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mark42
join:2006-02-07
Blairstown, NJ

mark42

Member

Router Antenna Kits.... Do they work?

I recently purchased a Linksys EA2700 dual band router. It has the little stamped steel antennas inside, 2 for each band I believe.

Saw an external antenna kit on Amazon for about $20 that is supposed to improve the performance of the wireless. Although the info does not explicitly state that the antennas are only for the 2.4 Ghz band, the photos look that way.

Has anyone added one of these external antenna kits and got better connection speeds?

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

Hagar

Member

I have not used an antenna kit but I built a reflector for my external antennas for my WRT54G.

I found the template at »www.freeantennas.com/ and a Pringles can for material. Gave me an 8 db improvement in the kids bedroom, made a big difference in stability and speed.

I now switched router to a model without external antenna and the kids bedroom is having problems again.

I say if you like your router and it is working well except range. You can try a kit and if the kit did not help add a reflector.
jimbopalmer
Tsar of all the Rushers
join:2008-06-02
Greenwood, MS

jimbopalmer to mark42

Member

to mark42
In an omnidirectional antenna higher gain usually is the result of more horizontal signal. If you have a multi level house, you may not want more gain.

mark42
join:2006-02-07
Blairstown, NJ

mark42

Member

Redholm, those antennas look easy to make. But I would have to add the antenna kit to my router first. Thanks for the link!

Jimbo, yes, I have a two story colonial, and the router is on the second floor in the rear bedroom at the far left end of the house. Reception in the family room (on the first floor at the far right end of the house) is hit or miss. The router can handle up to 300 Mbps wireless, but the best I can get is about 170 Mbps in the family room. Even right next to the router it never breaks 190 Mbps.

Before messing with antennas, I do have to play with orientation of the router itself. I have it wall mounted, but the router has no wall mounts. This makes me think it may have a very strong vertical signal, but poor horizontal signal in that position.

Will have to play around with its position and see how that affects signal quality and speed.
mark42

mark42

Member

Update: Took the router off the wall and set it flat on a stand next to the wall mounted location. Back downstairs the connection speed jumped to 300Mbps. So I'm assuming that these routers perform better when sitting horizontal than vertical.

Will make a "shelf mount" that supports the router flat in the same location. Basically, just have to make a small shelf, about 8x8". Should not be a problem.

Also checked video playback via the Wi Fi. A 1080p MOV file played smooth a 300Mbps connection. It would play using the old router with a 54Mbps WI FI, but dropped lots of frames and was very jerky. The 300 WI Fi router works much better

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

Hagar

Member

Thanks for the update, I have to investigate if I should change orientation.