# powerful wifi antenna



## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

has anyone used a powerful wifi antenna to increase the signal strength of their wifi? i am not talkoing about using a WAP to bridge my wifi signal, but an actually high powered antenna to boost the signal in all directions. and i am not looking into flashing my router with firmware to increase the power of my existing router. i am specifically looking for high powered antennas. any experiences i should know about? any models i should look into?


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## Athlon2K15 (Dec 3, 2010)

does your router support external antenna? ive used the standard linksys high gain antennas nothing more than that


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

AthlonX2 said:


> does your router support external antenna? ive used the standard linksys high gain antennas nothing more than that



well i guess i could hook something up to the router using whatever plug thingy it normally uses. i was thinking more along the lines of something i could plug into my pc.


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## Kreij (Dec 3, 2010)

How far are you trying to go? Or through walls or something?


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

Kreij said:


> How far are you trying to go? Or through walls or something?



hrm, well the distance is 35-45 feet. right now the pc has an ok signal but the problem is any slight interference and that "ok" signal turns into crap.


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## theonedub (Dec 3, 2010)

Bust out some aluminum foil for a DIY signal boost  Seriously though, I was doubtful, but it worked well for me


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

theonedub said:


> Bust out some aluminum foil for a DIY signal boost  Seriously though, I was doubtful, but it worked well for me



i have thought about that. i am always looking for the cheap solution. what method worked for you?


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## theonedub (Dec 3, 2010)

I made a dish by- wait for it... molding aluminum foil to a dish (well more like a shallow bowl) 

Im using a wifi adapter, so I placed the adapter into the foil dish, secured it with tape, and adjusted the angle until I got perfect signal. I recently bought a replacement router which made the mod useless so I don't have any helpful pics


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

hrm, well i dont think that will work for me. im sure someone has paid for and used a high powered wifi antenna.


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## niko084 (Dec 3, 2010)

http://www.cyberguys.com/product-de...+0224&utm_campaign=product-search#page=page-1

Something like that I would recommend, I have a few of those hanging off buildings to spread wireless signals about a city block, they work very well.

BE CAREFUL with these, they come with warning labels and they mean it, make sure it's not setup near your head, you will have a really bad headache you cannot imagine within hours if not minutes.


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

niko084 said:


> http://www.cyberguys.com/product-de...+0224&utm_campaign=product-search#page=page-1
> 
> Something like that I would recommend, I have a few of those hanging off buildings to spread wireless signals about a city block, they work very well.
> 
> BE CAREFUL with these, they come with warning labels and they mean it, make sure it's not setup near your head, you will have a really bad headache you cannot imagine within hours if not minutes.



lol that might be too powerful for my needs!

edit: this looks like something i could use. just plug it into the usb slot on the pc and it works.

http://www.cyberguys.com/product-details/?productid=34958#page=page-1


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## newtekie1 (Dec 3, 2010)

What router do you currently have, or rather what type of antenna connector do they use if you know?


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> What router do you currently have, or rather what type of antenna connector do they use if you know?



ive got the basic FIOS router which has the standard antenna coax plug thingy. i switched it out with a better antenna but it did nothing.


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## Kreij (Dec 3, 2010)

Any idea whwat may be interferring with the signal?


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

Kreij said:


> Any idea whwat may be interferring with the signal?



walls.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 3, 2010)

Easy Rhino said:


> ive got the basic FIOS router which has the standard antenna coax plug thingy. i switched it out with a better antenna but it did nothing.



I'm pretty sure it uses an SMA connector(looks like a smaller version of the COAX cable connector).

I've used a couple of these on my WRT54GL and they give quite a signal boost for an omni-directional antenna.


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## digibucc (Dec 3, 2010)

Easy Rhino said:


> hrm, well i dont think that will work for me. im sure someone has paid for and used a high powered wifi antenna.



i have, the thing is high gain doesn't help unless it goes both ways.powered antennae are a two way thing.  think of 2 people far apart and one has a megaphone.  nothing can get done if they can't converse both ways.

that being said, upping the Tx power on your router and adapter could help - that would be my first choice.  

if you get ANY signal, more power can normally cure noise/interference.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 3, 2010)

digibucc said:


> i have, the thing is high gain doesn't help unless it goes both ways.
> 
> powered antennae are a two way thing.  think of 2 people far apart and one has a megaphone.  nothing can get done if they can't converse both ways.
> 
> that being said, upping the Tx power on your router and adapter could help - that would be my first choice.



With wireless signals, the data being sent to the router is relatively small(unless you are doing file transfers and gaming), so it can have a weaker signal and still be successful at getting the data sent, for basic web browsing.  Plus the larger antenna not only puts out a stronger signal but it also can pick up weaker signals.  It is kind of like if the person with the megaphone also has one of those super ear things that amplifies even the quietest noise into something audible.


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I'm pretty sure it uses an SMA connector(looks like a smaller version of the COAX cable connector).
> 
> I've used a couple of these on my WRT54GL and they give quite a signal boost for an omni-directional antenna.



i actually am using one of those. doesnt make any difference sadly.


