I'm currently using a new Belkin F5D8230-4 "pre-n" router, along with
one of their pre-n laptop cards and a pre-n pc cardbus card (which is
really the laptop card and cardbus adapter). Overall, it's working very
nicely -- getting excellent range and very low latency -- but I'd like
to see better speed at a distance.
The WLAN this replaced was based on DLink "super G" from Atheros. While
the WLAN was flakier and didn't have the range that the new "pre-n"
setup has, it DID have the advantage of allowing for the replacement of
both the router antenna and the cardbus card antenna with ones that
have higher gain - easy, cheap way to improve performance.
The Belkin laptop card does NOT have an external antenna or terminal to
allow for attachment of an antenna - period.
The Belkin router has three antennas for its MIMO configuration. I had
been hoping that Belkin would allow us to remove these three and
replace them, perhaps, with three larger straight "rubber ducky"
antennas (higher gain), so essentially get the same MIMO benefit, but
also obtain a stronger signal.
No go.
Belkin has verified for me that the router antennas are NOT removable.
So of course the question becomes: just WHAT do you have to do to
remove and upgrade these rubber ducky antennae???
Anyone here ever take about a Belkin router and replace the "fixed"
antennas?