External cell booster antenna via the satellite wiring

[rmcrowe]

I've recently picked up a weboost connect RV 65. My plans are to mount it near the front of my imagine 2500rl between the pass through hatch and fresh water (gravity) fill. While pondering how to get the wires back to the tv area where the rest of the electronics will be, I realized there is already a "satellite" connection conveniently located in the pass through console which runs to the tv area. I believe this to be 75 ohm coax and while it may be a bit longer (and probably lower quality) than I would like, it seems as though it will work. If so it sure makes this a lot easier. I tested it out and it appears to work, though I loose maybe 5 DB compared to connecting directly to the 30 ft supplied cable.

Anyone else tried this? I don't think we will ever use satellite so that coax is otherwise unused.

[papermakermd]

Watching this thread ! I too hope this would be an option.

[boyscout]

I've recently picked up a weboost connect RV 65. My plans are to mount it near the front of my imagine 2500rl between the pass through hatch and fresh water (gravity) fill. While pondering how to get the wires back to the tv area where the rest of the electronics will be, I realized there is already a "satellite" connection conveniently located in the pass through console which runs to the tv area. I believe this to be 75 ohm coax and while it may be a bit longer (and probably lower quality) than I would like, it seems as though it will work. If so it sure makes this a lot easier. I tested it out and it appears to work, though I loose maybe 5 DB compared to connecting directly to the 30 ft supplied cable.

Anyone else tried this? I don't think we will ever use satellite so that coax is otherwise unused.

You've nailed the answer to your question with the bolded information above. You are correct. The cell booster is working with much higher frequencies than those coming from a satellite antenna. The factory cable would really suck at delivering them to your booster. Since the boosters provide modest gains to begin with - they are not night-and-day products - if you're losing a lot of signal in that cable you'll be very disappointed with your booster.

There is an understandable aversion to drilling holes in the wall of the trailer, but I've done it on two trailers and consider it the best and easiest way to bring antenna cables in from outside. On both trailers I've drilled one-inch holes through the back wall about 80% or so of the way up behind the ladder. In both cases that brought me into a cabinet at the back of the trailer where the booster equipment lives. Easy peasy.

Drill with this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...9662/202327732

Use this fitting and lots of silicone or other sealer:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-...01?recordNum=1

Use the shorter and higher-quality cable that comes with your external antenna... your booster will definitely perform better than if you use the factory satellite run.

[microm3gas]

I've been pondering this myself and you've helped me decide against

[rmcrowe]

So since I started this thread almost 2 years ago I thought I would provide an update. This is specific to my situation and YMMV. I never did direct wire my connection I have been using the satellite feed from the front pass-through area since the beginning. For me it has worked well, I don't know how it would compare to directly connecting the wire (I'm sure that would be better), but in cases where I was getting very spotty connections it improved it enough for me to work - like maybe 3 or 4x over no booster. A few examples - albeit not terribly scientific:

West of Green River UT boondocking near Buckhorn Draw - Verizon - I was getting about 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up. With the booster properly aimed I got 15Mpbs down and 5Mbps up. This is enough for me to do things like teams calls etc... I don't do video calls as a general rule but presentations etc... work just fine at those speeds for me.

Recently at Oceano Dunes, Ca -Verizon I was getting 15Mbps down, but only 1Mbps up (maybe we were slightly behind a dune?), with the booster I got 25Mps down and 16Mps up. I think I was able to point to a different tower than the phone would pick up natively and this helped avoid contention on the nearer tower (just a theory).

These are just two of many examples, so it does work - and I'm sure it's not optimal - but it has been 'good enough' for me for the last 22 months that I was not motivated to do more. During that time I have been expecting to adopt starlink and I probably will in the next 6 or so months so even less motivation to improve the wiring.

As stated - I'm sure everyone's situation is different but it might be worth trying out the satellite port if you have a mind to.