Re-utilizing the built-in Cellular Antennas of 2001 Mercedes (W210)
Page is a WIP, images are pending upload.
One of my pride & joys is my 2001 Mercedes E-Class. It's nearing legal classic status, and has quite a stodgy appearance, but
is much more modern under the skin than one would expect. Underneath that generous applicaiton of walnut trim and leather is a fully digital car with both a copper data bus and fiber optic networking- even the window switches communicate to the motors via the digital bus.
The car was fairly advanced for the time, offering voice-controlled telephone, audio, and GPS navigation. While such things were options, all cars came with the wiring harnesses pre-installed for upgrades at any time. Add to this the car contained it's own communication module to dial a concierge or emergency services while providing it's GPS position and VIN, remote unlocking and locking, and theft tracking (all without using your own cell phone)- all things you can get on most new cars today, but a forward-looking set of features 25 years ago.
However, technology marches forward and the cellular networks these devices were configured for no longer exist in the US. This meant that the car's inbuilt cellular antennas and original cellular amplifier were of no use. But as I'd recently gotten full bluetooth phone and audio working with the original electronics (a topic for another project post), I thought it would be great to have a cellular booster as well to get rid of those pesky connection drops on long highway drives.
Frankly, this was so easy I'm shocked no other owner of this era Mercedes has done something similar. Behind the carpet panel in the trunk is the location of the antenna connections- a purchase of a 4G LTE booster and some conenctor adapters was all that was needed. I adhered the box to the inside of the cavity and hooked it up to a 12V power line I'd run for another project, et voila- a boosted signal.
These modern boosters contain 3 primary pieces: the receiving antenna, the booster (AKA amplifier), and the distributing antenna. Originally, the Mercedes would distribute this signal to a docked cellphone with a connector, as was standard at the time. But with the move to bluetooth, this was no longer possible. Fortunately, the antenna line runs all the way to the center console to behind an access panel. So the distributing antenna goes there, under the armrest. My intention was later to run it to be inside the dashboard, but I just haven't gotten around to it.
I did this all back in 2020, and it was hands-down one of the best sub-$100 purchases I've made. Long stints on I-65 saw markedly less dropouts in calls and LTE connections thanks to my phone getting a boost from antennas that are larger than the phone itself!
Questions? Comments? Etc? Contact me and let me know!
Keywords: Mercedes, W210, E-Class, Electronics, Cellular Antennas