External Antennas
EnGenius cordless phones are probably the only ones that
have been designed with the capability to use a separate,  
external antenna.

When the phone base is installed indoors, the radio signal
may have to pass through several walls to reach outdoors,
which limits signal strength and range.

By placing the antenna outside, and as high as possible
(typically on a roof or pole), range may be significantly
increased.
An antenna splitter will lets you use one
antenna outdoors plus one indoors, or antennas
on both sides of a firewall, to increase coverage.
You can also use two outdoors for a figure-
Don't forget to install the
lightning protection kit. It
can save your expensive
phone. We recommend
surge protection for AC
power and phone lines, too.
No Tower? No Problem. We made a quick-and-dirty
antenna mount with an orange bucket and some PVC
pipe and concrete from Home Depot, and waited until
we needed our warehouse air conditioner repaired so
we could borrow a long ladder from Dominic, the AC
service guy. TIP: drill some holes above the concrete
so water will drain out of the bucket.
Dominic (left) from Viglione Cooling shows Gary how to extend a
ladder, while Dave makes believe he's doing something useful.
Dave designed and fabricated our
bucket, but was chicken to climb
up; so Gary fiddled on the roof.
call 1 888 225-3999   email for info or pricelist
8 coverage pattern. The
splitter is packaged with a
1-meter coaxial cable with
EnGenius connectors

  • Antennas must be at
    least 20 feet apart,
    and cables at least
    10 feet apart.
The antenna can be mounted upside down, if
necessary, and hung from the ceiling in a warehouse,
factory, or even an airplane hanger.

  • The antenna is available with either a 10-meter
    (approx. 30 feet) or 20-meter (approx. 60 feet)
    coaxial cable. Be aware that while the antenna
    provides a gain in signal strength, the 20-meter
    cable has a 2.34db loss, while the 10-meter
    cable is rated at a 1.17db loss.
  • Plan your installation carefully. If you can use
    the shorter (10-meter) cable, you will deliver a
    stronger signal to the antenna, and save money.
  • EnGenius uses special reverse-thread cable
    connectors that are not generally available, so it
    will be difficult to cut a cable and install a new
    connector. Changing the cable length will void
    the FCC certification for the phone it is used
    with.
  • If you leave excess cable coiled up, you will
    sacrifice performance. Stretch it out or make
    loops at least six feet in diameter.
Use this when you
can't mount the EnGenius
base up high enough for
adequate range. It has
two clamps to attach to a
piece of pipe or antenna
mast, but can also be
attached to a wall, post,
tree or chimney with
proper hardware. It's
excellent for ranches,
farms, resorts, camps,
warehouses, industrial
parks, auto  dealers,
mines, parks, oil fields,
campuses, etc.

TWO CABLE CHOICES:
PLAN CAREFULLY
Shorter cable means
more power and longer
distance conversations.
UPDATE: In April 2007, EnGenius introduced a new
higher performance antenna design, supplied with a
new lower-loss LMR400 coaxial cable.

DB gained (or recovered from loss) using new
LMR400 vs. older RG213 coaxial cable:
10-meter cable = + 1.23 DB
20-meter cable = + 2.46 DB

Additionally the old antenna had 4.5Dbi gain, while the
new antenna has 6.0Dbi.  

This total gain for each new antenna with cable as
compared to the old antennas is:
10-meter = +2.73Db
20-meter = +3.96Db