Peplink came out with the Maritime series of antennas in the tail end of 2021. This was the first real competition that Poynting, my favorite antenna vendor for a number of years, has had in this space, and I was eager to get them up and running.
Thanks for another great detailed review/description of these LTE/5G/WiFi MIMO omni antennas.
Iām curious if you ever have use cases for WiFI-only MIMO antennas? If so, have you ever looked at these?
https://www.l-com.com/wireless-antenna-24-5-ghz-11-dbi-dual-frequency-dual-polarized-omni-antenna
Regards.
Not really in the boating world. For installations and systems Iāve worked on for marinas or other land-based setups, Iāve used antennas from a number of vendors including Ubiquiti/UniFi and others that are dual or single frequencies and other similar configs to the one you linked.
Iām considering adding a 40G for cellular and a 20G for wifi-as-WAN. Iāve noticed you have yours mounted on the radar arch. Mine will likely be ahead of the radar, on either side of the flybridge Bimini. Any concerns with these antennas wrt placement ahead of the radar dome?
As long as theyāre not super close to the radar, it shouldnāt be that big of an issue. The other thing I always think about is that while underway, you might not be getting the best signal anyhow because youāre moving. If the radar degrades it a bit more, thatās probably not the end of the world, but they shouldnāt conflict too much.
Hi Steve,
Love this review and the review you did on the Peplink MAX BR1 Pro 5G (which we have bought). We own a 56 Catamaran and looking to max out the range our 80ā mast can offer us. The only thing at the top now is our VHF/AIS antenna (which often gets AIS targets on our Vesper Cortex at 40 miles).
Anyhow my question is will it be worth it to add 100ā of cable to get the 40g to the top of the mast vs the loss of that run? We could instead mount it on our spreaders at 60, 40, or 20ā above our waterline as well (but assume that would also bring in pretty good interference from our mast too).
Weāre using Starlink now as well with great success, and getting ready to move it over to 12v power and take out the included routerā¦ but we have a feeling it will be a long time before Starlink cuts a deal in the Bahamas, and we need to have a working alternative ready at all times.
Cheers,
Brandon
I never exceed 30 feet with cellular cable because of the loss associated with it. If you look at the antenna performance information, youāll see only 1-2dB in some frequency ranges, and anything longer than 30 feet would eat into that. If you have connectors or joints/splices, those affect things even more.
Based on the length youāre talking about, youād need extremely thick cabling, and even then, I think youād still negate most of the benefits by the length of the cable.
Iād stick with something that is less than 30ā of overall cable.
Hello Steve.
Thank you for another great post! I have a slightly different question and wonder if you could help. We are a live-a-board couple on our 53 foot sailboat and currently in Gibraltar and slowly sailing south to Canaries with intention to cross this year.
Do you know of any Maritiime antennas that would work with 4G/5G and Iridium GO? It seems like the impedance and frequencies are compatible, however there are other antennas characteristics that are not clear to me and might be very different. We use Peplink MAX BR1 MK2(all based on your wonderful reviews) with Wilson 4G antenna with a very quality good cable installed on our first spreaders(about 12 meters up from Peplink). We would only use Iridium GO while doing ocean crossing. I would like to use our existing or newer and better 4G/5G antenna for IRIDIUM GO if possible.This would prevent me from installing yet another antenna and pulling another cable.
Thank you!
Serge
Thatās an interesting idea - Iāve never tested this, but if things overlap, you could potentially do this. I know the newer Maritime Series of antennas from Peplink have a pretty wide support of bands, as do some of the newer ones from Poynting. Might be worth checking outā¦
Thanks, Steve. I have ordered a custom pigtail cable from a UK based RF shop with TS9 and SMA connectors, so I can connect my existing antenna cable to Iridium GO. I will let you know if it works.
