Ideas to hack cf-30 Gobi2000 GPS antenna?

The Gobi2000 has (as everyone already knows) GPS capabilities. In my CF-W8, it acquires 8 to 10 satellites in a minute or so from a cold start inside the house. In the CF-30, the same card will eventually acquire satellites IF taken outside to clear view of skies.

I suppose this is because the card is located in the lid of the W8, and is only covered with a plastic panel. On the CF-30 the card is buried deep inside a pocket under metal.

I can't help but think that there is a way to attach a small antenna that can be positioned just under the plastic cover of the WWAN pocket. (I think that one of the after-market GPS solutions sold on eBay positions the antenna there instead of using the upper right corner of the lid for the antenna.)

Any ideas for attaching a small internal antenna? Maybe a U.FL splitter or piggyback connector? Does such a thing exist?

 

You want a small pcb that has multiple ufl connectors on it. You may need to solder one small jumper wire. It depends on the pcb.
They came in lots of laptops. Here is an example to search for.

SONY VAIO FS WIFI ANTENNA BOARD MS02 A-1117-455-A

 

Or you may use a smart cellphone GPS antena which is available in any cellphone store on the net.

ohlip

 

But how to attach it without dis-attaching WWAN antennas?

 

theoak2! Here is an example of the GPS/wwan combination with only one pigtail. It can be simply installed on the plastic piece on left hand side on the sled. Just do it which is the best position.

Anyway, to install this type of antena: Just unplug the auxilliary antena jumper on the moden located on the sled and then installed this GPS/wwan antena combination. The only setback is the antena is installed on the palmrest instead on the top of lCD.

I've never done this but I'm sure it works.

ohlip

 

Thanks to both Shawn and ohlip!! The antenna in ohlip's post looks like just what I was hoping for. Do you have one to sell, or know where I can purchase one?

 

Ohlip: Thanks for the suggestion. I did not find the antenna you showed in your pictures, but found this: 3G GPS Antenna cable for Qualcomm Gobi | eBay

Since it came from China, it took several weeks to get here. Unfortunately, it did not work. I took the aux antenna wire loose, and connected the gray wire and antenna from eBay to the aux connector on the Gobi2000. I removed the black plastic cover from the WWAN sled, and left the whole wire with the antenna sticking out from the WWAN pocket. I got absolutely no satellites or even glimmers of satellites, even after waiting 45 minutes. WWAN still worked, so I'm sure the aux connector is the place to put this antenna. Maybe this is not a GPS antenna even though it was labeled that in the eBay listing?? I still think that this could work if I get the right antenna.

 

The looks like a standard patch antenna for wifi.....Let me look in my spare parts...I may have a 3g antenna from a usb wwan stick I disassembled....I forget the model number of the card, but I know it had GPS.

Stay tuned for a brief commercial break...

This is what I have....pic stolen from fleabay


View attachment 91012

 

Shawn, I saw those on eBay when I was looking for the one in Ohlip's picture, but was afraid that the antenna lead was too short for the way it needed to be oriented. Is the GPS part of that antenna on the long side or in the "U"? If the wire is long enough, I will try it.

PS: I did find some that looked like Ohlip's picture, but the listing said they were ipad antennas. So I was not sure if they were what I thought they were. Some of them say they are compatible with Gen 1, or Gen 2, or Gen 3, as if that makes a difference. So I took a chance on the one I got, simply because it said it was for the gobi2000 and had "GPS" in the title.

 

From a semi informed guess, it appears to be on the far side of the lead wire.
I read his ad. I think he is misinformed. I don't know the frequency band of those antennas.

 

Thanks Shawn for the antenna (The one shown in post # 9.). I tried it, but it does not work. I let it search for a signal 20 minutes before I gave up. (It was worth a try.) I think the wire is too short for the part of the antenna that picks up the signal to be outside the metal part of the laptop. If that wire was a little longer, this might have worked. Anyway, I finally found an antenna like the one ohlip showed, and ordered it. Yup, from China again. So I guess 3 more weeks to receive that. These antennas are fairly cheap, so even if it does not work, it is worth a try. I will post back here for the benefit of others. Thanks again!

 

Here is the one. Link: New GPS Antenna Signal Cable for Apple iPad Mini A1432 A1454 A1455 | eBay


ohlip

 

That is the one I ordered about a week ago. But mine was a Chinese seller, so I will have a couple more weeks to wait. (I hope I don't sound prejudiced. I am not. It just takes longer for shipping.)

Also, I have found from your comments in another thread, that my dip switches were set wrong. I now acquire satellites with the built-in antenna, but only 4 satellites. So, I still am interested to see if this antenna acquires more satellites, or acquires them more quickly.

 

Don't expect any better to a gps on a network modem. Its all crap. Its like saying by the CAPT'N that, its better to nothing, Lol... Sorry! man! but its true.


ohlip

 

In case anyone wants to know, I ordered the antenna ohlip (pictured in post # 5) from an eBay seller (hkyrd2012, as you can tell from the photo), but received something different than what was pictured. It has a much smaller connector than usual (about 1/3 the diameter). I am not bothering to get the seller to resend the item. (It was only $3.99). So, bottom line, I cannot verify if it works or not, since it is not the antenna in the picture.



I still like tinkering to see what little thing might enhance the use of these great laptops!

 

Here's something interesting: If I remove the battery, then the Gobi2000 GPS gets a fix nice and fast. Inside the house, from a cold start on a rainy dreary evening, without any kind of antenna hack, I get this:

 

The battery is blocking the antenna/signal. Ohlip's post on aftermarket gps....He uses a Taoglas 10mm antenna, mounted under the cover for the wifi antenna. Antenna costs about $15.00 I think.


http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/648936-adding-aftermarket-internal-gps-cf-30-a.html