2.5mm jack for RF passthrough?

I was looking around shopping for parts for my GPS setup and I got an Idea. I want to be able to run an external gps antenna as well as a wifi antenna. Would a 2.5mm headset plug work for a passthrough?

Like this one
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/103462-conn-2-5mm-jack-panel-mnt-mj-2503a.html

That would make for a nice clean install in the sidepiece of the cf29. I could get it all in and wired then "pot" it in to seal it up. Then I would have a nice flush port for my antennas. You could use the same technique for headphones.


And one more question. What is the popular 27dbi active patch antenna that others have used with good success

Thanks

 

I would think that this connector would be a major fail as it not designed for the 1.2 - 1.5 GHz frequencies employed by GPS.

Or so thinks this old ham...

 

alright. Thats why I asked I wasnt sure if it would work or not.

So what would be a good flush RF pass-thru?

 

I would consider SMA or Sub-SMA if you needed it really small. The SMA would be great because it is easy to get low-loss cable that is good out to 2.4GHz or so. Line loss would kill all the possible benefits of your project with the wrong connector.

 

howabout mmcx? with the sma being threaded it would be hard to mount it flush. but with this connector I could. How would it work?

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...f&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS294US294&sa=N&start=18&um=1

 

The MMCX is good frequency wise, but I have always regarded it as a mechanically weak connector and prone to rapid wear. You will also usually wind up using it with a pigtail if you use COAX of any diameter to try and minimize line-loss. How long do you anticipate your feed line to be?

BUT, it has it all in terms of size, it would be a lot easier to find a place to mount it! I do not know much about the inside of a Toughbook space wise, yet...I think that I am about to get a crash course.

 

I got to thinking, you might want to consider what type of connectors you will have on your external GPS antenna in your evaluations. Custom made coax with odd connectors can add significantly to the cost of any project unless you plan to roll your own.

SMA and R-SMA low loss cable is cheap at under $20 for 5 yards.

 

I was thinking of using one of the gps antennas that are the same as a sattalite radio antenna with a long wire on it. I believe that they use the rg17?? stuff. I was just going to swap on a plug. I already have a mmcx jack that I was going to rob from my old wwan sled