ESP8266 Community Forum

- Sat Jul 15, 2017 12:22 pm #68256 You can't just tack on an additional antenna. The input/output of the module is expecting to see a matched circuit at the operational frequency. If you use a different antenna then the original circuit (antenna) must be removed, and you need to ensure that the new antenna is suitably matched.

If you just tacked on something to the existing board then it is no surprise that you didn't see any improvement. An antenna has resistance, inductance, and capacitance. It is a complex circuit. It may look simple but it is not.

The ESP-07 has an on board antenna and a connector for an external antenna. To use the external antenna you should be removing the connection to the internal antenna. The shorting 0 Ohm resistor next to the connector is what needs to be removed.

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- Sat Jul 15, 2017 3:44 pm #68259

To use the external antenna you should be removing the connection to the internal antenna. The shorting 0 Ohm resistor next to the connector is what needs to be removed.

Very, very useful tip! Thank you!

I have only one of these modules with an external antenna connector.
Before I start dismantle it, do you think the external (ducky) antenna will have a better performance then the PCB antenna?

Thanks again!

- Sat Jul 15, 2017 6:02 pm #68261

Before I start dismantle it, do you think the external (ducky) antenna will have a better performance then the PCB antenna?

It should: a PCB antenna is always a trade-off, but only when using an actual 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna and not just any HAM (or other) antenna.

Assumption is the mother of all f*ckups. At least: that's what I'm assuming.

- Sat Jul 15, 2017 6:43 pm #68264 One thing to do is to make sure you use the shortest connecting cable you can. There are some long cheap antenna cables being sold and they are horrible. The longer the cable the more loss you will get. And if the cable is made of cheap crap the losses multiply quickly.

I do have the hardware but haven't had time to test out performance of different antenna configurations.