cbhaywood 42 Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Has anyone had noticeable improvement to their hotspot performance using an external antenna? We use Verizon hotspots (8800L) in both our cars for live streaming purposes. Yi4k streaming at 480. Had solid performance at Thompson but very spotty performance at PittRace at certain parts of the track. Is there a recognized "oh, you need to use __________" antenna, or is there really no performance difference? Hoping to add Nelson this year as well, which I seem to remember hearing had limited cell coverage. Any helpful suggestions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
55mini 753 Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 (edited) We use that hot spot and it works well in most places. We have external antennas on both crs and they help provide a much better stream. Below you will find the antennas we use and bought from Amazon. Proxicast 8 dBi High Gain External Magnetic Antenna Compatible with AT&T Nighthawk, USB800, Velocity, Verizon Jetpack 8800L, 7730L & Others 4G / LTE routers & modems with TS9 connectors - 2 Pack Edited January 14 by 55mini spacing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cbhaywood 42 Posted January 14 Author Report Share Posted January 14 Thank you for noticing the post and appreciative of your suggestion! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Strong 7,221 Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 I recommend external antennas at tracks like Daytona. Mainly because the signal is degraded or lost as soon as you enter the banking. A roof antenna helps keep a strong'ish signal. Doesn't always work like we want it. But it does most of the time. They also work well at weak signal tracks, or on cars that the hotspot is buried inside the car. Center mounted on the roof is best. Bolt it in, magnets are not very strong on most of the aftermarket antennas. Construction glue works well at holding them on too. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
55mini 753 Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 On 1/19/2021 at 8:38 AM, Bill Strong said: Construction glue works well at holding them on too. Come on Bill, after all we are racers, duct tape fixes all!!! Gorilla tape is even better. Haven't lost one in a couple years now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
turbogrill 503 Posted January 22 Report Share Posted January 22 What hotspots are you using? The ones I have don't have external antenna Quote Link to post Share on other sites
55mini 753 Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 On 1/22/2021 at 4:23 PM, turbogrill said: What hotspots are you using? The ones I have don't have external antenna We have older Verizon Jetpacks and have the needed jack and also much better range then the newer version. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cbhaywood 42 Posted January 26 Author Report Share Posted January 26 I picked up the Proxicast antenna suggested above and am seeing a significant increase in connection rate (avg 1.5 - 2X upload rate) in poor connection areas (two "bars" and below) per Speedtest app. Disclaimer that my current tests are in a fixed position, not moving, but also that I am just placing the antenna down, not adjusting the orientation to find the strongest signal. Thank you! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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