Antenna Adapter and Cell Phone RF Port
How do you know when you have a good connection between your cell phone external antenna adapter and your cell phone or cellular broadband card?
To test for a good connection, it’s best to put your phone into test mode. You should be able to tell by looking at the signal strength bars but reading the db gain in test mode is more accurate. For this test, you will be using the adapter by itself with no antenna connected to it.
The process is simple:
- Record Signal Reading before attaching antenna adapter
- Attach antenna adapter
- Record Signal Reading after attaching antenna adapter
Signal strength is measured in db (decibels) gain. A reading of -75db is much better than a reading of -100db.
If you’re getting a good connections, your signal should drop after attaching the adapter. This happens because the adapter disconnects the devices built-in antenna and uses the adapter as the antenna. For better results, you might try covering the adapter with your hand to keep it from acting like an antenna but that is usually not necessary.
WARNINGS
I have seen some devices that do not disengage the internal antenna when the adpater is attached and they work fine once an external antenna is connected. Avoid forcing the adapter in too far as you may damage your device or adapter. Be sure and wait a bit (a minute or so) to see a change in signal strength. Once you attach an external antenna to your adapter, the cellular signal should go back up and you should see an improvement in signal strength.