ESP8266 Community Forum

- Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:52 pm #55643 I'm trying to use an external antenna with an esp-03 to boost the range. There's a few youtube tutorials on how to make a good 2.4GHz antenna, but I don't know how to connect it to the esp. I got my module from ebay with a board and I soldered it on the board. Attached is an image with the pinout of the board. From the lower image it looks like I have to use a capacitor (C1). Does anybody know

1) where the antenna connectors go
2) where the capacitor goes
3) what capacitance value

I tested connectivity of the WIFI_ANT plates (is this the right term? I mean the metal things on the board that the red WIFI_ANT lines point to) are connected. Also the C1 plates (those the green lines from C1 point to) are also connected. The two bigger plates at the upper right are ground.

Thanks!

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- Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:57 am #55672 The three pads above C1 are for the antenna connector. Take a look at a esp-07 board and compare it to your esp-03.

If you do not have a proper connector for the antenna then you would probably be better off to buy a complete working module. Use this one as it is for applications that do not need extended range.

- Sun Sep 25, 2016 3:42 pm #55689 Thank you for the reply! Found and esp03 board with the antenna connector and the capacitor on it. That would make it convenient for me, as I've already made a custom development board for esp03. From the attached picture, I also see the capacitor, but I still don't know what that's for and what capacitance it has. I've already ordered one ready made on ebay, but it'd be nice to understand.

I'm thinking I might need a biquad antenna like this:

http://martybugs.net/wireless/biquad/

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