How add external wifi antena to laptop?
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Posted by Jeff Liebermann on July 5, 2008, 11:43 am
Please log in for more thread options There are some ideas on how to butcher your laptop and add external antennas at: <http://repair4laptop.org/wireless_lan_antennae.html>
In general, they will require some drilling or modifications that will
destroy your warranty. I would not recommend doing this on a new laptop. A generally better idea is to add a wireless USB, PCMCIA, CardBUS, PCI-Expresso, or Express Card to your laptop. Some of these include external antenna connectors. For example: <http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1>
The USB device would be attached to your favorite style antenna, with
a 16ft USB cable between the laptop and the radio. >Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
>built in antennas will be If you're thinking of using an omnidirectional antenna on a stick, that works. I've seen it used at the local college. It has the advantage of being fairly small when collapsed. However, if you know the location of the campus access points, a directional panel antenna offers more gain, generally less critical positioning, and some interference reduction. Think about carrying a small 8dBi panel, patch, biquad, or loop antenna instead of an omni. Height is good, but gain and directionality are much better. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by on July 7, 2008, 10:44 am
Please log in for more thread options >A generally better idea is to add a wireless USB, PCMCIA, CardBUS,
>PCI-Expresso, or Express Card to your laptop. Some of these include >external antenna connectors. For example: ><http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1> >The USB device would be attached to your favorite style antenna, with >a 16ft USB cable between the laptop and the radio. Great!! That should work above!! Question tho..... what abt using a USB device that is also its own antenna and just putting THAT up high? Course it means the signal is decoded first and must travel down some length of ire....where as your solution above allows the antenna and decoding circuit to be separate. Also..... would PCMCIA adapter be better than say USB based ones? >If you're thinking of using an omnidirectional antenna on a stick,
>that works. I've seen it used at the local college. It has the >advantage of being fairly small when collapsed. However, if you know >the location of the campus access points, a directional panel antenna >offers more gain, generally less critical positioning, and some >interference reduction. Think about carrying a small 8dBi panel, >patch, biquad, or loop antenna instead of an omni. Height is good, >but gain and directionality are much better. Ok will check into it..... but have any suggestions? | |||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Jeff Liebermann on July 7, 2008, 12:25 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:44:10 -0500, me@privacy.net wrote:
>
>>A generally better idea is to add a wireless USB, PCMCIA, CardBUS,
>>PCI-Expresso, or Express Card to your laptop. Some of these include >>external antenna connectors. For example: >><http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1> >>The USB device would be attached to your favorite style antenna, with >>a 16ft USB cable between the laptop and the radio. >
>Great!! That should work above!! Ummm.... did you get permission from the truck stop to use their internet connection? >Question tho..... what abt using a USB device that is
>also its own antenna and just putting THAT up high? It's effectively the same thing, except that you don't get a choice of antenna when the radio and antenna are one assembly. If you need a bigger (or smaller) antenna for some reason, you get to replace both. Also, you'll find the pricing of such devices rather odd. Some conglomerations cost more than the sum of the components. There is one advantage in that the assembly is probably more waterproof than a do it thyself system. Also note that you're limited to about 16ft of USB cable. If you want to go farther, you should probably consider using PoE (power over ethernet) which a different and more complexicated animal. Basically, you would need an "ethernet wireless bridge" or "ethernet client adapter". There's a partial list of such devices at: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi#Wireless_Ethernet_Bridges>
Not all of those listed will work, so please be careful before
spending money. >Course it means the signal is decoded first and must
>travel down some length of ire....where as your >solution above allows the antenna and decoding circuit >to be separate. The losses in the coax cable are substantial. This is why I suggested a seperate USB device... to minimize the coax cable length. >Also..... would PCMCIA adapter be better than say USB
>based ones? I really don't want to get into a long winded article on PCMCIA versus USB. In your specific application, you need to get the radio part away from the laptop. USB does that. PCMCIA does not. However, if the distance between the antenna is fairly short (i.e. < 10ft), either will work. Note that the USB adapter I suggested has an external antenna. USB adapters with internal antennas tend to be rather small and therefore with very low gain antennas. You won't get much range out of them, but you can place them "up high". Personally, I prefer the "ethernet wireless bridge" and PoE solution, but it's also the biggest, most expensive, ugliest, and most complex solution. >Ok will check into it..... but have any suggestions?
Nope. I explain how things work. You do your own shopping. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 | |||||||||||||||||||
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146392
>How can I add and external wifi antenna to this laptop?