A95X External Antenna Mod & Results

[KodiLoaded]

PLEASE NOTE I WILL TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU DESTROY YOUR BOX


LIST OF WHAT YOU NEED

1: 2.4Ghz Antenna & Pigtail
2: Soldering Iron and rosin core solder for electronics
3: Drill or Dremel to make hole
4: Needle nose pliers to fasten pigtail to box
5: Magnifying glass or bifocal glasses, Very small area your soldering and wires are tiny
6: Razor blade to trim antenna wire.
7: Small jewelers tool screwdriver or like object to pry open box
Bottom cover rear of box you will see a notch, This is where to pry it open.



INSTRUCTIONS:

1: Carefully pry open box from bottom starting at rear center where you see the little notch.
2: Remove 4 small Philips screws that hold PCB to case, Peel off internal antenna & remove PCB.
3: Drill hole in left side of box as seen in photos where the notch is on the PCB
4: Carefully Desolder internal antenna wire
5: Strip and solder pigtail wires to PCB
6: Insert & fasten pigtail to box
7: Reassemble

NOTE:

YOU MAY HAVE TO TRIM SOME PLASTIC FROM BOTTOM COVER WHERE IT MEETS UP WITH ANTENNA MOUNT TO GET THE COVER TO SNAP INTO PLACE.



SHITTY INTERNAL ANTENNA



PIGTAIL INSERTED IN LEFT SIDE OF BOX





AFTER SOLDERING TO BOARD



FINISHED PRODUCT





WIFI SCAN BEFORE MOD




WIFI SCAN AFTER MOD






I USED A 2.4 Ghz ANTENNA & PIGTAIL I ALREADY HAD ON HAND FROM ANOTHER OLDER BOX FOR TESTING, JUST MAKE SURE THE ONE YOU USE IS FOR 2.4 Ghz & NOT 5 Ghz

Derek.

[KodiLoaded]

[RISCy Dude]

Nice post. I don't own this box, but have added antenna to others. It was well worth it and in some cases(R-box RK) resulted in much more stable WiFi.

It does require decent soldering skills and attention to detail.

I think this thread will be well received(pun intended). :-)

[KodiLoaded]

Thanks, I am damn glad I decided to try it with this box, Huge performance boost, The internal WiFi antenna is far from adequate in these.

[gefattern]

Hi Kodiloaded ,

nice Mod , i am busy to mod the Wifi of my old Tablet M9Pro hope i can solder it even good as yours.

nice Day

gefattern

[KodiLoaded]

I bought one of these for working on the smaller things, It's real cheap works great adjustable temp and several tip sizes, You just cant go wrong for the money.

[JoseM]

great thanks

[xfade]

Yoyo, this is awesome! My lazy butt (and inadequate soldering skill) was thinking:

Why not join the existing antenna's tail and the pigtail with a wirenut and call it good? I'd rather not risk damaging my box for all eternity.


I wonder if signal quality would be close to your results.

[RISCy Dude]

The antenna lead is coaxial, it has two conductors, like the TV cable in your house.
A wire nut is too big, and too aggressive IMO. May also compromise cable shielding. Really though, wire nuts are inappropriate all around for this guage of wires.

Best to get a cheap solder iron and develop the skill by practicing on old unused or junk electronics and wiring. Youtube videos can show the way. This skill will be valuable to you for many things.

But I realize it is not for everyone, and serious damage can result, so maybe you could get an electronics or computer shop to do it for not much money. Maybe there is an electronics school nearby that would do it.
Good luck.

[xfade]

The antenna lead is coaxial, it has two conductors, like the TV cable in your house.
A wire nut is too big, and too aggressive IMO. May also compromise cable shielding. Really though, wire nuts are inappropriate all around for this guage of wires.

Best to get a cheap solder iron and develop the skill by practicing on old unused or junk electronics and wiring. Youtube videos can show the way. This skill will be valuable to you for many things.

But I realize it is not for everyone, and serious damage can result, so maybe you could get an electronics or computer shop to do it for not much money. Maybe there is an electronics school nearby that would do it.
Good luck.

I didn't factor in the bigger gauge coax. 2 stripped ends meeting at the corner of the box, solder the 2 ends together? Would that possibly work?

I have an iron and I have flux, i'm just avoiding messing with the board. My arthritis is creeping up on me at my age, hands aren't as stable as they used to be.

[RISCy Dude]

I understand, and in my case, eyes not as sharp as they used to be. The boards have thin traces and pads and can be pulled(cooked) off, so it is wise to be cautious.

I too have thought about a splice at the antenna end, to minimize risk. There are procedures for splicing coax. I am not sure what, if any signal degradation would occur from a simple splice.

Updated: Removed splice commentary after advice from another.

[Jumpinjohn]

Did you get an increase in speed with this mod, or just a stronger signal?

[soldiaz]

@KodiLoaded: Could you advice where you soldered the external antenna connector on?

I am not able to discover on the picture....

[soldiaz]

this is my board: http://freaktab.com/filedata/fetch?photoid=712527

[trebor]

shown to you in other thread what are you not understanding
You buy cable with connector already attached
Solder one end to PCB make hole for connector in case OK ?