flybuy
join:2008-02-13
Coquitlam, BC
|  [Help Me] ANT24-700 antenna wire extension
I have a ANT24-700 antenna attached to a WDA-1320 wireless adapter. The best signal strength is 'low' (1 or 2 bars). I'd like to increase the strength with minimal upgrading.
Would a cable extension achieve this?
The antenna comes with 1.5m of wire. By relocating the antenna about 9ft away I can increase the signal strength to 'good'. I've looked at the ANT24-CB03N cable extension but it appears to be a thicker 'outdoor' grade compared to the wire the antenna comes with. I would need to run the wire under carpet and laminate flooring.
Is the ANT24-CB03N cable the only option or is there another wire/cable extension I should pursue?
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radojevic
join:2000-12-14
Salinas, CA
| I don't have an exact answer for you, but a word of caution.
The longer the antenna cable, the lower your antenna signal strength will be.
I have the same D-Link ANT24-700 7dBi Antenna, and did some research on how much the cable it comes with can lower the signal. From what I recall, the cable lowers the signal around 3dBi for every 1.5 meters.
So, my 7dBi antenna is only providing around 4dBi signal strength when going thru that cable. It's still an improvement over my original antenna signal strength, and that I can position the antenna in a better location.
Remember, every 3dBi higher, doubles signal strength. Every 3dBi lower, cuts signal strength in half.
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flybuy
join:2008-02-13
Coquitlam, BC
| Thanks Radojevic for your experience and input. It appears my idea has some merit.
Alternatively, there is the more costly route to go by upgrading from the 'g' router & adapter to the 'n' series, but I'd like to see if the antenna extension works. As you can see I'm considering a 3m extension.
Can you elaborate on the specifics of what improvements you made and how much it improved your signal or did you just upgrade the antenna without getting a cable extension?
Thanks |
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HolmanGT
Premium
join:2001-11-20
Saint George, UT
 ·Baja Broadband
| As radojevic said
"The longer the antenna cable, the lower your antenna signal strength will be".
And this can be a pretty substantial lose. I know that you can buy extension cables but most of the time the vendor will never mention the lose the cable will cause. But you can Google the cable type and find the lose per foot at 2.4 gHz or whatever Frequency you are running at.
If possible the best method is to move the router to the hot spot. No lose in the Ethernet cable up to 300 feet. |
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dr_jgd
join:2007-11-12
taiwan
| reply to flybuy
Antenna gain is only real when the signal arrives within the major lobe - what you find with a high gain antenna is that it basically steals gain from some angles to give it at typically perpendicular to the antenna mount.
If you had a lousy signal before then don't expect improvements with 802.11n
Suggest you try and decrease the loss between the router and the PC. After testing with my laptop, I have a pretty good understanding of where the interference is in our home and also what areas create the greatest loss.
Look before you leap. If it is bad at 802.11g, it will likely get worse when you try to get 802.11n working - it all uses the same bandwidth. |
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radojevic
join:2000-12-14
Salinas, CA
| reply to flybuy
said by flybuy  :Can you elaborate on the specifics of what improvements you made and how much it improved your signal or did you just upgrade the antenna without getting a cable extension? We have two ANT24-0700 antennas...
One connected to a Linksys WRT54GS v4.0 (DD-WRT v24 RC6.1).
One connected to a D-Link DWL-G510.
Both antennas are connected via 1.5 meter cables. I would rather not lose the 3dB signal strength, but the flexibility of being able to move the antennas to the best physical location outweighs the signal loss for us.
In our situation, our overall signal strength doubled for all of our computers.
At one end of the house, the router is in the living room, with the antenna sitting on top of a tall bookcase.
My son's and daughter's computers are near the middle of the house, and their wireless signals need to pass thru at least 2 interior walls to reach the router.
My son's desktop computer used to have frequent disconnects and very slow speeds. Replacing his D-Link DWL-G510 antenna with the ANT24-0700, made the largest improvement for him. Not only does the new antenna increase the signal strength, even with the cable extension... the biggest improvement was being able to move the antenna the to best physical location in his room.
After a few minutes of testing, we found a sweet spot on his wall, marked it with a pencil, mounted the antenna to the wall, and now his wireless connection is fantastic.
Replacing one of the router's antennas made the next big improvement for the rest of the computers in the house.
It's so good now... my wife's PowerBook G3 (Pismo) with an original AirPort 802.11b card can access the router from more than 75 feet, thru 1 interior wall, and 2 exterior walls.
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flybuy
join:2008-02-13
Coquitlam, BC
1 edit | All really good replies and I've learned something from each of you.
Your common element was changing location of either the router or antenna, and it was simple. As the router was not 'moveable' I concentrated on the PC's antenna to try an decrease the loss. I was in a (almost) dead spot! By relocating the antenna to different positions, I was able to increase the signal to 'very good' or 4 bars, moving it into a hot spot!
No reason now to consider 'n' or an extension cable. You just saved me $50 and further aggravation!
Thanks for all your help!
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