PC 5740 Card, external antenna ports?

AntonOlsen

I was opening up my PC5740 card to see if there were any contacts for soldering an antenna lead. Before I got it all the way apart I noticed these connectors hiding under the Verizon wireless sticker.

http://flickr.com/photos/antonolsen/tags/pc5470/

You can see the a full sized image here:
http://photos22.flickr.com/34428734_83b144bed7_b_d.jpg

I opened up my other laptop, and they look a lot like the connector on the coax for the internal antennas. I think they would mate with the connector on the mini-pci wifi card, but there wasn't any way for me to actually test that.

Anyone have any knowledge or guesses on where to get a pigtail?

--Anton

Michael · Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:01 pm Post subject:

Wow, great find!

I have a bag of cables with all different connectors and none of them fit the PC5740 connectors beneath the Verizon sticker.

It DOES look a lot like the connectors that are on mini pc cards. Those are called U.FL connectors. I tried a U.FL and that did not fit either (the StompBoxes that we are building uses this type of connectors). It looks like it should work, but usually the connectors on mini pc cards stick up on top of the pc card and the connector plugs in. This connector on the PC5740 is recessed below the surface, so the U.FL connector (which is very small), doesn't fit because it is below the surface. If it is some sort of customized U.FL, that wouldn't be good either, since that connector is very fragile and not meant to plug and unplug.
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AntonOlsen

Inside the plastic case is a spring that's pressed against the circuit. I clipped a test lead with about 6" of wire to the spring and board (so they both made contact). Using the windows app it gave me an extra bar of signal, but it wasn't consistant.

I didn't leave it running like this as I'm unsure of what damage can be done to the transmitter with a poorly tuned antenna, but it's something to think about.

Zorog · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 135

Sorry folks, those two ports are "debug" ports, not antenna ports. This is directly from the card's developers.

Personally I think it's foolish to expose a gap in the case to allow dirt and moisture to penetrate in that location on the card.

AntonOlsen · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 12:01 pm Post subject:

boater805 · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:13 pm Post subject:

Michael · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:20 pm Post subject:

Valid questions.

My only concern is the ports being used, look a lot like U.FL connectors. Those connectors are not really meant to unplug, plug, unplug, plug. They are fairly fragile. If you think the MC Card connector on the PC5220 is fragile, these are even more fragile.

I am sure we will find out more over the coming days...
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boater805 · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 5:02 pm Post subject:

AntonOlsen · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 10:37 pm Post subject:

AntonOlsen · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:59 pm Post subject: Update on the connectors.

The connectors appear to be made by muRata.

There are a number of parts listed here that looks similar if not identical.
http://search.murata.co.jp/Ceramy/owa/expert.showser?sLbcd=L0391&sLang=2&sUbnm=Microwave+Components

I found some other info by googling for:
MXTK88
MXTK92
and MM8430-2600

I'll do some more searching later tonight.

Zorog · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 135

brendanhoar · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 140

It's quite possible that "test ports" are called "test ports" or "debug ports" for regulatory reasons. e.g. they weren't submitted for testing as external antenna ports when the device was submitted to the FCC for approval, perhaps because they didn't meet the strict requirements of the FCC or perhaps simply because it wasn't part of the product design to have external antenna ports.

-brendan

Zorog · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 135

Well, here's the reply from the developers.

The two ports are designed to fit a piece of test equipment that injects a simulated exposure to a real-world RF environment. The card is tested before it is shipped, and again if the card comes back for repairs.

They claim they have never tested the card attached to an external antenna. They expressed doubts about any performance increases, and warned that the connecters are very delicate and any damage to them will void all warranties. They are not strong enough to plug/unplug with any regularity.

So, I guess, in theory you are correct - it could be tested if someone thinks it's worth the effort and risk. Maybe it is since the card is cheaper than the competition.

AntonOlsen · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:06 pm Post subject:

Michael · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:20 pm Post subject:

AntonOlsen & Zorog,

This thread demonstrates an extremely positive use of the internet and public forums.

Going through normal channels, we would not have received any response from the manufacturer (I tried via email, never got a response), nor Verizon.

Now, we have some daring individual who takes his card apart, shows pictures and has some ideas. Some people in the know, respond, lots of research and a few days later, we have an answer for everyone to see (these forums are heavily spidered by all the search engines, so others WILL find this threads).

So, again, thanks for making EVDOforums.com, EXACTLY what I hoped it would become, a great community EVDO resource.
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