External Patch Antenna – OverviewUpdated an hour ago
The Foil Drive External Patch Antenna is a secondary antenna mounted to the top of your board to improve signal connectivity with Gen2 and Gen2.5 Foil Drive systems.
It is primarily designed for boards with full carbon foil tracks laminated into a full carbon board, where the carbon construction can interfere with the signal between your controller and Foil Drive system.
For most boards and setups, the standard antenna built into your Foil Drive system provides excellent connectivity and an External Antenna is not required.
Not everyone needs an External Antenna. We highly recommend watching the Connectivity Masterclass before purchasing to determine whether an External Antenna is appropriate for your setup.
Watch: External Antenna Release & Connectivity Masterclass
External Antenna Release Video
Shop the Foil Drive External Antenna
How Does the External Antenna Work?
The External Antenna consists of a thin 2 mm antenna plate installed between your Foil Drive electronics box and the bottom of your board.
A thin cable runs from this plate along the bottom of the board, around the nose and connects to a small antenna pad positioned on top of the board.
The antenna cable is available for both the Gen2 and Gen2.5 systems in the following lengths:
- 130 cm
- 180 cm
The External Antenna is completely passive. It does not require power and does not plug into or electronically connect to the Foil Drive electronics box.
Once installed, it can remain permanently attached to your board, regardless of whether you're using your Foil Drive.
Why Is the Antenna Mounted on Top of the Board?
Carbon fibre can interfere with the radio signal travelling between your controller and the antenna beneath the board.
The External Antenna provides an antenna location above the carbon structure, helping improve the signal path between your controller and Foil Drive system.
This is why correct installation of the antenna pad on top of the board is important.
Do I Need an External Antenna?
Most Foil Drive users do not need one.
The standard antenna within your Foil Drive system is designed to provide reliable connectivity for most boards and riding configurations.
An External Antenna is primarily intended to help where board construction — particularly full carbon boards with carbon foil tracks — is interfering with signal transmission.
If you're experiencing connectivity issues, we recommend watching the Connectivity Masterclass and working through the recommended connectivity checks before assuming an External Antenna is required.
External Patch Antennas for Max+
Important compatibility update
The current MAX external patch antenna (SKU FD167-1 & FD167-2) previously included a small locating nub on the front of the antenna footprint. This version is not compatible with the MAX+ unit 'out of the box', however customers can easily remove the nub themselves (no tools required), to be able to use it with their Max+ system.
Effective 8 October 2026, all MAX external patch antennas leaving HQ will have the nub removed and will be compatible with MAX+, MAX and SLIM units 'out of the box'.
Please note: This does not include current stock in our EU and US warehouses. Once the current stock has been depleted, they will be replaced with the new, already modified antenna.
The Fusion antenna remains its own independent SKU and is unchanged.
For installation instructions, see: External Antenna Installation Guide