[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions

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[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions

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[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
2015-10-30 17:32:00
Model :

Hardware Version : Not Clear

Firmware Version :

ISP :

Hello all,

I am considering purchase of a TP-LINK Archer MR200 because my property is in a rural area without cable or ADSL available. However, there is a 4G signal.

The 4G signal is weak indoors when using a smartphone, but does work. I have an LTE antenna mounted next to the TV antenna on the outside of my property, which "boots" the 4G signal to a good level (meaning it has a good level of gain). The antenna is a Panorama WMMG-7-27-5SP which has a pair of SMA plugs on the end of its cables.

I currently use a Huawei E392 USB LTE modem connected to a Dovado 4GR router. A pair of "pigtail" adaptors connect the Panorama antenna to the USB modem. This combination is cumbersome, not easy to wall-mount, and 2 of the 4 ports on the router have failed since an electrical storm a couple of years ago.

To replace the USB modem and router, the MR200 seems a good choice because of its built-in SIM slot, which means I will not need a separate USB modem. Ideally the MR200 would have had Gigabit ports, but I can live with that.

My questions are:
1. What type of connector does the MR200 use for its 4G/LTE antenna? Will I need adaptors for the Panorama's SMA plugs?
2. Am I correct to believe that the MR200 can be wall-mounted? A youtube video gave a flash of the underside and what appeared to be a pair of screw-slots.
3. I generally use Linux (Ubuntu) in preference to Windows, but do have a PC that can boot into Windows XP. What will I miss out on? Generally a router is operating system independent, but are there some applications bundled with the MR200 that are Windows only?

Many thanks for any answers.

Paul
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Re:[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
2015-11-01 18:00:09
UPDATE: I now have an answer to question 1, following an email discussion with Kate from the TP LINK tech support team.

I will not need adaptors for my external antenna. The MR200's LTE antenna connectors are SMA with outside thread and central hole. The supplied antenna have inside thread and central pin, identical to my outdoor antenna's connectors.







BEWARE: the FAQ page at http://www.tp-link.com/en/faq-571.html appears to be incorrect. It shows connectors with external thread and central pin. I have informed the tech support team that they may need to review this page.

Thanks to Kate for the assistance and pictures.
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Re:[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
2015-11-05 21:26:47
UPDATE II:

My MR200 has now arrived and I have installed it. The answers to my questions are:
1. I can confirm that my Panorama antenna connected directly to the MR200 without adaptors.
2. I have wall mounted it using the 2 screw slots on the back. These slots are spaced 130mm.
3. No software came in the box, and I have everything up & running without needing to use Windows (I normally only use Ubuntu & Firefox)

Other observations:

Signal Strength: varies between 50% and 75% (2 or 3 bars on the led readout on the front of the router) using the outdoor antenna (Panorama). Download speeds with EE vary between 5MB/s and 20MB/s depending on time of day (fastest early morning/late evening). This is on par with my previous kit (Huawei E393 USB 4G/LTE modem + Dovado 4GR router) so I suspect these speeds are down to EE's local infrastructure, noth the MR200.

Using the supplied pair of antenna, the signal level was no bars and the router could not connect using 4G/LTE. This was no surprise to me given my location. This is why I has the outdoor antenna installed before the router arrived.

I had no problems getting to grips with the router's web interface (although I am reasonably expert with routers like this). As promised, there was no configuration needed before the 4G connection was made. The router seemed to know all the correct settings for my EE SIM.

Some status leds for the wired ports would have been nice. Nicer still if they had been Gigabit ports.
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I want to do exactly this!
2018-04-09 17:11:15
Hi Paul, I want to achieve exactly this and was wondering if you might be able to provide me with some pointers..? For example:

1. is the new antenna power/does it need to be plugged in to mains?
2. what kind of cabling is used and what is the maximum allowed distance of cable run
3. is there still not the danger of the units shorting due to an electrical storm
4. what kind of cost are we looking at?

I tried contacting tp link via chat and phone, but they've proven to be quite uniquely useless at providing me with any support on this topic! Any help would be fantastic.

Thanks,
Aaron

fyi i'm based in the UK.





PaulRB wrote

UPDATE II:

My MR200 has now arrived and I have installed it. The answers to my questions are:
1. I can confirm that my Panorama antenna connected directly to the MR200 without adaptors.
2. I have wall mounted it using the 2 screw slots on the back. These slots are spaced 130mm.
3. No software came in the box, and I have everything up & running without needing to use Windows (I normally only use Ubuntu & Firefox)

Other observations:

Signal Strength: varies between 50% and 75% (2 or 3 bars on the led readout on the front of the router) using the outdoor antenna (Panorama). Download speeds with EE vary between 5MB/s and 20MB/s depending on time of day (fastest early morning/late evening). This is on par with my previous kit (Huawei E393 USB 4G/LTE modem + Dovado 4GR router) so I suspect these speeds are down to EE's local infrastructure, noth the MR200.

Using the supplied pair of antenna, the signal level was no bars and the router could not connect using 4G/LTE. This was no surprise to me given my location. This is why I has the outdoor antenna installed before the router arrived.

I had no problems getting to grips with the router's web interface (although I am reasonably expert with routers like this). As promised, there was no configuration needed before the 4G connection was made. The router seemed to know all the correct settings for my EE SIM.

Some status leds for the wired ports would have been nice. Nicer still if they had been Gigabit ports.
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Re:[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
2018-04-10 22:52:14
Hi Paul, may i know how strong dbi of yours Panorama WMMG-7-27-5SP and can your new MR200 handle it? or maybe you know max dbi of antenna for MR200 to handle?
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Archer MR600 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
2020-06-20 12:26:08

@PaulRB 

 I have bouth the  Archer MR600 as i dont have much signal at my place thought of using an external roof antenas to connecto to  the router

 

Here are questions

 

- Can an extenral antenna connected to MR600 through cable without any addtional power source to external antenna

- What is the max lenth of cable supported

- What is the external antenna gain supported by MR600

- What type of extenral antenna can be used with MR600

- Do i need to buy a booster along with external antenna 

 

I am base dout of India

 

Cheers,

Venky

 

 

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i am having less signal strength some plz give ma a suggestion for outdoor antenna to get better signal.
2021-05-06 04:26:24

plz provide a link for outdoor antenna for archer mr200.

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Re:[SOLVED] Archer MR200 4G Antenna connectors and oher questions
2021-12-31 14:52:10
Hello, sorry to enter your thread. I'm facing a strange problem with archer 200 /4g LTE outdoor antenna, too. SMA conection is fine, but as soon as I take off the tp-link antennas and connect the 2 sma from the outdoor antenna, the reception is zero. The antenna is okay and works with Huawei B311. I can't find any antenna setup the teather app or on the router's page. Any hints? Thank you!
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