Quote scope console

mobile wifi router with external antenna port

A mobile wifi router with external antenna port needs a line-by-line sheet before factories reply. LinkScope Sourcing 31 is an independent sourcing partner. It lines up those lines. It does not sell a handset plan and it does not claim a carrier has approved a model.

RadioBand list, channel width, MIMO
PortTS-9, CRC9, SMA, 50 ohm
PowerUSB, battery runtime, or DC
SIMUnlocked, locked, or unknown
Mobile WiFi router with a short pigtail and a spare SIM tray on a desk

Evidence ledger each factory should fill

Ask for files that name the exact proposed item. A family brochure can frame a question. It cannot stand in for the model that will ship.

Datasheet
Frequency range, transmit power in dBm, receiver sensitivity, and the antenna gain assumed in that row. A 5 dBi figure without a band is incomplete.
Connector drawing
Gender, polarity, and impedance. SMA and RP-SMA are separate lines. A 0.5 m pigtail insertion loss, if the pigtail is in the quote, needs its own note.
Power and battery
Input voltage, USB current, and runtime in hours at a stated radio condition. Power over Ethernet is unusual on a pocket unit; if someone adds it, mark the class.
Management
Local web page, app, or SNMP. A managed login is a different support path from a unit that only has a WPS button.
Regulatory file
FCC equipment authorization, when applicable, tied to an FCC ID on the proposed model. An NRTL safety file is a separate request and is not assumed.
Commercial lines
Quantity, currency, Incoterm, freight, duties, and exclusions. Antennas and SIM cards stay out until listed.

Where a quotation can go wrong

Three limits belong in the email even when the buyer hopes they will not apply. A pocket case with a rubber door is not an ingress protection rating. A battery hour printed on a carton is not a runtime at full transmit power. A throughput number in a title is not a TCP test with a stated channel width.

OEM-coded module versus a compatible module

Some mobile routers use a radio module coded for one host firmware. A compatible module may widen the factories that can answer, but host compatibility, software policy, and the test method still need the exact pair. LinkScope Sourcing 31 will not treat a matching chipset name as proof the web interface and the band list are the same. The opposite view is also real: staying with the module the firmware was written for can reduce later login surprises, at the cost of a narrower supply list. Both views stay as deviations, not as a score.

Questions that keep mobile quotes comparable

Should the external antenna be priced inside the router?

Write it either way, but write it once. If the antenna is included, ask for its gain, frequency range, and connector. If it is excluded, the unit price must say so. Mixing the two makes the comparison unusable.

What does unlocked mean on this sheet?

State whether any SIM in the destination country is acceptable, or whether a named carrier profile is required. The desk does not verify a carrier approval. The factory should say what the firmware allows and what it refuses.

How should a target budget be written?

Optional. Give an amount or a range, a currency, and whether the figure is per unit or for the whole order. A preference for high-end, mid-range, budget-friendly, or undecided suppliers is a buying stance. It is not a verified rating, and you do not need a live price to submit it.

Procurement scenario: a field kit of twelve pocket routers

Background: a US service team wants twelve pocket routers for job trailers, each with a short external antenna because the metal skin blocks the internal radiator. Quantity and a Texas destination are known. Runtime and the SIM policy are not. Process: the sheet lists mobile WiFi, a TS-9 jack as preferred with SMA as an allowed alternative, 2x2 MIMO, LTE bands left open, battery runtime requested at a stated transmit condition, and spare pigtails as a separate line. Result: factories can price the router, the pigtail, and the antenna apart. The note does not claim twelve hours of runtime and it does not claim a carrier has certified the kit.

Return loss and VSWR on the pigtail are useful when the factory already has a conducted measurement. If the file is missing, leave the cells open. Calibration traceability matters only when someone cites a lab number; ask which instrument and which date. Open the inquiry configurations or the contact form when the lines are stable enough to send.

Paste the mobile WiFi lines into one request

There is no file upload on this page. Copy the radio, port, power, quantity, and destination into the requirement box. LinkScope Sourcing 31 will ask factories to answer those lines and to mark deviations.

  • Connector and polarity on their own line
  • SIM scope and power method written out
  • Optional budget with currency and basis