wifi antenna position for a stronger signal

Like many after replacing my wifi antenna , its gets a much weaker signal. I have played around with it in different places , sometimes i can get a strong signal but then it goes away. It is not clear for me what part of the antenna needs to be touching what part of the ipad to get a good signal. so far the strongest i had was when i left the antenna hanging outside of the ipad! any help would be greatly aprreciated!