I recently bought a Lilygo T-Deck Plus and had assumed it would include an antenna, since i ordered it with an external antenna. Today it arrived and apparently doesn’t come with any external antenna, just a hole in the top with a rubber bung where one would go.

I had heard the antenna it comes with isn’t very good, so i bought a Stubby from ZBM2 Industries. What i need to know is what connector piece i need to go between the antenna and the circuit board. The little brass-colored thing that the antenna screws onto. What’s that part called and is there anything i should watch out for when finding one? Or should i just take my antenna and T-Deck into a hardware store and ask around?

Also, on another note, the reset button is too easy to press. If i take out the cover and just leave the smaller actual button will i need to worry about dust getting in thru the hole, or is that safe to do?

  • just some guy@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    29 days ago

    I bought the same antenna for my t deck plus! Pretty happy with it.

    I agree with the other poster, the Plus model comes with a small whip antenna, both of mine came with the same one. They likely sent you the wrong model.

    If you don’t want to hassle with a return (understandable given the time shipping takes for these) you can crak that bad boy open and attach a ufl to female sma pigtail like this https://www.waveform.com/products/sma-female-to-u-fl-pigtail-adapter-v2?srsltid=AfmBOorizL-HpE3bSg8TVlHToLh4av4USvaYiEYVKjVFdBmFUdMtTqbd but to be on the safe side do a search for sma types, there’s several img references that will help. You really just need to make sure your antenna does or doesn’t have the inside pin and buy the appropriate corresponding sma connector with a ufl pigtail on the other end.

    I bought 2, with 5dbi antennas included, off Amazon a while back bc I wanted to add an external gps antenna to my first one. Word of warning if the case still has the little punchouts for external antenna, they are hard to cut out and make rounded enough for the sma to slip through.

    I used model nippers and a round sanding stick to get the sma through that hole and it still ended to cracking the small ring of plastic on the case. It doesn’t affect performance at all and the sma connector is solidly in place, but it can happen.

      • just some guy@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        29 days ago

        Happy to help!

        Another helpful hint, grab a 8mm wrench for tightening the nut on the sma to secure it to the case. Finger tightening will leave it able to spin in the hole while screwing on the antenna