Hello. I would like to buy a wifi antenna with the greatest signal strength for the lowest cost. I found some 24 dbi for 50 dollars. If you know of a better deal, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Philip Brown
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 11:25:19 -0800 (PST), DarkPhoenix wrote in :
Cheap, powerful, good -- pick (at most) two.
RadioLabs has a good parabolic dish antenna for $70
Do you really need that much gain? Can you live with the narrow beam angle?
You can get up to about 15 dBi gain with a simple build-it-yourself "cantenna" for only a few dollars. Google "wi-fi cantenna".
to be used where, how, as AP or Client ? directional or omni ? what are you aiming at ? how far is the electronics - ie, cable length ? inside or outside ? mounting issues ? path issues - trees, buildings, etc ?
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 15:33:05 -0600, "ps56k" wrote in :
Why would that matter?
Has to be directional for anything close to that gain.
Why would that matter?
Good point -- lots of signal can be lost on a cable run.
John Navas wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
An antenna can not be 'powerful', nor can a speaker.
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 23:29:07 +0000 (UTC), DanS wrote in :
Powerful = higher gain.
Based upon the lack of specifics in my original question, I decided to revise it.
I would like to buy a wifi directional antenna for my computer's nic card. It should have a high gain for a low cost. I would prefer an indoor antenna but an outdoor is fine. The connector is a SMA and the cord only needs to be a few feet. I found some 24 dbi for 50 dollars. If you know of a better deal, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Philip Brown
Hi. That helps, but it's best if you give an indication of the situation that you intend to use it for.
All too often somebody looking for the highest gain, has no clue as to how much gain they actually need and are trying to buy a laser when what they really need is a flashlight.
Is the AP (presumed) you are connecting to far away? Do you understand the tradeoffs of using something as precise as a 24 dbi antenna? How hard it will be to aim for closer sources? That the mount should be well fixed ?
Unless the post begins with - I'm doing a 1(or more) kilometer link and ......- I think that high of gain would not be appropriate for most circumstances that an amateur would find themselves in. More likely you want a 10-14 dbi panel or backfire antenna.
Cheers, Steve
... where those dollars are real but the dBi's probably pure fantasy. Care to point to a site promoting this work-of-the-devil to give us all a laugh?
Tony
[snip]
Correction: it has to be directional for any gain whatever over 0dBi.
[Where on earth could antenna gain come from except from directionality?] Tony
The distance is from my house to my brother's house which is one block away.
Yes. I would have to aim it at his house with about a 8 degrees margin of error. That should not be much of a problem.
I was hoping to get an antenna that could be used on a small portable mount on my patio or inside the house.
Actually, I am currently using an Airlink 10 dBi antenna, but my connection speed is between 2 and 5.5 Mbps rather than 54 Mbps. It is a weak signal.
Philip Brown
Okay, I can believe that one. Looks like an outdoor antenna. You'll need to mount the electronics real close or lose much of your antenna gain in cable losses. I hope you understand the significance of the 8 degree beamwidth - it means it's much like a focused flashlight where you get to choose what you illuminate but with no performance in any other direction.
Tony
On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:05:21 -0500, "Anthony R. Gold" wrote in :
I'm of course talking just horizontal, as I would hope you know. Calling high-gain "omni" antennas "directional" would be confusing.
I have no idea what you mean. When that little rubber duckie antenna on the back of the average AP points up, backwards, sideways or down, which of those implies that anything in happening that is particularly horizontal?
Calling any antenna with any gain whatever "non-directional" would be inaccurate because it implies a contradiction to conservation of energy.
Tony
On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:28:04 -0800 (PST), DarkPhoenix wrote in :
Then all you probably need is 15-16 dBi, especially since a directional antenna might help by rejecting interference that might now be a problem.
Build it yourself for under $10:
Or try a cantenna, as I suggested before, which also might be enough.
$32 for 15 dBi parabolic grid (unknown quality):
eBay seller of BiQuad and dish antennas:
19 dBi panel on eBay:On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:04:55 -0500, "Anthony R. Gold" wrote in :
Get serious.
Apocryphal and irrelevant.
If the focal point of that antenna is about two feet from the rotation point, You must push it two inches to one side before you have a 3dB loss. Why don't you believe he is able to put it up with such a steady precision?
His problem is obviously not signal strength, but multipath and absorption, unless the definition of "a block" has increased much lately. He doesn't need more power, but clear 0.6 frensnel zone line of sight. On the other hand, if he in fact put up a 24 dBi antenna, assuming his card gives him 20 dBm and cable and plugs are -2 dB, his electron current will let him burn sausages in the beam at 16 Watt. Those sausages he can sell for money, buying himself a regular p2p.
Apocryphal and irrelevant.
Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.