Replacement antenna for Buffalo WHR-HP-G54?

Due to a slight accident which knocked the router off the desk, the antenna is broken. Anybody know where to get a replacement antenna? I didn't see anything encouraging on the Buffalo site.

Reply to
Peabody
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Usually the hinge section breaks & it will not stay in any position or just hangs by the internal coax. The antenna is still functional as its just a short piece of coax inside the plastic cover. Anything you can do to create a "splint" to hold it in the position you want would work. Just don't use metal as a splint.

If it is normally bent 90° at the hinge, maybe you can cut a couple pieces of plastic (clear pepsi/coke bottle) into a "L" shape (1/4-3/8" wide) & wrap/tie them in place (with string or ty-wrap), one splint on each side of the bend.

Now to answer your question: I believe you have a Buffalo p/n WLE-AT-NDRHB antenna.

Any short 2.4GHz antenna with a rp-sma connector would work.

I found this link but I dunno nothing about the seller:

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High Gain Omni-Directional Antenna

$20 or so but it is the cheapest I could find searching quickly.

enjoy :)

kc

Reply to
Kim Clay

It's fairly difficult to destroy one of those antennas. Here's a photo of the guts of a similar antenna:

As long as the guts are still together, and not ripped apart, the antenna should work. If the outer plastic or hinge are broken, just glue it back together. Otherwise, reinforce it with shrink tube, soda straw, or something that's RF transparent. If you're not sure if the tubing is RF transparent, put a piece in the microwave oven. If it melts, find something else.

I have a WHR-HP-G54 on my equipment shelf. The antenna is a 2dBi vertical colinear, with an RP-SMA (reverse polarized SMA) connector. There are plenty of those all over eBay and various shopping sites. Literally any 2.4GHz antenna with an RP-SMA connector should work.

Search eBay for "RF-SMA Wi-Fi Antenna". For example:

How's $2.69 including shipping from Hong Kong sound? (Hint: Buy several in anticipation of the next accident).

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Thanks to you and Kim for the replies.

The very bottom of the antenna has a brass-colored fitting that screws onto the router base. The plastic which normally houses that fitting has broken, and about a third of it is missing (can't find the piece). So now the fitting itself has fallen out.

It's hard to see how that fitting was electrically connected to the rest of the antenna (actually - to the rest of the swivel base), unless it was just pressed against it and held there by the molded plastic.

I suppose I could try to superglue or epoxy the fitting back in place, but I suspect neither would adhere to the plastic, and I don't know whether the electrical connection would be very dependable. But at this point I guess it wouldn't hurt to try.

As your comments suggested, when I just stack everything back in place and brace it so it doesn't fall down, it still works. But that would leave it it a pretty delicate condition.

Now that you guys have provided the technical specs, it should be easy to get a replacement that works if my repair attempts don't work.

Thanks again.

Reply to
Peabody

The connector is just pressed into the plastic of the antenna housing. The only electrical connection is where the connector is crimped to the coax. All the plastic parts are just to hold the little coax antenna in position.

I've got an antenna that broke where the rp-sma connector is pressed into the plastic & it is missing about 1/2 (or 180°) of its support. Now it's held in place with a small ty-wrap, to what is left of the plastic. As long as I don't drop it, its fine.

These antennas tend to break easily but at least it saves the connector on the AP :)

kc

Reply to
Kim Clay

- wrap it in electrical tape to stiffen it

- build up some hot glue or silicone or epoxy putty around it. Bubble gum would practically work!

You'll run into a spare RP-SMA omni pretty soon anyway. They outlast the devices and/or get replaced with higher gain antennas so they tend to accumulate.

One thing to note: Your particular router came with a 4 dbi, not the typical 2dbi. So you are better off fixing it or getting a similar one. If getting keeping extra 2db matters in your situation.

On the other hand, if you have marginal connections, you could get a small directional panel antenna for it instead.

Steve

Reply to
seaweedsl

On Jan 23, 1:42=A0am, seaweedsl wrote: =A0Your particular router came with a 4 dbi, not the

Oops. You actually never specified which router. But yea, the Buffalos I've seen, the WHR-HP-G54 and some of the WHR-G54S came with

4 dbi it seems.
Reply to
seaweedsl

Tons of RP-SMA on ebay

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Reply to
GMAN

Hyperlinktech.com aka lcom.com has a number of reasonably priced choices. I have a number of their antennas.

Reply to
JShepherd

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