Alert Pepwave announces new antenna 7-in-1 - Puma 421

[Neal]

Mobility Antenna Series

Peplink's Mobility Antenna Series is designed to provide stable, high quality connection for travelers on the road. It is 5G ready and IP67 rated.

www.peplink.com

Looks like $249 at the link below.

Contact Us - Get In Touch With 5Gstore

4G/5G Routers, Antennas, Boosters, WiFi, IP Switches

5gstore.com

 

["EZ"]

I bought the Poyntang 7-1 antena. It has really good reviews. I didn't see the Puma on the 5G website. Hope I'm not disappointed.

 

[MapNerd]

I have the Husky 7-in-1. Works great and gives a ~10 decibel boost with its built in ground plane.

 

[jmltech]

has anyone purchased and installed the Puma? Wondering how you install it on the roof, with the supplied 6’ cable. Doesn’t give many options for locations. Does it need a ground plane?

it appears it can be surface mounted, and needs a 1 11/16” hole. Didnt see any measurement of how deep the hole needs to be. Not sure of where to put this on my Tiffin.

 

[Neal]

6ft cable does make it more challenging. It does come with a mount that gives you various options one of which is attach it directly to your roof, screw down and top with dicor or use 3M adhesive tape (strong) or I ended up using sikaflex 221 (like silicon) to attach my mounts I 3D printed. So there are options but you could ask 5Gstore.com about extensions knowing any extension or connection can and will slightly degrade the signal but it may be insignificant. I ran the panorama to the top of my AC shroud using a 15ft run and it was the best antenna at that time while some preach shortest cable length is the best. I think it's a mix between antenna placement and cable length, etc. Roof antennas are challenging to figure out. Keep in mind as long as you have 12V power nearby you can place your Pepwave anywhere.

 

[MapNerd]

The Parsec Husky 7-in1 is quite similar. The difference was that I ordered mine with a magnetic base which made roof attachment simple.

I went to Lowes and picked up a 10” x 12” sheet of 1/8” steel, covered one side in 3M tape and after cleaning the roof with mineral spirits, stuck it to the roof where I wanted the antenna. The parsec went right onto that steel sheet with its super powerful magnets (they are really strong).

A hole was drilled into the bottom of the a waterproof junction box I got from Home Depot and the box was placed right over my SAT prep on the roof, which runs right into the electronics cabinet over the driver seat. Dicored the bottom and sides of the box thoroughly and stuck it over that SAT prep hole.

Next, we pushed the cables from the antenna through the some IP67 cable grommets I got from Amazon and mounted onto the side of the box. I pushed the GPS cable through first, then through the hole in the bottom of the box and into the SAT Prep conduit. That conduit on my unit ends at the cabinet over the driver seat. MapWife grabbed it inside and gently pulled it in a few inches. Then, I would tape another cable to the GPS cable and we’d pull that cable through using the GPS cable as a lead. Once that cable was through, MapWife would grab it, hold it and tell me to pull the GPS cable back until only a few inches of it we’re still there. Rinse and repeat until all cables have been fed through. We used the GPS cable as the lead because we knew that doing this would put some strain on the cable and if any cable was going to be damaged or possibly break, we wanted it to be that one (nothing broken or damaged)

once all the cables had been run through the conduit, we got everything lined up the way we wanted. The GPS cable is thinner than the others and the none of the grommets could squeeze tight enough to form a seal around it. So at the place it ran through the grommet, I wrapped several layers of silicone tape around the GPS cable to increase the cable diameter, allowing the grommet to seal around the silicone tape wrapped around thre and keep the box water tight.

went inside, connected the wires to the pepwave and plugged it using the power already present in that cabinet.

the good thing about the parsec Husky is that it comes with 15’ of cable so there is plenty of cable length to put the antenna almost anywhere you need.

Technologically though, it’s no different from the pepwave and about twice the cost. Wish the pepwave one had existed when I did my install.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

The Parsec Husky 7-in1 is quite similar. The difference was that I ordered mine with a magnetic base which made roof attachment simple.

Technologically though, it’s no different from the pepwave and about twice the cost. Wish the pepwave one had existed when I did my install.

We also have the Parsec Husky antenna with the 15’ wire. Just purchased it last month. Have not installed it on the roof …yet. We got the “pole mount bracket” with the intent of using our existing WeBoost antenna but have found another way to use that bracket without having to use the pole.
We have side rails on our roof, which have very substantial metal brackets. We have attached the antenna bracket to one of these brackets and it positions the antenna just a couple inches above the rails.
Have not yet run the wires through the roof as I am still too nervous about that. In the meantime I have the wires dropped over the side and run through a small sliding window next to the dinette where we have the Pepwave router.
Happy with it, didn’t know the new Pepwave antenna was the same. Would have been nice to save a few bucks.

 

[jmltech]

Thanks @MapNerd and @MemoriesByTheMile. I took a look at the Husky antenna, and have decided to go that route. I Like their surface mount with the magnets. Does it require the ground plane or is this just to mount it with the magnets?

@Neal - i’m limited as to where to mount the pepwave, since I don’t have 12v in a lot of locations. Which means I would have to run a cable for power. I thought of mounting the pepwave in the bathroom on the wall, but the only place it would work, it would be in the way. Could mount it in the bedroom with the antenna mounted on the rear ladder, nut I would still need longer cables.

