Based on Banana Pi BPI-R4 Wifi 7 Module design it seems some users prefer the 14-antenna version which was produced in small batch and some the 6-antenna version which is currently not released
- 14-antenna version
- 6-antenna version
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voters
14 antenna anyday cause why not lol
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most “be” routers get 14 antenna, dual frequency antennas just get hidden by putting them inside single plastic stick. I would rather suggest bpi team add external PA+LNA so people can use small antennas instead.
Dual frequency antennas are just a single frequency antenna that operates at 2.4GHz. The attitude is, that as it is around 1/2 the frequency of 5GHz, it operates good enough over both frequencies.
6 antenna for 2.4g AX and DBDC 5g/6g, 14 antenna for non DBDC radio a.k.a quad-radio. Not sure if 4x4 2.4G AX will have benefit for moderate wireless backhaul except its easier to penetrates the wall
Without making things more complicated than they need to be, for me the best version would be using a diplexer but for the full setup – so yet another version with I guess 10 antennas (5x 2.4+5GHz + 5x 6GHz). Mainly because I want to see the improvement from the 5th rx antenna (4t5r) first hand at some point (or if it does not anything above what the atheros/qualcom qcn9274 can provide and its just a marketing joke). I get that the 14 antennas will be a problem for some deployments, but if the trade-off is is a slightly “crippled” setup, I still prefer it that way (also from my understanding the engineering on that card is already done, so why not release it)
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I’m leaning towards 6, if there is only a slight drop off in performance, and no difference in stability which for me is more important then I say 6 because it’s easier to mount. also I saw a case design having 8 antenna’s.
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I think those two additional antennas are for the LTE/5G module.
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I was excited for the R4 until I learned the production wifi card would be the paired down 6-antenna version.
I was going to use 2.4/5Ghz diplexers on the 14 antenna version to get down to 10 antennas, and it seemed like the ideal upgrade from my current BPI-R3. With the 6 antenna version is almost seems like a downgrade.
At any rate, I think offering both cards to let consumers choose would be the best option. It seems like most of the work has already done for both cards.
I personally will not buy the BPI-R4 if it only offers the cut down wifi card, and I’ll just wait for a wifi 7 access point that does offer 4x4 or 4t5r.
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I also agree with some of the other users here. I was looking forward to the 4T5R on the 6 GHz band with the 14 antenna version of the Wifi 7 module since I think it’s a unique setup but also providing strong value and is worth the DIY effort even from those who don’t usually DIY Wifi with OpenWRT.
Personally, I was looking forward to purchasing the BPI-R4 (with and only with the 14/10 antenna version) to test out and play around with 4T5R, but also 4x4/4x5 on 5 GHz/6 GHz I think would be a unique selling point and worth the DIY work to put in.
3x3 only for 5 GHz and 6 GHz? I’m not sure it’s worth it for me to invest in this ecosystem with only that option… And I don’t think I’m alone based on the polling numbers here…
This could’ve been one of the best Wifi 7 AP setups that you could have for insane value most likely if that 14 or 10-antenna version was available…
I’m going to continue to hold off until we hear something about either a 14 or 10-antenna version for the Wifi 7 Module.
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Hi Frank,
Thank you for your poll. Because our case is relatively small and 14-ntenna are too difficult to handle, we changed it to a 6-antenna solution.
Since more people prefer the 14-antenna version, I will seriously consider whether to make a 10-antenna version, and maybe with ePA, but this puts forward higher requirements for heat dissipation. After finishing the OpenWRT one and problems such as heat dissipation/casing are resolved, I will think about it
What does ePA mean? It was hard to Google, since a lot of the results I got were about the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency. With some advanced search, the most relevant sounding thing I found was “elliptical patch antenna.” Is that what you were talking about? If so, what does it mean?
ePA=External PA.
Many MTK chips have buildin PA/LNA inside, that’s iPA, but the power is not very high,
we can get higher power with an external PA.
Ok, so ePA = external power amplifier. Thanks.
How about a new case design? Something like this
Is this an issue that needs to be resolved in-house first? I’m sure since the community would prefer the full setup, someone in the community could design a 3D-printable case and/or figure out appropriate heatsinks (or even simple active cooling) so long as the module itself is available on the market. So even if you don’t want to make an official chassis I’m sure someone would design one if you released a 14 or 10 antenna module 
A 10 antenna version with ePA/eLNA would be great.
if there is such big case for the 10/14-antenna version, why not put a 140mm fan @5v under it? should be absolutely silent and more than enough to get rid of the heat.
Please make the 10 Antenna version, i really want the 14 one but I’m happy to compromise. If i had of known a 6 was all that was being considered I’m not sure i would have brought an R4
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