennas.
With a good cellular signal outside the house the 4KMR-30U system can reach as far as approximately 18 feet from the internal antenna but will not penetrate walls. Also keep in mind the weaker the outside signal the closer you will need to be to the inside antenna. The 4KMR-30U system must have a signal that is at or greater than -90db to be able to amplify/repeat it.

Try here for antennae and adaptors
I haven't checked this very far yet but the picture seems to match...
http://www.boatersphone.com/PDAs.asp[/url]

More detail...at : http://www.boatersphone.com/Adapters.asp
Its the Nokia 359914 Multi Manufacture Cell Phone adpater, You stick a velco thing on your phone next to the internal adapter, and slide the nokia adapter into it. This is NOT a direct plug in into the External GSM jack of the HTC Universal device ( ie Jas Jar ). But looks like our only safe option. Not sure how the velcro thing goes on the device, the Jas Jar has a plastic back ( over the battery )???
Works on these networks, the site says : 900MHz/1800MHz/1900MHz/2100MHz networks
..."This is an extremely effective new kind of adapter, it works on a similar rinciple to the clip-on adapter, with the exception that it is tuned to work on more frequencies. We have tested it on all UK frequencies including 3G, and we know it works on the American 1900MHz band as well! This adapter was originally designed to work on Nokias but we have successfully used it on other makes of phones, making this a (hopefully!) truly universal adapter. It will work on 'candy-bar' style phones which have an internal antenna.
This adapter is two-piece, one piece is a velcro pad which has sticky-back plastic on it, and sticks onto the back of the phone over the internal antenna. The second piece is the adapter itself, which has velcro over the inductive plate, so it can be easily removed, and has a lead so it can be connected to an external antenna. '...

Where did you get the Information that it's a velcro adaptor?
reading the Page it says:
Plug-In Adaptor for O2 XDA Exec
More details about plug-in adaptor in general:
This kind adapter is called a plug-in adapter, for the simple reason that what it does is plug straight into the port on the back of the phone, and provides a cable connection to the antenna.
The plug-in adapter is preferred to the clip-on adpter, as it works on any mobile network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote them an email i'll keep you informed.

If you can get a plug in one then fine, but further down the page is where I get my info from. I highlighted in bold, just in case you cant see good.(Ha).
I'll bet the Jas Jar gets allocated the valcro one. As my experience is that its very difficult to find a plug one for the Jas Jar /O2 Exec.

Although I learly can read your bold text and being able to find this on on the page i really have no clue where you find the connection between the velco apdator and the O2 XDA Exec since it's marked with plug-in adaptor. Well we will see.

My apologies, yes "Plug-in Adapters", for "XDA, XDA II, XDA IIs, XDA Exec "..
BUT be carefull, the GSM external jack is very weak as per Wilson Electronic comments. Post me any confirmations of the plug in adapter working.

'Universal' adapters that apparently plug in
Their News page has a paragraph that describes a new adapter for various flavours of the Universal (although calling it Wizard to add to the confusion!) and warns against plugging in incompatible adapters. The adapters page lists the HTC devices under 'Plug-In' not 'Clip-on'. So that's why I posted.
I sent an Email after posting here, but it sounds like they are a small outfit so be patient!
Be careful with making adapters for transmitting antennae. For receiving antennae you can get away with almost anything, but for a transmitter a bad match on a connector will create reflections and emissions; it might even damage the transmitter (don't know if that's a problem here). If you don't see a clear increase on the reception bars with a well placed antenna, the adapter may be sending all the power straight back, doubling the voltage at the transmitter. Make sure everything is matched to 50R.
Nick (gave up my amateur radio license long ago since long hours in the loft didn't fit with married life!) :wink:

Reply from 'Boatersphone'
Can you do an adaptor from the obscure Amphenol MHCH196 socket on the HTC Universal Windows PDA phone? (XDA Exec, MDA Pro etc.). Presumably the other end is an FME f connector for the 'standard' phone antennas. Or alternatively the other end is a portable (non-mounted) antenna on 1800/2100MHz.
Many thanks
+++
Hello,
Yes we have an adapter to connect the HTC Universal to one of our antennae and you are correct about the FME F connection. We don't supply an adapter direct to an antennae, only in a two-part system via an FME connection, to allow for changing of either part.
If you require a portable antenna we have a 3G/Multiband antenna with a magnetic base (on 850/900/1800/1900/2100MHz frequencies) or we have a T-bar window antenna, which is 3G/Triband, although this doesn't produce as good results as the magnetic antenna.
Regards,
Arthur @ BPC

Any news? they don't seem to answer anymore. I wrote him two times. Anybody in contact with him?

Messing about in Boats
They advise to be patient, I bet we've flooded them with enquiries and they quote two days to reply!

