My bottom line here seems to be
- my existing Thuraya XT has poor and unreliable connections without an external antenna
- an external antenna from Antcom can be connected to an XT docker;
- however that then requires some separate connection between the XT docker and a tablet or laptop to utilise the data connection.
No external antenna seems to be available for the SatSleeve, in the event that its connections are no better than the XT, unless one can find an old docker to dismantle and then make up a cable as suggested above.
I am reluctant to give up on Thuraya altogether, but this is very frustrating, especially since a significant part of the problem seems to be the absence of a supply of male plugs for Thuraya’s antenna connector.
Antcom also has a dual iridium and thuraya antenna.
I use the XT docker which has a standard BNC connector for which you can get a cable. The antenna also has a BNC connector. I think the antcom antennae are the only solution in town, also for non certified aircraft.
The XT and SatSleeve are not very different only that the SatSleeve got a wifi hotspot builtin. It will work with all kind of devices, I use it with a Nexus tablet and phone mostly.
I used the Antcom antenna – article here
It was never used in reality because the car holder for the old 7100 phone emitted too much RF interference to be of any use in an aircraft. It may be that the car holder for the XT is better…
The external antenna connections to the Satsleeve, if they are the same as for the XT, use custom spring-loaded connectors which are quite tricky to replicate. They don’t seem to exist on the market and one would need to break up a car holder and extract them from that.
Ah ok. I don’t need a TSO’d item (for non-certified aircraft), just one that is as small/light as possible and works properly.
Did you make a cable to connect to the XT, with the proprietary connector? Or you have a Thuraya-made docker for the XT?
Maybe I should give up on the XT and just get a SatSleeve and rig up an external antenna in the manner you describe; but this seems a bit of a gamble as there’s no guarantee the assembly will work satisfactorily. Suitable cables are not available commercially, already assembled?
One other point, I presume that with the SatSleeve providing wifi internet in the cockpit, any wifi-enabled device such as my existing Nexus can connect to this?
No, of course not 
That is not an aircraft antenna. You need something that is TSO’ed. Mine is from antcom, they have a long list of suitable antennae.
Which external antenna are you using?
Perhaps this one:
A basic Thuraya external antenna seems to cost in the region of $1500 …..
[image link fixed]
I have the SatSleeve and it’s OK. There is no docking station for the SatSleeve but it’s got the same proprietary connector as the XT and previous Thuraya phones. I got hold of a docker from an older Thuraya model and plan to disassemble it to get to the antenna connector and then build my own docker for the SatSleeve to connect it to my external antenna.
The XT has often trouble establishing GmPRS but once it’s established, it’s reliable. I usually start it before the flight and then leave it connected. I only use it with the docker and my external Thuraya antenna.
There have been no posts on this interesting thread since April.
Has anyone else had real-life experience of using the SatSleeve?
Has anyone got to the bottom of attaching an external antenna to a SatSleeve (which seems to be necessary for Thuraya) and if so which antenna?
I gave up trying to use the Thuraya XT phone due to erratic and dodgy connections, and was hoping there might be something better available now ……..
After having used my Thuraya Satsleeve during my flying trip through Africa and the Middle East with good success, we have recently been testing it a little more, including other options of linking an existing Thuraya XT phone to our SATBOX.
Our findings are that the Thuraya solution needs a good antenna setup for it to work. It indeed works well with the external antenna in any direction. Letting your wife play on her mobile phone on Facebook is not really working out, but using apps like FB messenger or WhatsApp work very well. Downloading images works great if you have a specific app or custom website to provide that image with no other stuff sitting in its way.
Please refer to my earlier findings on how it behaves (the Satsleeve) by itself in the Cirrus. I would just be repeating myself if I would be answering that question again.
We are not yet ready for production, but all the tests were with good results.
