First time poster here. I have recently purchased a HP ZX 5000 wireless laptop. I have XP Home with SP2 installed. I connect great with my Motorola wireless router. I will be heading on a trip to sunny Florida next week and would like to be able to check my email daily from the web. My question is... is it possible to attach an external directional antenna to my HP laptop?
thanx, saltykayak
Yeah, that's probably the right connector. However, be careful playing with those connectors. They're very flimsy and not made for many insertions/removal cycles.
Methinks that since this is a temporary situation, it would be cheaper and easier to use an external USB radio. There's no reason you can't have two radios running. Tear the USB radio apart, unsolder the antenna, and replace it with a coax connector. That would go to whatever antenna you can build or buy. The radio goes on the roof of the mobile home. 16ft maximum for the USB cable.
If you don't wanna destroy the USB radio, just place it at the focus of a dish, corner reflector, or bottom of a coffee can.
If you have money, just buy the whole thing in one package as an EtherAnt II (for ethernet) or USB-Ant. See:
It might be necessary to temporarily "disable" the internal wireless card in the laptop when using the external wireless device to avoid creating your own interference.
Hi b, I figured that since it's a full moon... I'd just bounce the signal off it's face and ... just kidding!. I am thinking I'll be staying in hotels that may have wifi access but if I'm on the 5th floor and the access is in the restaurant, I am thinking I can push thru the floors enuf to get a signal. but... wifi door? any idea which one? The documentation says it's a broadcom V103C D 12F4 Rev. 4.4. I'll check the doors on the bottom of the laptop and see if I have access to the connector.
thanx, saltykayak
probably could open your wifi door and see what antenna connection is but most likely you wont find an off the shelf antenna with that connector on it. So I doubt you'll have enough time to have a pigtail made to connect to an antenna pigtail.
you might find and buy a wifi pc card that has an antenna jack & antenna to fit its jack fairly easy, and pay FedEx to rush it. However, I doubt any directional antenna is gonna reach all the way home to your router from Florida - at least not during citrus ripening season.
As a rough guide you will loose about 1/3rd of the signal each time you go through a wall or floor, so probably 5 floors is too much even with an enormous external aerial.
David
think you'll find its probably a Hirose U.FL connector. probably take a look at
Just get an USB wifi adapter on a length of cable (up to 5m), easy to position for best reception. If necessary take A4 size card bend it 90 deg in the middle, cover it in silver foil and place behind the adapter opening towards the signal.
However the wifi signal in your hotel will be oriented horizontally, and even if it wasn't it's not going to get trough 5 (probably reinforced concrete) floors. Regards, Martin
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