I just sanded a small area free with an orbital sander and 240 grid sandpaper. (Sorry no pics.)
Its actually smaller than the antenna, maybe 0,5 x 3 cm irregular oval shaped.
Before: unstable 10 - 300kB/sec
After: stable 6 MB/sec
That’s definitely an huge improvement with close to no effort.
That’s great!
The PCB antenna I engraved on the lid is working welI. I tested at home and in the office and the reception is good.
(Im planning to share a modified design file for the lid if anyone wants to have one made. )
The integrated antenna mod is super cool, thanks for sharing! Looking forward to reproduce.
Here are the design files I have so far for the PCB antenna.
One is the kicad footprint for the antenna. Another is the prototype PCB I made and tested.
I exported gerbers from kicad and imported them in IsoPro to make separation cuts with the PCB mill. IsoPro runs on windows and requires a serial dongle for copy protection (rs232!).
I think it would make sense to include a couple of antennas on the lid for WIFI and bluetooth as well. Since bluetooth is 2.4GHz this antenna design should work as well. I have yet to check the performance of 5Ghz vs 2.4Ghz wifi. I believe this antenna should work for both 2.4 and 5Ghz.
BTW, just for completeness, a replacement back plate incl. antenna is now available at cost in our shop: MNT Pocket Reform Back Plate - MNT Research Shop
For non-EU customers, a organizing a group buy may be prudent.
I’ll be placing an MNT order in the next month or so and if anyone wants backplates in the US I can send for the price of the plate + USPS shipping. DM me if you’re interested.