The husky looks like it would provide the best options for me. Thanks for sharing the info

 

[MapNerd]

Thanks @MapNerd and @MemoriesByTheMile. I took a look at the Husky antenna, and have decided to go that route. I Like their surface mount with the magnets. Does it require the ground plane or is this just to mount it with the magnets?

@Neal - i’m limited as to where to mount the pepwave, since I don’t have 12v in a lot of locations. Which means I would have to run a cable for power. I thought of mounting the pepwave in the bathroom on the wall, but the only place it would work, it would be in the way. Could mount it in the bedroom with the antenna mounted on the rear ladder, nut I would still need longer cables.

The husky looks like it would provide the best options for me. Thanks for sharing the info

No ground plane needed. Also that magnetic mount lifts it a good 4” off the roof so you get pretty close to being at the same height as the awning rails, but not over so your ride height doesn’t increase.

 

[MapNerd]

i’m limited as to where to mount the pepwave, since I don’t have 12v in a lot of locations. Which means I would have to run a cable for power.

If it makes life easier, there is also a 110v power adapter for the pepwave.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Thanks @MapNerd and @MemoriesByTheMile. I took a look at the Husky antenna, and have decided to go that route. I Like their surface mount with the magnets. Does it require the ground plane or is this just to mount it with the magnets?

@Neal - i’m limited as to where to mount the pepwave, since I don’t have 12v in a lot of locations. Which means I would have to run a cable for power. I thought of mounting the pepwave in the bathroom on the wall, but the only place it would work, it would be in the way. Could mount it in the bedroom with the antenna mounted on the rear ladder, nut I would still need longer cables.

The husky looks like it would provide the best options for me. Thanks for sharing the info

The Husky can be ordered with different length cables if you are needing a different length.

 

[Neal]

I haven't tried the Puma 421 and it wasn't available at the time I got my MAX TRANSIT CAT 18 Pepwaves. I am currently using separate WiFi and cellular antennas (Puma 401 and 201 IIRC) on custom 3D printed mounts. I took a good look at the Parsec Husky and their entire lineup and I like how the unit looks and I really would like to get both of my antennas on my front A/C shroud as I think that's the perfect mount for these low profile antennas. So I ordered 2 x PRO7H4L2WG15B antennas and will give them a try. The Puma 421 is half the cost but the longer cable leads on the Parsec will allow me to get to my front A/C shroud.

 

[Neal]

When I run the wires I'm likely going to encase them in a sleeve:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075QF7M3D/?tag=rvf01-20

 

[Neal]

Got my Parsec Husky's yesterday (2). They are a beast, probably close to a foot in diameter and heavy. Hope they work as good as they are huge.

 

[MapNerd]

I have had a great experience with mine but seeing as it’s my first and only, I don’t really have anything to compare it to other than the paddles. Looking forward to reading about your experience.

 

[jmltech]

Got my Parsec Husky's yesterday (2). They are a beast, probably close to a foot in diameter and heavy. Hope they work as good as they are huge.

Neal, where did you order from?

 

[MapNerd]

When I run the wires I'm likely going to encase them in a sleeve:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075QF7M3D/?tag=rvf01-20

I’d suggest not running the sleeves into your roof opening, otherwise you might get a wicking effect that allows moisture to enter and build up over time.

 

[Neal]

Neal, where did you order from?

MobileMustHave.com - basically I found the part number from the Parsec web site and PDF details based on what I wanted for cellular, wifi, and gps connections and the color, googled it, and that landed me on the web site(s) that offered it.

I’d suggest not running the sleeves into your roof opening, otherwise you might get a wicking effect that allows moisture to enter and build up over time.

I use sikaflex 221 to seal the cover plate I use and prevent water from getting in. I'll probably stop the sleeve right there. The sleeve is to prevent the mass of wires from spreading and being unkept on the roof. The other option are adhesive cable tie contraptions like I got with my solar setup.

Sikaflex-221, Black, multi-purpose sealant/adhesive, polyurethane fast curing sealant, 10.1 fl. oz Cartridge: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Sikaflex-221, Black, multi-purpose sealant/adhesive, polyurethane fast curing sealant, 10.1 fl. oz Cartridge: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: 3/4" Strong Black Cable Zip Tie Mounts 100 Pcs with 8" Zip Ties and Screws, Outdoor Sticky Cable Clips Self Adhesive Wire Cable Clips Management Anchors Organizer Holders Squares 100 PCS: Home Improvement

Buy 3/4" Strong Black Cable Zip Tie Mounts 100 Pcs with 8" Zip Ties and Screws, Outdoor Sticky Cable Clips Self Adhesive Wire Cable Clips Management Anchors Organizer Holders Squares 100 PCS: Cable Ties - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[MapNerd]

I had enough additional space in my junction box that I just rolled the excess cable into a tight loop and stuck em in the box. I only have enough cable coming out of the box to reach the antenna in its current location and to drop down to the roof to keep cable entry into the box elevated from the roof surface.

If I ever want to move the antenna, just pull more cable out of the box.