Foil Drive External Antenna PatchUpdated 3 months ago

The Foil Drive External Antenna is a secondary antenna mounted on the top of your board for increased signal connection with Gen2 MAX and Slim systems. Primarily designed for boards featuring full carbon foil tracks laminated into a full carbon board.

The standard antenna in a Foil Drive system is perfect for most applications, however, carbon tracks can block the signal from transmitting through the board and require a Patch Antenna.

See the release video below and more information. Not everyone needs the External Antenna, we highly recommend watching the Connectivity Masterclass before ordering the External Antenna. 

Scroll for more information and written Installation Instructions

>> Shop the External Antenna Here <<

How The External Antenna Works

The External Antenna is a thin 2mm plate installed between the electronics box and the board with a thin cable. The cable is available in either 130cm or 180cm and runs along the bottom of the board to a small antenna pad mounted on the top of the board. The antenna is totally passive and does not require power or link to the Foil Drive electronics box.

The External Antenna can be installed on your board and left there regardless of if you are using the Foil Drive.

With the Antenna plate adding 2mm of height to the system, foam is provided to stick to your Nose Cone to ensure the Electronics Box and Nose cone remain level. Depending on your setup, you may also require longer bolts in order to fully engage the T Nuts in your track.

IMPORTANT:  There are longer 85mm (MAX) or 65mm (Slim) Mast Plate Bolts available. These are for boards that have deeper foil tracks, base plate shims or when using the Foil Drive External Antenna.

Please measure your required length to ensure you are using the correct bolts that engage with the t-nuts securely - If you require longer bolts, click here.

How To Install the External Antenna to Your Board

1. Put the side that says "THIS SIDE FACES THE BOARD" over the tracks of your board with the Foil Drive
logo facing the front of the board.

2. Mount your Gen2 on top of the External Antenna. Use the raised guides on the rear and side to correctly position your system.

3. Check that the bolt holes align with each other and screw the bolts in.

Note: The Antenna adds a few millimetres of height to the system, check your bolts are long enough to fully engage the T-Nuts. Longer bolts are available on our website, here. 

4. Make sure the surface is clean of any wax or sunscreen. Run the cable down the board and over the nose. With a straight line, use a piece of tape to hold it tight and in place, then tape the whole cable from start to finish to secure. 

Tip: The tape should be long enough to wrap around to the top side of the board to avoid raw edges peeling back in the water.

5. Turn the board over and place the antenna on the nose of the board. Precise location isn’t important.

6. Wrap tape over the cable to the nose creating a continuous line of tape from the bottom to the top to avoid the tape coming off.

Note: DO NOT secure the patch antenna elsewhere, and DO NOT attach the antenna to your body. Proper installation is important to ensure the antenna works as intended. The cable MUST be fully secured to the board.

Related Articles - Click to Read:

 Carbon Boards & Gen2 Connectivity

Carbon Boards & Optimising Connection 

Intermittent Connection Issues

Wireless Controller Signal Connection - Tech Talk 

To learn more, check out the other articles on our Help Centre which can be found under the 'Support' tab on the website. 

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected]. 

Happy Foil Driving!