External antenna plus enclosure for WiFi shield
AlexB
Russia
Hi to all!
When I built ABS box for my Cyton plus WiFi shield boards, I encountered problem of very poor and unstable connection to my local WiFi network.
I believe it was due to interference of walls of my box, internal PCB antenna and active Cyton circuits beneath it.
In order to cope with it I cut corresponding PCB lines of ground and antenna and soldered IPX U. FL connector like at the picture attached and connect standard WiFi 3db antenna.
Connection improved substantially.
Just to whom it may concern.
Best regards,
Comments
Pictures:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VPbn3V4fDEV38j5cN8Iw1_JWUKBm6MEz/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vOLvC6bt8fyAH5rdw6jicATiE23Zc1RF/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18zYhFDIfnAs_5gNZqxwUAmWmsi1TUPTV/view?usp=drivesdk
Alex, wow, that is some impressive enclosure. Looks almost military grade; very solid, possibly bulletproof. ;-)
Thanks for posting this I'll edit your thread title to include the enclosure.
William
Dear William!
Thank you for appreciation! Yes, in view of current unstable international political situation, it’s time to think about extra safety :-)
Really cool @AlexB! I would consider sharing this mod/hack as a Community Post here: https://openbci.com/community
Dear @retiutut, thank you for feedback!
Actually, it is widely accepted general rule for board design to avoid any plains above/below PCB antenna trace in order to avoid unwanted coupling between components.
That’s why we can frequently see PCB antennas literally hanging off the edge of the mainboard.
Examples:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1671IwuMvH55Z5z4aiC0gZr6gWfnPtGNd/view?usp=drivesdk
Or
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10oulzAi2MYh3PEvtPov9y312Mir5eqPU/view?usp=drivesdk
Not the case for our WiFi shield design.
So, I can assume, that partly some problems with WiFi shield connections and operation for some of WiFi shield users could be linked to this issue.
The solution could be external antenna.
Thanks again and best regards.