[Q] Evo additional antennas?

has anyone noticed that when you take the batter cover of the evo there two holes on the right side of the handset that you can see two antenna connections. anyone think maybe you can use these antennas: http://cgi.ebay.com/Tyco-Universal-...-PCI-U-FL-/280359933530?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0 to boost signal or what are they for?

well, i think what you are referring to is the antenna connectors they use in the factory to test gps/4g/wifi. You would have to find the scematic to discover which one is for the wifi. Even then, since most likely the antennas that wrap around the outside of the back casing are connected to those ports, I am not sure if they would be powerful enough to make a difference in the reception.
But, you have me interested so I am looking around.

They look similur
elegantai said:
well, i think what you are referring to is the antenna connectors they use in the factory to test gps/4g/wifi. You would have to find the scematic to discover which one is for the wifi. Even then, since most likely the antennas that wrap around the outside of the back casing are connected to those ports, I am not sure if they would be powerful enough to make a difference in the reception.
But, you have me interested so I am looking around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They look the same as the ones on my netbook internal wireless card thats why I think the antennas would fit. But like you said even they might of been for testing and might not even help and btw if you look closley thru two vent on the right side on back of evo youll see the connections are open and nothing seems to be connected!

I believe those are test ports. But you could connect an antenna to it, but you would have to make a matching/phasing array for the external antenna to properly couple. Otherwise your impedence will be out of whack, and you will probably get zero reception, as well as possibly damage the transmitter output. Since we are talking very low power you will also have to contend with line loss going to the external antenna. All in all I wouldn't bother.

Yeah I prob wouldnt was just curious if anyone had any ideas.

Wi-Fi antenna - weak signal performance

I acquired a broken touchscreen Tilt2 and repaired. All worked well until attempting Wi-Fi - signal very very poor Only a 1-2 bars in same room as router and almost nothing between walls. The wifi antenna is located on the cover below the keyboard. You need to take the four small torx screws out and use a non-marring pry tool to lift cover off (better directions elsewhere). There are two tabs that contact PCB - they were not making contact at all. There is a little slot in the case next to the USB connector .... looks like on mine someone else may have inserted something in the this slot (maybe the micro SD card?). I replaced the screen without full case assembly, the rear cover void stickers were still intact so I know it didn't happen from my or another's dis-assembly. I bent the tabs (carefully as I read they break easy) reassembled and now get excellent reception FYI under the top speaker assembly is two other antennas for Cell Radio and GPS with the same type contacts if having problems with either of those. Hope this helps out someone, saw a lot of similar wi-fi problems in the posts but not much on location/repair of antenna. Good Luck!

External Antenna

Anyone ever use one? If so, what do you think of this?
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_antenna_combo_em_removal.html
Not interest in saving my brain, but in extending my 3G and 4G range.

I'm a little interested as well. For $50, it had better give great reception.

I heard my friend talk about this today. I hope it works.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I have used them from Wilson Electronics with great results...Don't know about these

Hold the (cell)phone - that one doesn't cover the LTE frequencies. Here's a nice indoor one that covers 700 MHz.
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_all_bands_8db_panel_indoor.html
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.

rtompkins3 said:
I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think that it plus into that jack on the bottom back of the TBolt.
Looks to have a rubber plug in it now.

I thought that was covering a screw

Has anyone tried either of these or any other similar device? I recently moved and now my signal has gone to hell (I'm lucky if I get one bar), so I'm seriously considering one of these.
Any reviews/feedback?

rtompkins3 said:
I thought that was covering a screw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what ive heard.
i also would like to see how this thing connects..

Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?

wgoeken said:
Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know on the droid and several other phones, there are little Antenna diversity jacks so that you can plug in extended or high-gain antennas (usually underneath the battery covers). I have seen the metal connectors (but not in a standardized form) on the inside of the case that connect to the antenna leads inside the back cover. You could potentially solder some leads from those to a proper antenna connecter that you mount on the back of the phone or inside one of those rubber fitted screw-holes. Then you could plug in and unplug your external antenna. As far as standardized connectors for external antennas, I don't think the T-Bolt has one.

emailed that site. heres what they said:
The is a small plastic cover, about 1/4" in diameter, on the back
of the phone. You may remove, very carefully, with a needle, and
the antenna port will be exposed.
Notice, however, that we recommend using the ExtAntPro™ adapter
with the Thunderbolt, because of the very small antenna port. The
regular adapter, which comes with the antennas, falls off very
easily, although it does still work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.

gohamstergo said:
emailed that site. heres what they said:
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I second that. I had these antennas for a couple years. I never found the antenna connection on the last couple phones I had, so I never even cared to pull the rubber plug, but it is indeed the antenna plug, these antennas work great, special during long drives, or for when I visit relatives who live in the woods, with a very weak signal. Thanks!

nope not covering a screw i double checked

I would never hook up an external antenna to a phone again. I did it once with my old Samsung Epix, and while it improved the signal when I disconnected the antenna I lost all service, so my phone was basically useless after connecting it.

