Not sure TS9 is correct

[Juul]

I'm not sure how you arrived at the conclusion that the R910 uses TS9 connectors.

It seems to me that most TS9 plugs are very difficult to fit onto the connectors. We had to manually expand the TS9 plugs to even get them to fit and then they really didn't want to stay on. On top of that the plugs are generally not long enough to fit through the plastic of the case.

We tried MS162 connectors instead, and while they're still a snug fit, they can be attached without any manual pre-bending and once attached tend to stay on. They are also long enough to comfortably fit through the plastic case.

[georgedorn]

Similar issues with the TS9 connectors. I assumed maybe cheap chinese antennas just had lousy connectors.

However, I don't see any signal benefits to connecting the antenna. Instead, it may be worth hacking off the connector and soldering it directly to the two pads next to the socket - these make contact with the sticker antennas mounted to the black rim.

[Juul]

I'm sure MS162 is the right connector. Soldering directly may work but I don't think it will be better than the appropriate connector. If you don't see any signal benefit then maybe you're using a bad antenna. The built-in antenna is a good omni-directional antenna so unless you're going directional I think it'd be hard to get much of a benefit.

[logich]

Thanks for the update. I've not touched this is a while, but still have this device running at a remote site and I'll see if I can also test an antenna with the other connector.

[georgedorn]

I'm also uncertain that any of the antenna sockets relate to B25/B26; when I disconnect the B41 antenna stickers (you can see them on the back of the plastic ring you had to drill through), I can't connect to B41. When I disconnect the rest of the stickers, I can still connect to B25/B26. Perhaps the B25/B26 antennas are elsewhere?

It's probably necessary to disconnect those antenna stickers when using an external antenna, or the antenna lengths will be all wrong.

I did find that two cheap fullwave dipole antennas (read: two pairs of 6cm of wire, bent in the right shape and jammed against the spring connectors) worked to replace the antenna stickers for B41.

[gblikas]

Thank god I found this thread, haha. I just picked up an old Franklin T9 and have been trying to find a suitable antenna for it and my application. @logich I appreciate the work.

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⚠️ Disclaimer: I'm talking about a Franklin T9, not the R910 ⚠️

While the Franklin T9 isn't the 910, this issue pointed me in the right direction. For the Franklink T9, I think @Juul correctly pointed out that the T9 and r910 Franklin LTE hotspots use MS-1XX connector. While I haven't got the connector yet (shipping) the Franklin T9 measurements seem to indicate that its actually closer to a MS-156C3.