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## digibucc (Dec 3, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> With wireless signals, the data being sent to the router is relatively small(unless you are doing file transfers and gaming), so it can have a weaker signal and still be successful at getting the data sent, for basic web browsing.  Plus the larger antenna not only puts out a stronger signal but it also can pick up weaker signals.  It is kind of like if the person with the megaphone also has one of those super ear things that amplifies even the quietest noise into something audible.



good analogy, still though, you are making it sound like a better antennae on the AP/router is all that is ever necessary, or that it can do the entire job of two high gains on each end - it can't.

so wrong wording(on my end) - it's not that it doesn't help at all to have just one antennae different, it just doesn't help much in the long run.  most any problem where adding a single un-powered antennae will help could have been helped otherwise.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 3, 2010)

digibucc said:


> good analogy, still though, you are making it sound like a better antennae on the AP/router is all that is ever necessary, or that it can do the entire job of two high gains on each end - it can't.
> 
> so wrong wording(on my end) - it's not that it doesn't help at all to have just one antennae different, it just doesn't help much in the long run.  most any problem where adding a single un-powered antennae will help could have been helped otherwise.



I'm not making it sound like that at all, that is an assumption that people can make, but I'm not saying anything to the sort.  My point was that a high-gain antenna on the AP can in fact help in both directions when most assume it only helps in one.

Of course if a high-gain antenna doesn't solve the problem, there are other things that are necessary, but a high-gain antenna is where I would start.

Yes, most problems that are solve by adding an antenna could have been helped in otherways, but adding the antenna is usually the easiests.  Your original suggestion to up the TX power on the adapter and AP is a pretty bad place to start considering consumer level equipment rarely offers that as an option.



Easy Rhino said:


> i actually am using one of those. doesnt make any difference sadly.




If adding a 8dbi antenna didn't help any, there isn't much more you can do sort of using directional antennas, and if walls in the way are causing the problem, there probably isn't a whole lot that directional antennas will do either, and they kind of screw you if you want to use the wireless in any more than one direction.


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## digibucc (Dec 3, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Your original suggestion to up the TX power on the adapter and AP is a pretty bad place to start considering consumer level equipment rarely offers that as an option.



yeah but i wasn't talking to someone at consumer level, i was talking to easy rhino.

other than that, agreed.


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## 95Viper (Dec 3, 2010)

Sorta feel bad ; the PLN must not of worked...

Oh well,  sounds like you are still searching for a  resolution to the problem.
A repeater or signal booster may be what you need.  As, a antenna might work, if you were to use something directional with a hi-gain (multi elements).

However, here are some items you may wish to look at and mull over for ideas.
Signal Booster from Hawking Tech with transit and receive boosting.
@Frys Hawking HSB2 Hi-Gain Signal Booster for Wireless-G Networks

How about repeaters:
[HWREN1] Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Range Extender
@Newegg HAWKING HWREN1 Hi-Gain Wireless Range Extender

Or,

[HW2R1] Hi-Gain Wireless-N Dual Radio Smart Repeater
@Newegg HAWKING HW2R1 Hi-Gain Wireless-N Dual Radio Smart Repeater  Maybe a little over kill, with this one, but don't wanna leave anyone out.


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## Easy Rhino (Dec 3, 2010)

wouldnt it make more sense to get a powered wifi antenna that would hook up to the PC rather than deal with messing around with the router?


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## niko084 (Dec 3, 2010)

Easy Rhino said:


> wouldnt it make more sense to get a powered wifi antenna that would hook up to the PC rather than deal with messing around with the router?



Honestly you are best off doing both sides at a lesser point than one side at a greater point so you get better signal on both ends.


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## robn (Dec 4, 2010)

Easy Rhino said:


> i actually am using one of those. doesnt make any difference sadly.



Ah yes, I tried one of them years ago without thinking about it. I then came across this article which made me go "oops, should have thought that".

You would need to go amplified (powered) if you do want omnidirectional antenna coverage, but you might actually solve this at the PC end by using a directional antenna. They naturally ignore interference coming from other directions, and I guess you only want signal coming from one AP. Something like this?


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## Valenciente (Dec 4, 2010)

You could use a 8-9dBi antenna such as earlier suggested on the router, along with something like a Hawking USB Dish for your PC. Take a look, you might like it. There are several models of those, some cheaper than others. I hear it works quite well, but I haven't tried it myself, as I've never had use for Wifi.


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## 95Viper (Dec 4, 2010)

digibucc said:


> yeah but i wasn't talking to someone at consumer level, i was talking to easy rhino.
> 
> other than that, agreed.



I believe newtekie1 was speaking of the wireless device and not the user.

And, Easy Rhino had Verizon the last I heard.  I don't think those routers offer control of the output power.
Plus to get past the walls and any interference, the transmitted output signal at both ends would need to be increased, as most routers do not contain the circuitry for boosting the received signal and filtering the increased noise level caused by this.

If you are still trying the antenna route, then a directional antenna (cone/dish or yagi/beam types) at, possibly both ends, may be called for.

Long Range Wireless Router Operation antenna

Yagi antenna modeler
Design and build your own.


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## Solaris17 (Dec 4, 2010)

get a wirless usb N adapter and a 10' usb extender cable. thats how my mainframe picks up the signal from my router from the basement.


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