What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.

avatar120 said:
What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have one of these at my work as well. Great signal outside, but not so much in the basement of the building. As soon as we moved into that building, getting one of these installed was a top priority of mine. It made a HUGE difference, although mostly for non-VZW!

external antenna
Search U.FL on wikipedia
That appears to be the connector under the rubber plug on a thunderbolt.
I cant find any that just go straight except ipx connectors at rfconnector.com
Does connecting an external antenna affect the internal one at all?

LAMPEY said:
Search U.FL on wikipedia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TB jack is not a Hirose U.FL. It looks more like a MS-156.

A temporary fix for low signal and slow data speeds!

Hey guys, just got my DInc2 Monday and found that the signal strength was no better than the Eris I had before it. The problem with the eris was that there was nowhere to connect an external antenna. After messing around with my new DInc2, and reading this forum, I found that by using the antenna that I bought for my eris: http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electronics-Trucker-Mirror-Antenna/dp/B001DTZ25A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323615483&sr=8-1
and the passive antenna adapter
http://3gstore.com/product/1691_passive_antenna_adapter.html
that I never could get to work to boost my eris' signal, I was able to DRAMATICALLY increase my signal and data speeds!!!
I have the antenna pointed in the general area of my closest tower.
I cut the end off the adapter, and stripped the wire. I then slid the wire into the antenna contact on the PHONE SIDE...not the cover. I went from 2 bars of signal and an average of -95dbi without the antenna, to a STEADY 3 bars and an average of -86dbi with the antenna. The back cover has to be off for this to work, so it's only a fix if you are at home, or somewhere stable where you can just connect it and set the phone on a table somewhere.
If anybody knows where I can pick up some kind of small alligator clip or ANYTHING that would allow me to more permanently attach the antenna while I'm at home, I'd love to hear it. I think if I had a better connection between the phone and the antenna, the signal would be that much better.
Here are the speedtests I took this morning. The first three are without the antenna, and the 2nd three are with the antenna

Antenna fix
You could get a spare back and drill into the area where the connections are and solder the wire to the contacts on the back.
Try it with the stock antenna intact. If the signal is not better, interupt the trace of copper for the stock antenna.
Enjoy...

Poking around in the back of my phone, I pulled off a tiny rubber cover located just above the SD card slot. Just underneath is what appears to be an antenna port. I have a Wilson antenna that I used with an old flip phone from back in the day, but the adapter I had did not fit. I ordered this one off of E-bay: Wilson 359909 Antenna Adapter LG, Motorola, Samsung,HTC (160641678739) - even though it did not explicitly state it would work on the Dinc2. In the meantime I spliced off the end of the adapter I already had and put the exposed wire in the antenna port. I noted an immediate increase of signal strength of -5dbm. Unfortunately, the ebay adapter arrived and it also does not fit. I think if we could find the right size adapter, we could drilll a hole in the back of the cover and it should seat nicely. Anyone have any thoughts?

I see that port. I didn't get any signal at all when I put my wire into it though. Anybody know what this port is for if not for an antenna? I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed this before.

I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed this before.
I agree. Maybe wishful thinking got the best of me!

I just hope there's something to this!

I shoulda thought more before posting. There is no doubt in my mind that I got a signal increase with the external antenna as compared to the last signal reading prior to taking off the cover (and having no signal at all).
Question is - could I have inadvertently touched something else in addition to that port?
At work till tomorrow afternoon and will retest then.

It IS an antenna port
I have attached pictures of the "setup", and a screen shot displaying my dbm's with the cover off and the antenna attached. Cover on signal status was -96 dBm and with the antenna attached it was -87 dBm.
Hopefully this will get someone a lot smarter than me interested in figuring out what kind of adapter would work on this port.
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback!
View attachment IMG_20111215_105537.bmp View attachment 2011-12-15_11-06-09_540.bmp View attachment 2011-12-15_11-07-26_527.bmp View attachment screenshot-1323982757531.bmp

Umm i get 2meg download speed with no app and the back on. Remember the phones internal antennal is actually the back door of the phone. Did you do those first speed tests with the back on? Try flashing a new radio. The newest one ending in .1111 is great!
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App

Thanks for the advice! I flashed the .1111 radio a couple days ago and have noticed that the dead spots on my 1.5 hour drive to work have gotten shorter and my average dl speeds have increased from an average of .5 Mbps to about 1.2 Mbps
My hope is that with the right adapter, I could plug in an external antenna (pictured in my previous post) and cause those dead spots to disappear all together.
By taking the back cover off and plugging the bare wire of the adapter into the port directly above the SIM card slot, I get better reception than I had with the back cover on. Problem is, it's a very precarious connection. I think if I could find an adapter that actually fit in that port, I could drill a hole in the back of the cover and plug and unplug as needed.