Powerline networking

Yes, there are now USB adapters with antenna jacks availible. They have their built in antenna plus the possibility for external makes them useful for even very long range connections. It all depends on the antenna.

No antenna cable required or desired. That's the great advantage of USB or ethernet wireless adapters. Antenna cables lose signal strength. Don't use them if possible to avoid and if you do, make sure it's very short.

IWhenever possible, extend the USB cable, and put the radio right where you want the antenna to be.

formatting link

Here's a link for a complete setups with USB adapter antenna and sometimes a cable. The antenna cables they use are somewhat low loss so not too bad. I cannot recommend the brand, have not tried them, but this will show you some options.

formatting link

Personally, I have not have any luck with homemade dish antennas on USB adapters.

That's why I prefer a USB adapter with an external antenna connector. A simple omni antenna will give a noticable improvement over the built in antenna, but you want to optimize your connection, then get a directional antenna. Be careful if it comes with it's own cable, because again, these lose signal quality. Short cables as a rule...

Here's a couple of inexpensive antennas (N connectors require adapter to RP-SMA) :

formatting link

The Hawking USB adapter /dish antenna that was recommended is probably a good option also. Might be easiest just to get one of those and an extension cable. It's not as flexible as being able to use any antenna you want, but should be fine for most situations.

formatting link

formatting link

To sum up, get a Hawking USB adapter with the dish, or else a USB with external antenna adapter. You can buy a kit with antenna from company above or buy the devices separately and maybe adapt the antenna to the USB connector.

If it does not reach where you want the antenna, get a USB extension cable as linked above.

Hope all this helps and does not confuse.

Steve

Reply to
seaweedsl
Loading thread data ...

never seen one (USB Adaptor) with an external antenna jack (there may be, just never seen one).. you can put em on the end of a usb exstension cable (about 12 - 15 ft), or in my case, I use one to a power hub and two more extensions from that (powered hub) to the usb device/dongle (another 30 ft).. for that matter, ate a frozen dinner one night, ravioli, cooked it in a glass bowl, had the aluminum plate/serving dish left over, while not the best reflector/blocker in the world, I used it (essentially an aluminum pie plate/serving dish) taped to the wall with the dongle in it.. works great/was super cheap... threefer.... garbage, duct tape, and I got to eat! :)

Reply to
Peter Pan

Broken link again, sorry. This should work:

formatting link

Reply to
seaweedsl

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.