Cheap booster antennas?

I'm using a Netgear WG311 PCI card in my desktop machine. The access
point (an Apple Airport) is one floor up and about 10 feet over. I get
absolutely awful connections - even at 1Mbps it's constantly dropping
and re-establishing. I don't think there's anything beyond wood and
drywall in between my box and the access point. There may be some pipes
in the walls but there's nothing like sheet metal or concrete... it's
a pretty cheap house :)

Would any of the products on this page

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...na&Order=price

In the, say, $20-$30 price range, be useful? Any other suggestions?

thanks,
-rs-

Ralph Snart wrote:
> I'm using a Netgear WG311 PCI card in my desktop machine. The access
> point (an Apple Airport) is one floor up and about 10 feet over. I get
> absolutely awful connections - even at 1Mbps it's constantly dropping
> and re-establishing. I don't think there's anything beyond wood and
> drywall in between my box and the access point. There may be some pipes
> in the walls but there's nothing like sheet metal or concrete... it's
> a pretty cheap house :)
>
> Would any of the products on this page
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...na&Order=price
>
> In the, say, $20-$30 price range, be useful? Any other suggestions?
>
> thanks,
> -rs-
How about a USB client that you can position better? Hawking makes a
nice USB client with directional antenna but I think it runs about $70.

Look to see if your card has a connector for an external antenna. Some
do (but apparently most do not).

Bob

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 00:16:43 GMT, snart@nospam.com (Ralph Snart)
wrote:

>I'm using a Netgear WG311 PCI card in my desktop machine.

Let me guess. That computer is under the desk, with a tangle of
cables, shoved up against the wall, in the WG311 antenna is in the
middle? Do you think any antenna would work in such a location?

>The access
>point (an Apple Airport) is one floor up and about 10 feet over.

Try sticking the WG311 antenna straight out from the back of the
computah. That sends more RF in the up/down direction.

>I get
>absolutely awful connections - even at 1Mbps it's constantly dropping
>and re-establishing. I don't think there's anything beyond wood and
>drywall in between my box and the access point. There may be some pipes
>in the walls but there's nothing like sheet metal or concrete... it's
>a pretty cheap house :)

Lath and plaster? The wire grid in the wall plus the wet plaster is a
great RF shield.

>Would any of the products on this page
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...na&Order=price
>In the, say, $20-$30 price range, be useful? Any other suggestions?

Yes. Any of the 8dBi panel/patch antennas will work just fine.
Actually, some of the omni antennas with coax cables will also work,
but the panel/patch type will work better. The major improvement will
be from moving the antenna out from behind the computer and into the
open.

This one looks like the best and cheapest $18 deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833327117
I haven't tried it, but I'm guessing it's a full wave loop and
reflector inside. 7dBi gain should be sufficient. It's not as fancy
looking as the desktop patch/panel antennas, but good enough.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# http://802.11junk.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 00:42:39 GMT, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
>>I'm using a Netgear WG311 PCI card in my desktop machine.
>
>Let me guess. That computer is under the desk, with a tangle of
>cables, shoved up against the wall, in the WG311 antenna is in the
>middle? Do you think any antenna would work in such a location?

um... yes?

(ok, i see your point. but i was hoping...)

>Lath and plaster? The wire grid in the wall plus the wet plaster is a
>great RF shield.

pretty sure no wire grids. just sheetrock.

>Yes. Any of the 8dBi panel/patch antennas will work just fine.
>Actually, some of the omni antennas with coax cables will also work,
>but the panel/patch type will work better. The major improvement will
>be from moving the antenna out from behind the computer and into the
>open.

i'll give it a shot, thanks.

last night in a fit of boredom i tried switching channels on the access
point. that actually made it work much better straight off. connection
went up to 36Mb/s and stayed there. no disconnects.

-rs-

"Ralph Snart" <

| >Lath and plaster? The wire grid in the wall plus the wet plaster is a
| >great RF shield.
|
| pretty sure no wire grids. just sheetrock.

Quick comment on this. I've run into some installations where the sheet
rock had metal film on one side. In one case the metal layer was under the
paper covering.

Ralph Snart <snart@nospam.com> wrote:
> I'm using a Netgear WG311 PCI card in my desktop machine. The access
> point (an Apple Airport) is one floor up and about 10 feet over. I get
> absolutely awful connections - even at 1Mbps it's constantly dropping
> and re-establishing.

The "Hawking HAI6SDA Directional 6dBi 2.4GHz Antenna"
http://www.hawkingtech.com/prodSpec.php?ProdID=143

The system where I installed the Hawking antenna has a Netgear WG311, which
has a tiny antenna. The Hawking improved the signal, according to the
simple WinXP graphic, from one bar to three or four. BitTorrent downloads
now completely swamp the DSL, where it used to still work slowly for other
users before ;-)

The PC is downstairs and 20 feet away from the Linksys BEFW11S4 router,
which is dressed with a pair of corner reflectors. There are two PCs down
there, on opposite walls. The one closest to the WAP also has its back to
the WAP, and seems to get decent signal. The one that didn't work well is
facing toward the WAP, so the standard antenna is fully blocked.

The EZ-10 corner reflectors made the original WG311 antenna at least
usable. I'm going to replace them with the EZ-12 windsurfer because the
corner reflectors are too heavy, and I have some trouble keeping the
antennas oriented. http://www.freeantennas.com

---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 14:09:04 GMT, snart@nospam.com (Ralph Snart)
wrote:

>On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 00:42:39 GMT, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:
>>>I'm using a Netgear WG311 PCI card in my desktop machine.
>>
>>Let me guess. That computer is under the desk, with a tangle of
>>cables, shoved up against the wall, in the WG311 antenna is in the
>>middle? Do you think any antenna would work in such a location?

>um... yes?
>(ok, i see your point. but i was hoping...)

Well, I was trying to be subtle, but that never works well. The
location of the antenna is critical for getting decent range and
performance. Ideally, you want to have at least a wavelength (about
12.5cm) radius clearance around the antenna to insure that nothing
gets in the way. Well, that will never happen with the typical PCI
card wireless contraption. The wires are always tangled with the
antenna. In addition, the metal case makes a great reflector and
shield sending the signal off to who knows where. The location near
the floor is about the worst location possible as wireless wants to
live high up to clear all the furniture and people. Shoving the
antenna up against the wall probably detunes it somewhat and adds
another RF absorbing obstruction.

>>Lath and plaster? The wire grid in the wall plus the wet plaster is a
>>great RF shield.
>
>pretty sure no wire grids. just sheetrock.

Any insulation in the walls? Perhaps aluminium foil backed
insulation? That makes a great RF shield. Nothing goes through that
stuff.

>last night in a fit of boredom i tried switching channels on the access
>point. that actually made it work much better straight off. connection
>went up to 36Mb/s and stayed there. no disconnects.

Well, that sounds like interference which may have been the problem
all along. Hard to tell from here.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tue, 2 Aug 2005 11:35:13 -0400, "NotMe" <me@privacy.net> wrote:

>Quick comment on this. I've run into some installations where the sheet
>rock had metal film on one side. In one case the metal layer was under the
>paper covering.

Yep. It's becoming more common. Adds a vapor barrier and some
additional insulation value:
http://www.ca.bpb-na.com/english/pdf...oil_backed.pdf


--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# http://802.11junk.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS