Improving Range on Versa / Dooya / Tuya Drape Motors

Adding an External 433MHz Antenna (and Gaining ~11 dB Link Quality)

Most low-cost curtain/drape motors (Versa, Dooya, Tuya-based units, etc.) ship with a printed PCB antenna inside the motor housing. It works, but it’s trapped against the motor body, wiring bundle, and plastic enclosure – so RF performance is marginal at best. In my case, it resulted in weak signals and intermittent control from the other side of the house.

This write-up covers how I added an external antenna safely via the RF feed point. The modification resulted in a measured ~10–11 dB link improvement (from ~-84 dBm to ~-73.5 dBm), which translates to a substantial boost in usable range and reliability.

Before & After: Link Quality Change

Graph excerpt:

This is not placebo. 10+ dB is roughly the difference between “barely works” and “works reliably through walls”.

The Hardware

• Versa / Dooya motor drive unit (433 MHz)

• Internal PCB antenna

• Exposed RF feed point on the logic board

• Matching network before PCB trace

Example of board layout:

The antenna trace is the long green meander marked ANT. The point we care about is TP1 (Test Point 1), directly after the RF matching network.

Identifying the Correct Connection Points

The important thing is to feed the new antenna at the RF feed point, not at the antenna itself, and not at random 3V3/GND points. At DC the feed point may appear tied to power/ground due to the choke and matching network – that’s normal.

Connection Summary

I confirmed this on the board before modification:

RF IC → matching network → TP1 → PCB antenna

Isolating the feed here avoids detuning the original antenna. And is reversable if required.

Step-by-Step Modification

1. Open Housing & Access the PCB

Remove the cover and expose the logic board. The PCB antenna will be located near the top edge.

2. Isolate the Original Antenna

Cut the ANT trace after the feed point. This prevents the internal antenna from loading the new one.

3. Install Coax Feed

• Route the Antenna via the openings available no mods required

• Center core → TP1

• Shield → via-to-ground next to TP1

• Keep lengths short and neat

4. Reassemble & Route the Antenna Outward

I exited the wire through a side seam and let the antenna sit clear of the housing.

This alone gave the 11 dB improvement.

Why External Placement Helps

Inside the housing the antenna is surrounded by:

• Motor windings (metal mass)

• Control cabling

• PCB ground plane

• Plastic enclosure

Relocating the radiator to the outside removes those detuning factors and allows a cleaner radiation pattern.

As its hidden by the drape it is invisible while still performing much better.

Final Result

This isn’t a “hacky wire hanging off a board”; it’s using the correct RF feed point, proper ground reference, and tuned radiator length. The end result is a drape motor that behaves like a product with a proper antenna design – which it should have had from the factory.

If you follow the steps above, expect 8–12 dB improvement depending on environment and placement. For me, this changed the motor from barely responding to instantly responding anywhere in the house.

Parts Used

External Antenna

433 MHz External Whip Antenna – RG1.13 Coax (Welded Type)

• Size: ~23 mm base, 3 dBi rated

• Cable: RG1.13 coax with tinned end (no connector required)

• Frequency options listed: 433/470/868/915 MHz (use the 433 MHz model)

• Purchased as a 2-pack, approx. NZD $3.36/lot

AliExpress Link

This is the unit I used for the mod. The welded/tinned version is ideal because it solders directly to TP1 (signal) and the RF ground vias without needing an SMA or u.FL connector.