Linksys WRT54G + HGA7T Hi Gain Antenna = ?

[HiTek21]

I'm trying to improve the signal quality around my house and I saw these Hi Gain antennas when I was at frys and wondering if anyone else has these and what they think of them.

 

[InlineFive]

It really depends on your situation. Most of the newbies who complain about these on the internet are looking for a fantastic increase in range. That's not what they are meant to do, not to mention that you would need to increase the router transmit power to attain that goal.

These are simply supposed to receive signals better. In my house where I have a 2.4Ghz phone and a 2.4Ghz controller for the PS2 I think they will help. Why? Because they can pick up the smaller signals from the laptops better over all the static.

My 2 cents...

 

[JackMDS]

Antennae are not amplifiers. Antennae take the energy from the power amplifier of the Transmitter and propagates it into the air.

An Antenna can propagate better if the design is matching the impedance and wave length of the source, or and by making it unidirectional and thus concentrate most of the output power into one direction.

In general Antennae are rated in dbi the default antennae that I usually installed on entry level Wireless is 2dbi. 4dbi is better than 2dbi and 12dbi is better than 4dbi.

Getting a better designed omni directional Antenna (which is usually in the 4-8 dbi range) might improve somewhat indoor propagation, but it is usually minimal and might results in a gain few feet.

If you do have a Wireless connection in a remote room, but it is unstable, or and on the border of Non-Functionality a better Omni directional Antenna might help.

Getting a Real Hi Gain Directional Antenna will work better, but it will restrict the Wireless availability to one specific direction, and thus much more suitable to outdoor bridging.

The best solution to extend indoor distance is to extend coverage by adding more transmitters. I.e. Access Point Repeaters, etc.


Link to: Extending the Distance of Entry Level Wireless Network.

Link to: Using a Wireless Cable/DSL Router as a Switch with an Access Point

Link to: Wirelessly Bridging Home / SOHO Network.

:sun:

 

[InlineFive]

So is my assessment correct and application in my situation pertinent JackMDS?

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo
So is my assessment correct and application in my situation pertinent JackMDS?

In general yes.

It is better to improve the Antennae at the source (Wireless Router/Access Point) than on the receiver end.

A good Uni-Directional Antenna might help on the receiving end if it is a stationary client.

:sun:

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: JackMDS

Originally posted by: PorBleemo
So is my assessment correct and application in my situation pertinent JackMDS?

In general yes.

It is better to improve the Antennae at the source (Wireless Router/Access Point) than on the receiver end.

A good Uni-Directional Antenna might help on the receiving end if it is a stationary client.

:sun:

True. Put the antenna at the router if you have more than one computer connected to it.
In theory it doesn't matter in which end you put the antenna since they are all bi-directional. 8dBi of gain is 8dBi wether you put in on the Tx or Rx end.
I got a El-cheapo 8dBi patch antenna for $5 and it makes a slight difference for me. SLightly better speeds.

 

[HiTek21]

Hmm sounds like its not really worth the money since the antennas are around 45 bucks. I think i'll go with the Wireless Range expander

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
In theory it doesn't matter in which end you put the antenna since they are all bi-directional. 8dBi of gain is 8dBi wether you put in on the Tx or Rx end.

It is Not true.

If you have a 2dbi Antenna on the source it will shorten the range to an extend that even if you have a 1000dbi on the other side it will not help since there would not be any signal to pick up.

:sun: