Another ESP32 Question.

If the board was manufactured with an external antenna option then you generally have to heat up a shorting bar or 0 ohm Resistor and slide it from one side to the other before attaching the antenna. I have one of mine set up that way. 

Hi @donnor,

Is it possable to attach a external antenna on a ESP32 board?

Maybe ....

There are a number of factors to check or consider:

• There are a number of different ESP32 board designs in circulation ... which one you have is a 'lottery'
  • Some board designs have provision for an external aerial socket
    • Only some of the boards that have this provision, actually have the socket fitted
      • A board with both the internal antenna and socket can only use one of them at any one time. The selection depends on the position of surface mount resistor alongside the socket. A board supplied with the internal antenna enabled will require the resistor to be moved to the other position

Thus the first thing is to check for the small gold plated coax socket. In theory a socket could be soldered to a board with the requisite PCB pattern, but that would be far from easy, unless you are used hot air soldering, etc.

If you do have a socket, then you will need to move the resistor ... it is a 'Zero Ohm' one, so a possible alternate 'strategy' is removing the part fitted, and using a piece of wire the same size as the resistor .. say 2-3mm in length, soldered into the alternate position. Achieving this is feasible with good optics, etc., but it is not trivial.

(I wrote this at the same time as Ron @zander wrote his .... Ron has obviously succeeded, but I know one other person on this forum found it too small to achieve an effectively wrote off his board ... you need good eyesight and/or camera/magnifying system, and a steady hand .. your call.)

Alternately, you might consider buying a new ESP32 board which is sold, configured for use with an external socket .. probably sold with an external antennas a 'package deal'

--------

Remember the 'standard' external aerials are only a short vertical, which is a 'low gain' design ... it will probably have a better range than the internal PCB antenna, but don't expect miracles .. maybe others on the forum can give a better estimate of the improvement.

In principle, a more directional antenna could be used, but I haven't tried any commercial parts.

Of course there are other readily available products for extending WiFi range.

Best wishes, Dave

@davee Actually my eyes are not that good anymore and I shake a lot BUT it's not that hard, just heat the area with a standard iron and once you see some melting just push down on the R0 and slide it into position. A little liquid flux or paste will also help.

My experiments with the external antenna are not that encouraging, but I have several walls and other obstructions in the way.

Hi Ron @zander (and @donnor)

  Thanks for sharing your experience. As I don't know the skill and experience of the questioner, I find it difficult to give 'good' advice. I used to find it easier to do stuff a few decades ago .. since then the components have shrunk and my eyesight finds close work much more difficult, so I am sympathetic to others sufferring similarly!

I was dubious about the improvement in range using the 'usual' plastic covered quarter-wave antennas, but I guess there will be some cases where just a small improvement would be sufficient.

The web has many examples of DIY Yagi antennas with corresponding claims of longer range. Commercial products are also available. Of course high gain antennas will need to be securely and accurately aligned.

Sorry, I don't know any details, but I would warn there maybe legal implications of using high gain antennas, as the licensing conditions may include limitations.

Best wishes, Dave

Thanks for all the responce. I don't see any where on the board I have to connect a external antenna. That being said I'm going to move my range extender to a better location. It is now in the basement. I'm going to move it to a upstairs window.

Hi @donnor,

I don't see any where on the board I have to connect a external antenna.

Your board may not have any provision for a socket. I have snipped some examples with and without the socket below. Your board may not exactly match any of my examples, so just look for the closest match.

Remember the images are likely to be to magnified on your screen .. for scale, the connection pins in a vertical row on the right hand side are 0.1 inch/2.54mm pitch. The width of the socket also appears to be 2.5-3mm.

Look for a square-ish cutout from the rectangular metal can with printing etched on it.

---------------------

Sometimes you will see PCB pads for the socket, but no socket, as in this photo.

 Note the three pads in "<" shape on the left side of the cut out is where the resistor I mentioned is mounted. The resistor, which is 'camouflaged', as it almost the same colour as the PCB, and also has pads on the top side, is angled in a North-East direction for the internal PCB. To use the socket, it must rotated to the "South East" direction for the socket. ) :

----------------------------

Other times the socket will be present. This particular board has no internal antenna, and hence no need for the resistor switch, but the socket is the same and in approximately the same position when it does have the internal antenna as well:

--------------------------------

And yet other boards do not even have the cut out space, being only intended to use the PCB antenna:

Hopefully you can identify which of these types is closest in style to your board.

Best wishes, Dave

Thanks Dave. The last one pictured looks like what I have. I have moved my range extedned to a better location and getting a good signal now.

Here is my finished project. I used parts I had on hand. All is well.

@donnor Check the swiss guy. In one of his more recent videos he showed off a new dual antenna esp32 board. It looks ugly, but it might help. I don't remember what the conclusion was.