Paine's Pointers
# 999 WiFi Antenna and Bridge

Time Required

I spent too much time trying to figure all this out to share it with the general public so I'm hiding it in PP999.

Here are the parts needed to build the antenna support. This will allow the antenna to be lowered while driving.

The cable going thru the fridge vent. By entering thru the lower piece, instead of the top, you are already below the screen across the top. If you went thru the top and screen you would have to protect the cable from the screen cutting it. The hole is 3/4" but needed to be slightly enlargened to get the connector in. Since the cable is thick, it will take a little playing with it to get it between the fridge coils and back wall, it tends to want to fall between the fridge and the coils.

Here's the cable going along the roof line and the antenna mounted.

I added a 1" cap to the PVC tube to keep junk out of it.

The antenna in the travel position.

The cable coming thru the microwave cabinet. you'll need a pretty big hole to get the cable connector thru the wall and there is a vent pipe right behind that wall that you have to deal with. I forgot about the ground wire until later so you could probably save some time by pulling it with the cable.

The cable coming into the cabinet on the door side of the microwave. I told you a 10' cable would be long enough.

The ground wire went back thru the microwave cabinet into the back of the fridge area, down into the furnace area, across to where the LPG lines come into the furnace area then down under the rig to be attached to a ground lug.

I pulled the big cable back into the microwave cabinet so there was less impact on the other cabinet. You will need to secure it high enough that the microwave goes back in.

Here's the bridge in the cabinet, minus its power cord. I plan on velcroing it to the side of the cabinet.

The Cat 5 cable running from the bridge to the Access Point. I looped the spare cable on a drywall screw so I can pull more out if needed. I think this cable was 12'.

The Access Point sitting on the shelf. Finally a sensible solution for that shelf.

Parts list (assuming you already have the access point, bridge, antenna and cable):

• Marine antenna mount for 7/8" - 1" rail
• 3/4" coupler, slip / thread
• 1" coupler, slip / slip
• 1" PVC pipe
• 1" cap
• A piece of heater hose (not shown in pictures) to protect the cable where it exits the aluminum tube
• 3/8" plastic cable connectors to hold the cable to the roof and above the microwave
• Rubber grommet, 1/2" ID, 3/32" groove
• Ground wire, I used 14 GA, not sure of the length
• Ground lug for attaching the ground wire to the frame
• Velcro
• 1/4" plastic cable connectors to hold the Cat 5 to the cabinet shelf

Tools required:

• 3/4" drill bit for the fridge vent
• 1/2" drill bit for the Cat 5 holes
• a pull chain to fish the cables thru