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WMP54G: Fixing antenna

I have a WMP54G PCI card in my desktop PC. A while back, while doing some fixes, I knocked the antenna off the card. It appears to be attached by a small plug which is seated in a hole on the card, slotting over a small piece of wire. There doesn't appear be any threading indicating that the antenna originally screwed, or any bright metal indicating anything actually broke. Yet the antenna no longer seats correctly in the hole, and the signal is poorer. Any ideas how to repair it, or replace the antenna, without having to fork out for a new card?

Thanks,

P.

Reply to
pmoloney
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snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com hath wroth:

The antenna is removable and should have a threaded base. From your description, it appears that you have successfully sheared the RP-SMA connector from the circuit board. You should be able to unscrew and separate the round black antenna part, from the gold square connector part.

Depending up on the damage to the gold square connector, you have the options of:

  1. Soldering the connector back to the board. The ground connections are easy as they have a large area to work with. The center pin might be sheared and will require some skill.
  2. Replace the connector and resolder.
  3. Add a pigtail and solder the coax cable directly to the board.
  4. Attach a 3.2cm insulated wire (1/4 wave at 2.4GHz) to the center pin connection on the board and just hang it out the back of the computer. This is not a great antenna, but might work if you're fairly close to the access point.

Any of these should not be particularly difficult for someone skilled in soldering. However, if you've never tried soldering before, this might be a bit difficult.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Look at the link. The antenna plugged into a socket on the card, not a hole. The socket is probably stuck in the bottom of the antenna.

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Reply to
Pen

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1171878497.911343.224750 @m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com:

Even if you do need to buy a new card, prices start @ $13.

Reply to
DanS

DanS wrote in news:Xns98DC7C5F0E50Cthisnthatadelphianet@194.177.96.78:

I apparently didn't paste the link.......

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Reply to
DanS

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