First, thanks for sharing these great blogs. As an avid boater and communications expert āwanna beā, I found your articles outstanding. Have you had a chance to look at the new HD1 Dome Pro (5G)? Iād be curious to get your thoughts on the pros and cons of using it as an alternative to the Maritime 40G + MAX BR1 Pro setup. I have a catamaran being built and the best antenna location is likely on the spreader, halfway up the mast, but about 35-40 ft away from the router location in the cabin. So the cable length concerns me and the HD1 Dome Pro would address that. And I wouldnāt need cable extensions that would require connections in the mast. But I am worried about losing range with the dome setup.
Hi there,
I did a review of the Peplink MAX HD1 Dome a couple of years ago, and I used the domes (2x) as my primary connectivity for a number of years. The HD1 Dome Pro has the newer 5G modem and WiFi in it as well, which was a feature request I asked for (among other folks) several years ago.
Iāve tested the HD1 Dome Pro and it works very similar to the original domes. The 5G radio works well, and the WiFi radio is good too. Routers with appropriate cables combined with the Peplink Maritime Antennas will perform a bit better in low signal areas because of the size of the antennas, but itās a pretty small difference in most folks use cases.
If your only location for antennas is 35-40 feet away from a router, then the dome is the best choice.
Thanks Steve. That was my assessment also. The losses associated a 40+ with a couple of connectors in between would be pretty significant. And thereās no room in the conduits for LMR 400 cable. HD1 Dome Pro it is! I did contact Peplink and they recommended the same.
Hi Steve, I purchased a Pepwave 40G Maritime Antenna and paired it with a Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro router.My question is about orientation of the antenna. The antenna is approx. 2.75 inches thick and 3.75 inches wide. Should it be installed with the thin edge facing forward with the boat, which would be a more aerodynamical install (not that it matters, my boat only cruises at 7 knots)? Or should it be installed with the wide edge facing forward?
Will the orientation affect the reception quality?
Thanks,
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
Since your boat will constantly change direction and orientation, it wonāt really matter which way it faces for performance reasons. Even with a 7 knot boat, facing the thin edge forwards might still be desirable if youāre headed into a strong wind, I suppose, but thatās about all I could come up with 
You could have it oriented any way you want and it shouldnāt matter. I know a lot of folks with multi-antenna setups (customers and my own install!) who orient them all the same way for looks.
Thanks for your input Steve. Aerodynamic install it is. Donāt want to slow down my speed demon! 
Any idea if the 40G would work on a side-mounted base? Like the kind Shakespeare makes for VHF and other whip antenna styles? Like their 4187 ratchet mount. Iām likewise wondering if the cut-out through that base is going to provide enough room for the cabling from the 40G.
4187 on this page: Antenna Mounts ā Shakespeare Marine
My thought is side-mount it on the flybridge of my EB47, with the ratchet allowing fold-down during winter storage. I have my existing VHF & AIS antennas on those mounts, both with some 3/4" Starboard between them and the fiberglass. Iād prefer to avoid having to stack a bunch of material to make it work, if just for the sake of not being ugly.
I think the mount could hold the antenna weight if that is one of the questions. It would depend on how it is backed and mounted. The hole for the wires might be an issue - the 40G has a lot of them. I usually cut off the GPS wire just because I never use it and it gets in the way, but even that might not help here.
I use bulkhead mounts from Morad for my two 40Gs and have no issues.
Paired with their piping, there is enough room for two of the wires to go on either side of the bolt that runs through the pipe, and it allows me the ability to lay the antennas down and access them for maintenance.
A product I hadnāt thought about was on Moradās website, the stanchion adapter with a cut-out.
Thatād allow bringing the cables out while still using a ratcheting mount. Though the more you add to the length of something, the more pendulum stressā¦
I was assuming Iād be using a backing plate to help handle the weight/loads of the antenna on it. How well the mount itself handles the loadsā¦ is an interesting question.
Iām inclined toward the ratcheting style to allow all positions to be locked. As in, by the folks thatāre doing the winterizing. Loosen, turn, tightenā¦ less possibility for anything to move around or parts to get lost. As this is only the outside edge of the flybridge I could definitely imagine a retaining clip going ābloopā overboard.
Though I definitely see the merit to using a pole-adapter arrangement like the M600. Thanks for the ideas.