So, I have been trying some different antennae’s for my tow boogie setup and haven’t noticed a huge difference except when placed higher up off the water on a pole. I have been asked about antennas and I am not educated enough on the subject. Most information on 2.4ghz is from a WiFi router standpoint. I have a basic understanding on dBi and the higher the dBi the more directional it becomes.
So, my biggest question is about dBi and how much a difference it makes on a receiving antennae like we use?
Water reflects a 2.4ghz signal all over the place, thats that when you place the antenna on a pole it’s much better as you get less reflects and a more direct path.
Higher dBi won’t hurt, but it won’t completely solve the issue. It would probably make sense to try get the antenna 30-40cm above the board and then try different antenna types. Look at the different types of FPV antenna and see what you can learn from there and then test out the 2.4ghz versions.
Your design goal could also be limiting gain and db(i) and instead moving to lower frequencies due to simple bandwidth requirements. Bremote v2 is your friend using band20 (868), right @ludwig_bre.
Antenna design is a huge topic that boils down to matching and tuning a good 50ohm antenna for a given application, design and given set of components. Antenna typically needs to be placee 1/4 wlen above plane etc.
Best antenna for a tow boogie does not only depend on gain (dBi) but also on the antenna radiation. If you want to steer it back, a radiation pattern of a doughnut would be best. Dipole, mounted as high as posible would probably be best choice.
You could get a long high gain wifi antenna they are cheap this woul be easy to seal and mount it on top of the cover for your boogie that would give you a good range and the frequencies are the same so it should work.
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