I'm trying to increase the range of my wireless connection using the Netgear 802.11G router and PC card.
I started by cutting up two pigtails and splicing them together to make a U.FL to SMA pigtail. This let me replace the fixed antenna on my router with a stronger antenna from airlink. But my signal range hasn't improved.
Here's the background:
I just bought a WGR614v5 wireless router for $9.99 after rebates from CompUSA. The first thing I noticed is that I didn't get signal through much of my house.
I wanted to start by replacing the antenna on the router with a $6.00 airlink 7dB antenna that I just purchages at Frys.
As far as I can tell, the non-detachable antenna for my WGR614v5 wireless router is 2dB, so 7dB should be a good increase, right?
I took the router apart, and found that the antenna was attached to the board in the router by a connector that appears to be U.FL (IPEX/HIROSE).
I clipped the wire leading into the U.FL connector and also clipped the wire on the SMA to TNC pigtail provided with the new antenna. After soldering the two wires together and securing the joint with heat-shrink insulation, I put the router back together and hooked up the antenna.
The signal is definitely not better, and may be worse! I get down to
20% signal in the next room about 40 feet away.There is a round cylinder in the wire of the U.FL pigtail that I left in when doing the soldering. I don't know if this cylindar is some sort of resistor or other item. It's black and it says 'T-2' on it. Could this be impeding the signal coming from my new antenna?
Also, do I need to upgrade the antennas on both ends in order to increase the range? The literature for the airlink antenna says I also need to provide a better antenna on the client side if I want to increase range. I assumed that a better antenna on the router would improve both broadcast and receive strength, but maybe this is not true?
Lastly, does DrTCP really work? Should I be able to 'tweak' my settings and get a better connection when the wireless signal is moderate?
Note: I did purchase a TORX #8 to make it easier to take the screws off the back of the router.
Thanks!
Todd