From nobody Mon Nov 22 03:19:48 2021 X-Original-To: freebsd-net@mlmmj.nyi.freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2610:1c1:1:606c::19:1]) by mlmmj.nyi.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9583C188F5B6 for ; Mon, 22 Nov 2021 03:20:06 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from kob6558@gmail.com) Received: from mail-wm1-x332.google.com (mail-wm1-x332.google.com [IPv6:2a00:1450:4864:20::332]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (128/128 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature RSA-PSS (4096 bits) server-digest SHA256 client-signature RSA-PSS (2048 bits) client-digest SHA256) (Client CN "smtp.gmail.com", Issuer "GTS CA 1D4" (verified OK)) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 4HyCFK69scz3h1g for ; Mon, 22 Nov 2021 03:20:05 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from kob6558@gmail.com) Received: by mail-wm1-x332.google.com with SMTP id i12so13943817wmq.4 for ; Sun, 21 Nov 2021 19:20:05 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20210112; h=mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=olDaJVfi+EGUhnZ5UlPUFFoyXMKiVeH3AtY46XnX9pQ=; b=fzHeA+mi2/Hh6ZDDb6wNFgyNmiXKP98N5S1Zd13fuibgI+nuNfwBus5orknclb0khb +4W5XR6jByn6P7JDA8QV/HCtJgby+SDfwk2URPItSh8p5BLyowdv/jraMj+myYN7wwPL r33zIM5yCVU5/CGUNC2CXub72vBXbOQHWAMSqAuHsbAKwJDp0IMZkdv7j3uxxaDaACZQ s7G+N7D18ArT0rHxkfdRhQSOq9Nbd3qLxd3W6vCKjTYq4NWpZ8kOFDDxX4QsqcKXNJSb HqiYQjOX0lPvLMyJvsL5BYDi010u654lQ5w07BoIc6e8BzwltxWke1uplY0XYm2HbC+H Rj4Q== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20210112; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=olDaJVfi+EGUhnZ5UlPUFFoyXMKiVeH3AtY46XnX9pQ=; b=2R9pFB1/TVLzSCg9kWYbO2PH1T4v56vCOE/gd78fIO7QhN8HONeX76K3bRgDsPXC1n OzxsAAfUvi9+0AF/Qa5t0bFEivGDKGJ+CMdDYDlvswjhdPBAVyl0iqHOcY7KSpTkfzKV 3fKyPNYHpevFAi3xqGK0NvFI9SR/RBXZ4mehigzDcfTU/Qg38FURp0vrWhTzmbHXdI9v 9PeMxxsLhWeay2Hlszu803FuOQAGqIm7gGcZ1GpwaundkDP9Ll53CEP4rw3xYR6mtHdL RpWtRh2LHCT2CTUii5GRNV7Vt+xTTBuVcli4A7AcNw9LyyKmd7luRA+F6kJ3CQKKFy62 VsAg== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM532cmH1S3yB75LMBpkPrhCyMx+0uIL7vdvdxEMYvL1b11v3VwCY8 n8qH0dQW8FvXjzqPAlbOBgI4la7tyhoPICzbXTY= X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJw19Zg7OngE1PpnBND2c2GW0Ezr0qNZpyHsMEn7OhTLEZt5hVmq49VUWhJKQau1KfMsfAtV1EkR4YagAOkKYII= X-Received: by 2002:a7b:ce16:: with SMTP id m22mr21242519wmc.137.1637551204286; Sun, 21 Nov 2021 19:20:04 -0800 (PST) List-Id: Networking and TCP/IP with FreeBSD List-Archive: https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-net List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: Sender: owner-freebsd-net@freebsd.org MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Kevin Oberman Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2021 19:19:48 -0800 Message-ID: Subject: Re: Splitting antenna To: "D'Arcy Cain" Cc: freebsd-net Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000d5458e05d15819d6" X-Rspamd-Queue-Id: 4HyCFK69scz3h1g X-Spamd-Bar: -- Authentication-Results: mx1.freebsd.org; dkim=pass header.d=gmail.com header.s=20210112 header.b=fzHeA+mi; dmarc=pass (policy=none) header.from=gmail.com; spf=pass (mx1.freebsd.org: domain of kob6558@gmail.com designates 2a00:1450:4864:20::332 as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom=kob6558@gmail.com X-Spamd-Result: default: False [-2.18 / 15.00]; R_SPF_ALLOW(-0.20)[+ip6:2a00:1450:4000::/36:c]; FREEMAIL_FROM(0.00)[gmail.com]; URI_COUNT_ODD(1.00)[1]; MID_RHS_MATCH_FROMTLD(0.00)[]; TO_DN_ALL(0.00)[]; DKIM_TRACE(0.00)[gmail.com:+]; RCPT_COUNT_TWO(0.00)[2]; DMARC_POLICY_ALLOW(-0.50)[gmail.com,none]; NEURAL_HAM_SHORT(-0.92)[-0.922]; FORGED_SENDER(0.30)[rkoberman@gmail.com,kob6558@gmail.com]; MIME_TRACE(0.00)[0:+,1:+,2:~]; FREEMAIL_ENVFROM(0.00)[gmail.com]; ASN(0.00)[asn:15169, ipnet:2a00:1450::/32, country:US]; FROM_NEQ_ENVFROM(0.00)[rkoberman@gmail.com,kob6558@gmail.com]; DWL_DNSWL_NONE(0.00)[gmail.com:dkim]; ARC_NA(0.00)[]; NEURAL_HAM_MEDIUM(-1.00)[-1.000]; R_DKIM_ALLOW(-0.20)[gmail.com:s=20210112]; FROM_HAS_DN(0.00)[]; NEURAL_HAM_LONG(-0.56)[-0.558]; MIME_GOOD(-0.10)[multipart/alternative,text/plain]; PREVIOUSLY_DELIVERED(0.00)[freebsd-net@freebsd.org]; TO_MATCH_ENVRCPT_SOME(0.00)[]; RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE(0.00)[2a00:1450:4864:20::332:from]; RCVD_COUNT_TWO(0.00)[2]; RCVD_TLS_ALL(0.00)[] X-ThisMailContainsUnwantedMimeParts: Y --000000000000d5458e05d15819d6 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 10:27 AM D'Arcy Cain wrote: > I am using my FreeBSD box as my main ingress to my RV trailer. We move > around and sometimes use Ethernet, sometimes PPP directly on DSL and > sometimes we connect to a local wifi hotspot. To get the best connection > I > have mounted an external, multi-band antenna on the trailer and connect it > to one of the antenna connections on the wifi card. > > My question is, can I split the antenna connection and use both antenna > connectors on the wifi card (or three if I have that kind of card) or will > that mess up the connection. I know that each connection is for a > different > band. Different camp grounds use different bands and sometimes I need to > switch the antenna to get a better Internet connection. It would be nice > if > I could just have both of then connected to the external antenna. > > Cheers. > > -- > D'Arcy J.M. Cain | Democracy is three wolves > http://www.druid.net/darcy/ | and a sheep voting on > +1 416 788 2246 (DoD#0082) (eNTP) | what's for dinner. > IM: darcy@VybeNetworks.com, VoIP: sip:darcy@druid.net Yes, you can split the signal, but the signal on each output will be a bit less than half the strength of the input signal. Three-way splitters are less common, but a 4-way means a quarter of the input. Make sure the splitter matches the impedance of the antenna as do all of the cables. As long as the S/N ratio is good enough, the split will work fine as it is in the analog realm. Since signal strength will vary depending on location, splitting may work in some places and not in others. A broadband amplifier attached at or near the antenna will help a lot if the signal strength is enough to work well before splitting. If you have a friend who is a ham radio operator, they could help a lot. -- Kevin Oberman, Part time kid herder and retired Network Engineer E-mail: rkoberman@gmail.com PGP Fingerprint: D03FB98AFA78E3B78C1694B318AB39EF1B055683 --000000000000d5458e05d15819d6--