How to increase range on D-Link WGL-4300?

Hello,

I am running a D-Link DGL-4300 (D-Link GamerLounge - DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router) with the following 4dBi antenna (2.4GHz Omni-Directional 4dBi Indoor Antenna by D-Link), and I am looking to increase the range.

The location of the router and antenna is limited to room in a part of my house where the LOS is out of one doorway and into a wall. Directly outside that room the signal averages around 50%, but in the other rooms and outside of the house it begins to degrade significantly.

I also have a garage apt. where I'd like to pick up the signal as well.

Does anyone have any recommendations for increasing the range on this router/antenna configuration?

Thanks,
John

19 db omni at ebay, $75

12 db omni - which looks suspiciously like the 9 db omnis everyone else is selling - $9 + $6 shipping, on eBay

Plan A where radio is concerned, get the best antenna possible, then try other things.

Your antennas are up high, clear of any interfering items., with a metal surface beneath them. You did cover the basics, right?

Thank you Mark.

I have the antenna mounted as high on the closest wall as the cable will allow.

However, I do not have a metal surface behind it - only sheet rock.

There is nothing directly interfering with the antenna, but there are some bookshelves on the wall opposite to it going into the rest of the house.

So, a 19db omni should make a big difference?

Any other pointers? settings tweaks?

Thanks!!
John

Let me clarify:

The sheet of metal is a ground plane. It needs to be flat, level, and 2 and a half inches diameter or larger. In simple terms, it's the other half of your antenna. This is assuming that your dipole is vertical.

Do not place the antenna up near a tin roof. Do not place the antenna alongside metal. That causes reflections back into the transmitter, which is a bad thing.

19 dbi is 15 dbi more than 4 dbi. 15 dbi is 28 times the power.

These things are best avoided if you are not a serious scholar of radio, networks, et cetera. Easy to make it so much better it never works again.

Mark, I really appreciate all of the help.

Here's a picture of how my antenna is currently mounted in my converted garage office (a picture seems more effective than words):



I use to have it down lower on my desk below, but there were too many objects near by.

The range I am trying to improve is in the house and diagonal and opposite the wall you see in the picture.

Do you have any specific antenna recommendations? I searched EBay and didn't see much.

John

Have you noticed that:

Chinese 2HP motors are the size of American 3/4 HP motors, but not as powerful?

Chinese size 11 shoes hurt on American size 10 1/2 feet?

Chinese XXL shirts fit way too tight on an XXL guy?

Regrettably, Chinese decibels seem to be larger than American and European decibels. Maybe Taiwanese decibels are OK, but I doubt that mainland decibels are kosher.

Reason I say this; there are omni antennas on eBay that claim to have 22 dBi gain, when no one else can get more than 18 out of an omni. Either different laws of physics apply, or they use incompatible decibels. Maybe metric?

These are honest people; technically and business-dealings wise:

2.4 GHz 15 dBi Omnidirectional Antenna

Note that this monsrosity is only 3 db hotter than this 12 dBi omni:

12dbi Omni Directional High Gain Wifi Network Antenna - eBay (item 300217491442 end time Apr-25-08 14:21:31 PDT)

Which bears a remarkable resemblance to this 9 dBi omni:

9 dBi Antenna WiFi Wireless LAN Omni Directional 802.11 - eBay (item 370043891217 end time Apr-25-08 08:52:29 PDT)

I would go with the Hyperlinktech. You would need a pigtail to connect to the AP:

195 Series Radio Pigtails

Thanks again Mark.

So you're basically saying that we get what we pay for with these antennas?

In your opinion is the 15 dBi from Hyperlink that you linked to worth the extra $60 over the 12 dBi from Hyperlink?

Is there any downside to going with the 15 over the 12 except for cost?

John

The 15 dbi antenna is vast, about 5 feet tall. Would not look out of place in my place, might look strange in yours.

What I'm saying is more is better. More antenna works both ways, receive and transmit. More power only works one way.

What I'm saying is use the most antenna that works, within reason, on the AP, then put better antennas on the clients as necessary.