2011 Tahoe PPV Install

[WX4EMT]

For those that have been following the thread for a while you probably remember the original "MiFi on steroids" panel:

Well, thanks to KarNutt I have discovered the virtues of the Cradlepoint COR IBR600 router, this thing is tiny and it is amazing! It also took the place of the entire internet panel!

But in order to get the most out of it's on-board 4G radio/modem you need 2 external antennas. No big deal for antenna 1, just cut the FME connector off - crimp on an SMA connector then viola' half of the problem solved...?? Not so fast..... Don't get me wrong I love Wilson products and they have led the way in mobile data since it's inception but their antenna specs for Verizon's 4G frequency range is not that good. So I looked around and found the Laird 4G optimized low profile antennas and the specs for 690 Mhz 4G LTE are GREAT!

So I screwed this one into antenna 1 position and ordered some more NMO mounts and climbed back on the roof of the Tahoe for some deja vu:

Then mounted an NMO for antenna 0 position and screwed on another Laird 4G:

It's starting to get crowded on my mobile antenna farm:

But it leaves room in the rack for more goodies to come.... Like the Baron's WxWorx / Mobile TreatNet system.....

Stay tuned!

 

[Nozzleman71]

Did you have to take some antennas off or just add the new ones? I can't tell .

 

[WX4EMT]

Just added 1 more total of 9 now.

 

[Nozzleman71]

Check

 

[N1XDS]

Looks good so far! Maybe a live feed when chasing a bad weather system?

For those that have been following the thread for a while you probably remember the original "MiFi on steroids" panel:

Well, thanks to KarNutt I have discovered the virtues of the Cradlepoint COR IBR600 router, this thing is tiny and it is amazing! It also took the place of the entire internet panel!

But in order to get the most out of it's on-board 4G radio/modem you need 2 external antennas. No big deal for antenna 1, just cut the FME connector off - crimp on an SMA connector then viola' half of the problem solved...?? Not so fast..... Don't get me wrong I love Wilson products and they have led the way in mobile data since it's inception but their antenna specs for Verizon's 4G frequency range is not that good. So I looked around and found the Laird 4G optimized low profile antennas and the specs for 690 Mhz 4G LTE are GREAT!

So I screwed this one into antenna 1 position and ordered some more NMO mounts and climbed back on the roof of the Tahoe for some deja vu:

Then mounted an NMO for antenna 0 position and screwed on another Laird 4G:

It's starting to get crowded on my mobile antenna farm:

But it leaves room in the rack for more goodies to come.... Like the Baron's WxWorx / Mobile TreatNet system.....

Stay tuned!

 

[WX4EMT]

Looks good so far! Maybe a live feed when chasing a bad weather system?

When I am chasing here locally in the Mid-South area I have aligned with Mid-South Storm Chasers, they use ChaserTV and they also do something called, "Chasing for a Cure" to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital cancer research, I really like that! All "Boot Heel to the Delta and Ozarks to the Appalachians" chases you can find me on Chaser TV.

ChaserTV | Live Weather Video On Demand
www.facebook.com/midsouthstormchasers?fref=ts

When I go west to Tornado Alley, I chase with the Extreme Storm Chase Team. Steve Worthington has become a well respected name in the chaser biz and when he asked if I would join the team I jumped all over it so when I'm West of the Ozarks I am aligned with Extreme.

Live Storm Chaser Tracking on ZoomRadar | SevereStudios.com
Extreme StormChaser.Net
ESC Team

 

[03msc]

For those that have been following the thread for a while you probably remember the original "MiFi on steroids" panel:

It's starting to get crowded on my mobile antenna farm:

But it leaves room in the rack for more goodies to come.... Like the Baron's WxWorx / Mobile TreatNet system.....

Stay tuned!

I am pretty sure if I saw this Tahoe driving down the interstate I'd think "that must be some sort of federal agent or something" with all those antennas on the blacked out Tahoe! :lol:

 

[WX4EMT]

I am pretty sure if I saw this Tahoe driving down the interstate I'd think "that must be some sort of federal agent or something" with all those antennas on the blacked out Tahoe! :lol:

Most folks leave me alone.... That's fine too.

 

[03msc]

Most folks leave me alone.... That's fine too.

Haha...exactly my point. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to get very close... :wink:

As I've said before, impressive install though for what you do and what it is capable of doing.

 

[fdscan]

I think the whole idea of it being black just boosts the "cool" factor by a thousand points, just for that reason, lol... I probably would think the same if I saw this driving around.

Hahaha, I was checking out that ChaserTV site. Very neat concept, but I find it funny because it seems that some guys forget to turn off their cameras (or are intentionally leaving them on) so we're basically watching them cruise around town, lol.

Looking forward to watching you on there, though.

 

[WX4EMT]

I was checking out that ChaserTV site. Very neat concept, but I find it funny because it seems that some guys forget to turn off their cameras (or are intentionally leaving them on) so we're basically watching them cruise around town.

On chaser TV there is embedded advertising, either in the header, footer, crawl or watermark. For every minute someone watches your feed you receive a point. After hundreds of viewer minutes (just like any advertising) it adds up to a few bucks. The first 50 bucks goes to your annual "fee" for using ChaserTV after that Chaser TV cuts you a check.

For the record, I have never had enough viewers to "make" any money but I have a couple of bucks knocked off my annual fee.

Here at Mid-South Chasers any payments from chaser TV or the sales of Mid-South Chasers T shirts is donated to Chasing For A Cure to benefit St. Jude's Children's Cancer Research. That's how that works.. So, long story short, some folks leave it on to get more viewer minutes and that's money in their pockets. Mid-South Chasers that's money for St. Jude's.

https://twitter.com/chasing4acure

 

[fdscan]

Ahhh I see...

 

[box23]

Hi Box, it's a US GlobalSat MR-350P. It requires an adapter cable for whichever application you are going to use USB or serial.

Mr350p Serial Gps products available for sale at GPS City

If you need any info for "non-standard" modification of the MR-350P that part of the thread is located here:

http://forums.radioreference.com/pi...e-setup/223058-2011-tahoe-ppv-install-15.html

Thanks a bunch!

 

[KD0RUE]

So did you deep 6 the wilson amplifier and just run the dual antennas directly into the cradlepoint device?

 

[WX4EMT]

The Wilson amp is 3rd generation CDMA (Verizon 3G) which is not compatible with 4G LTE nor will it allow a 4G signal to pass through. So far the Cradlepoint IBR-600 with it's 2 external antennas has ran circles around the old USB air card / failover system in speed and reliability.

So, yes, the old Wilson amp has been returned to the scrap box from whence it came.

 

[KD0RUE]

The Wilson amp is 3rd generation CDMA (Verizon 3G) which is not compatible with 4G LTE nor will it allow a 4G signal to pass through. So far the Cradlepoint IBR-600 with it's 2 external antennas has ran circles around the old USB air card / failover system in speed and reliability.

So, yes, the old Wilson amp has been returned to the scrap box from whence it came.

I like this. I may add one to my Tahoe, but keep my max signal amp to boost phone service.

 

[PJH]

You have to remember...its only going to work as best as the antenna you have on your vehicle and location of the tower. For the most part boosters do not work as well as they did 10 years ago when you still had AMPS systems in place. Most cellphones these days work on automatic power control to conserve batter life. They won't put out as much power if the phone sees a strong signal being repeated or amplified by the amp (all make/model dependent and no I don't know what works best).

For the past 10 years I have lived in areas that are less than cell friendly, and no amp has done anything. Currently I use a roof mounted Sharkfin for my data modem and that will rx/tx just fine where my iphone does not. I've used passive antennas for the old Treo that worked well (until it came out of the cradle) and the Blackberry.

Non-amp good roof antenna worked just fine.

No need to spend hundreds of $$ for no real benefit.

 

[WX4EMT]

I think PJ is spot on, I really didn't get that much benefit from the amp in this new 4G LTE environment and the regular Wilson cell antennas don't have very good specs for the 690 MHz frequencies that Verizon uses for 4G LTE either. Hard to believe that a stubby low profile antenna can out perform a wire antenna 5 times it's size but these do just that. Like PJ, my house is in a very un-cell-friendly area but this new router sitting in the truck has solid lock and typical 4G fast data speeds.

The only regret I have is how long I waited.

 

[gesucks]

There is only one amp currently on the market that meets the new FCC requirements. I look up the info and post when I get back home

 

[WX4EMT]

There is only one amp currently on the market that meets the new FCC requirements. I look up the info and post when I get back home

That's why I like this thread so much... We have ideas & input from all over!