bendybones Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Has anyone got a source for very small antennae for Nomad zaxnet? I've seen pics of people using something like the Ambient Beetle antenna, but I can't find it sold separately. THanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I sourced the following stubby whip antennae from digikey.com: - Straight: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&keywords=931-1113-ND - Right-angled: http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?x=0&y=0&lang=en&site=us&keywords=931-1119-ND Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendybones Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Superb! Ordered a pair of right angles. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Hoppe Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Do you have any range issues with these Jose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I never had problems with mine indoors. I actually switched back to the stock big one because I was doing a lot of work outside in fields, with nothing for the 2.4 GHz signal to bounce off of. I guess this is one of those things I should do a real-world test with at some point. Go to some big fields and see what the range difference really is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Do you have any range issues with these Jose? They work fine for what I do, which is mostly corporate, at most 20 feet away from camera with line of sight. Haven't done any significant or thorough testing to compare with the stock rubber duck antenna, but I assume it has less range, as those have some gain (I think +4dBi IIRC). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendybones Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 They work fine for what I do, which is mostly corporate, at most 20 feet away from camera with line of sight. Haven't done any significant or thorough testing to compare with the stock rubber duck antenna, but I assume it has less range, as those have some gain (I think +4dBi IIRC). I contaced Zaxcom this week to ask them about the gain in their 8" stock antenna (so that I could get a replacement with equal/better performance) and they told me there is no gain in that antenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I contaced Zaxcom this week to ask them about the gain in their 8" stock antenna (so that I could get a replacement with equal/better performance) and they told me there is no gain in that antenna. Really? Interesting. I was shopping around for replacement rubber duck antennas of the same size and they were all at least 2 or 3dBi gain antennas. If the stock ones do not have any gain, I guess then there should be no significant difference between the two as far as range goes. Regardless, like I said, for most of what I do, the shortie works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendybones Posted March 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Yea, I noticed the same thing. Which is good news for my future antenna setup Really lookin forward to trying out those stubbies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toy Robot Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 You will find that the stubby right angle antennas work almost exactly as well as the stock antennas at 1/10th of the size if set up correctly. That is my experience with my Nomad and my antenna anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Be advised that there's a good bit of misunderstanding and assumption in this thread about antenna "gain." https://www.google.com/search?as_q=receiving+antenna+gain&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=&gws_rd=ssl#as_qdr=all&q=antenna+gain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arnold Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I use the Ambient one (they do sell them on their own). It's fine for most indoors close-quarters stuff. Not brilliant outside though. And probably unuseable on a narrative set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 Really? Interesting. I was shopping around for replacement rubber duck antennas of the same size and they were all at least 2 or 3dBi gain antennas. If the stock ones do not have any gain, I guess then there should be no significant difference between the two as far as range goes. [snip] Two or 3 dBi is 0 dB "gain", in that anything less is a lossy antenna. See John B's posting above. Best, Larry F Lectro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendybones Posted March 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Be advised that there's a good bit of misunderstanding and assumption in this thread about antenna "gain." https://www.google.com/search?as_q=receiving+antenna+gain&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=&gws_rd=ssl#as_qdr=all&q=antenna+gain Thanks John. I am new to RF stuff and that L-Com link and the Digi link made things quite clear. Two or 3 dBi is 0 dB "gain", in that anything less is a lossy antenna. See John B's posting above. Best, Larry F Lectro Confused about this statement though. Will revisit this in the morning with coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryF Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Thanks John. I am new to RF stuff and that L-Com link and the Digi link made things quite clear. Confused about this statement though. Will revisit this in the morning with coffee. Hope you have had your coffee, hopefully premium leaded. The simplest, least expensive antennas you can build or buy are the 1/4 wave whip, coax and dipole antennas. All of these cheap, simple antennas have 2 or 3 dB of gain over an isotropic radiator (dBi). An isotropic radiator is merely a theoretical antenna that radiates equally in all directions. Think of an isotropic radiator as a mathematical idea to which you can compare all other antennas. It isn't even a desirable antenna. So, any decent antenna will have a minimum of 2 to 3 dB of gain compared to this theoretical antenna and is written as 3 dBi or 3 dB of gain compared to an isotropic radiator. So what I'm saying is an antenna with 2.5 dBi of gain is an antenna with the lowest gain you can buy, unless it has other loss due to poor construction or small size. It is not an antenna with "gain". Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 Hope you have had your coffee, hopefully premium leaded. The simplest, least expensive antennas you can build or buy are the 1/4 wave whip, coax and dipole antennas. All of these cheap, simple antennas have 2 or 3 dB of gain over an isotropic radiator (dBi). An isotropic radiator is merely a theoretical antenna that radiates equally in all directions. Think of an isotropic radiator as a mathematical idea to which you can compare all other antennas. It isn't even a desirable antenna. So, any decent antenna will have a minimum of 2 to 3 dB of gain compared to this theoretical antenna and is written as 3 dBi or 3 dB of gain compared to an isotropic radiator. So what I'm saying is an antenna with 2.5 dBi of gain is an antenna with the lowest gain you can buy, unless it has other loss due to poor construction or small size. It is not an antenna with "gain". Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics Thank you for this explanation! Makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek H Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I used a right angle stubby for my QRX mounted IFB and for the purpose of getting timecode back and forth and remote freq changes from the receiver in ENG situations it worked just fine. And it was less of an issue for camera ops elbows.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendybones Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hope you have had your coffee, hopefully premium leaded. The simplest, least expensive antennas you can build or buy are the 1/4 wave whip, coax and dipole antennas. All of these cheap, simple antennas have 2 or 3 dB of gain over an isotropic radiator (dBi). An isotropic radiator is merely a theoretical antenna that radiates equally in all directions. Think of an isotropic radiator as a mathematical idea to which you can compare all other antennas. It isn't even a desirable antenna. So, any decent antenna will have a minimum of 2 to 3 dB of gain compared to this theoretical antenna and is written as 3 dBi or 3 dB of gain compared to an isotropic radiator. So what I'm saying is an antenna with 2.5 dBi of gain is an antenna with the lowest gain you can buy, unless it has other loss due to poor construction or small size. It is not an antenna with "gain". Best Regards, Larry Fisher Lectrosonics Thanks for taking the time to explain Larry. I'm with you now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Hoppe Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Would a Lectro AMJ antenna work well with a Nomad for Zaxnet? And what length would a 1/4 length wave be of for the 2.4GHz spectrum? I suppose I could just put one on and test it out. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Marc: I don't think so. If you want a bending antenna, I use a right angle adapter and the stock nomad one so I can fold the antenna and lay it across the top of the nomad for transport. Also if you look at sites like LCom or even eBay, you will see tons of 2.4 GHz in different configurations. Just make sure they have a center pin, or you get the right adapter. A lot of the antennas on home wireless routers don't have the center pin on the antenna itself (it's in the unit). I think it's okay to use those if you get the right type of adapter, but if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Hoppe Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks JohnPaul. I have a handful of 2.4 GHz antennas, including BNC ones that I use with an SMA>BNC adapter. They all seem to perform similarly, I just was wondering if I could use a Lectro type whip antenna to minimize the stress on the connector. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbiesodd Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 ... I just was wondering if I could use a Lectro type whip antenna to minimize the stress on the connector. Marc I recently sent my Nomad to Zaxcom for some routine maintenance where they added a washer to the sma connector and assured me I won't have a problem down the road. So, there is an effective "update" of sorts if you're worried about the fragility of your connection. Cheers, Evan Meszaros Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Hoppe Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I'm not so much worried about the fragility of the connection, but I don't want to put any additional strain on it. It's much better now in my Stingray configuration, but in my Petrol and Orca setups there was a lot of contact between the antenna and the side of the bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Check this out if you can wait for snail mail all the way from China. 3dBi it says. From my and others experience, neither this nor any antenna without external amplification will yield satisfying results, unless the IFB receiver is really (REALLY) close to the Nomad. For TC however this should be good enough. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=281596535240 Edit| just saw its not meant for 2,4 GHz. Might give it a try anyways for 2$... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendybones Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I recently sent my Nomad to Zaxcom for some routine maintenance where they added a washer to the sma connector and assured me I won't have a problem down the road. So, there is an effective "update" of sorts if you're worried about the fragility of your connection. Cheers, Evan Meszaros I'm not so much worried about the fragility of the connection, but I don't want to put any additional strain on it. It's much better now in my Stingray configuration, but in my Petrol and Orca setups there was a lot of contact between the antenna and the side of the bags. Despite using an RA SMA adapter, I still had to replace the cable assembly between SMA and motherboard. After that I superglued the mounting nut of the SMA output to the Nomad chassis. Also, each limb of the RA SMA should spin freely with respect to the other. However, I found that when attached, the free limb had finite turns before reaching a 'stop' point where it grabs the other limb. Turning the adapter back the other way would then loosen the adapter. Adding a washer between Nomad and adapter has fixed this. The washer is some kind of plastic-y paper, found it in my toolbox. The antenna, when added, sits VERY flush against the side bar of Nomad. In fact the sidebar puts a teeny bit of pressure on the antenna. Not enough to damage it - just enough to keep it in place Later i will add some kind of rubber band to keep the adapter pointing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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