- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Location
- I can see walmart, 44906
Many people have many situations in which the range of their 802.11 network just doesnt cut it for them. Sometimes the solution is as simple as moving their computers or access point, and other times some more work is required. There are a number of basic steps that can be taken, from adding a parabolic reflector to an existing antenna to add directionality to it and raise it's gain a little, to mounting a radio and antenna outside, like my employer does for customer installs.
When choosing the hardware you want to use for your specific application, you should look at all of the options and decide what will yield the best results for you.
Freeantennas.com parabolic reflector:
The main advantages of this method is it's cost, ususally free with supplies around the house, and its results are decent. To build the antenna, one simply goes to http://www.freeantennas.com/ and click the link for the Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector Template. The instructions on the site are pretty straightforward. I didnt bother with printing on cardstock, Paper has worked fine for me, just isnt as strong. After saving and printing the template, i find an Xacto knife works well for cutting it out and cutting the slits. Then line the reflector piece with foil. The site says to glue, but I have always just used scotch tape without a problem. I have found that if you keep the tabs on the bracket piece longer, you can bend them down and tape them in place once the antenna is assembled. Then the reflector is slid over the antenna, and suddenly the antenna has some directional characteristics, as well as a higher gain. You then aim the reflector towards your AP or client, and your signal and range will be slightly increased.
The "Cantenna" AKA Waveguide atennas:
Waveguides are quite popular on the DIY antenna scene. They are also inexpensive to make, usually only consisting of a tin can or 2, a small length of solid copper wire, and an RF connector, commonly the N Female panel mount connector. There are many guides to build waveguide antennas on the net. A little time spent googling should yeild many results. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=DIY+waveguide&btnG=Google+Search Cantennas are usually connected to the wireless card with a commercially bought pigtail, which is a small piece of coax with connectors on each end, made specifically for the application. http://www.hyperlinktech.com and http://www.wisp-router.com are a couple of vendors we (my employer) use to buy pigtails from.
Commercially bought antennas:
I personally prefer commercial antennas. They offer a definate gain, nice mounting options, and look nice. There are many options, I like to use 19 db gain grids and panel antennas with radio compartments. Depending on the antenna, they usually have N connectors (can get both male or female) or sometimes a smaller connector. The biggest downside I see with commercial antennas is cost. Most of the previously mentioned antenna types are very cheap, while commercial ones can get pretty pricey. Also, if you're in it for the learning experience, buying one might not be your best choice either.
Radio Selection:
The radio (wireless adapter) you choose is very important. When going for range, you definately want an external antenna connector. Orinoco classic cards are pretty popular. I havnt come across any usb adapters that have a pigtail connector stock, the best I've come across USB wise is an orinoco card in a USB adapter, which i havnt found a reliable source of them. An excellent ethernet to wireless bridge that I'll admit I'm a fanboy of, is the Senao CB3+ Deluxe. The bridge features a 200mw Senao NL2511CD plus EXT2 card that I love (theres one in my laptop right now) which has 2 pigtail connectors, a good recieve sensitivity, and native Power Over Ethernet (POE) support. These are great for those ultra long links, because you can mount it inside a sealed box outside beside the antenna, and run a single weather-rated cat5 cable into the house to the computer or other networking equipment. the power to the radio is put onto the 2 unused pairs in the cat5 cable, using the 802.3 AF standard. Then a short crossover cable connects the power injector to the computer's network adapter, and the computer can now connect to a wireless network. If both locations have a similar setup with a 19 DB panel antenna and a CB3 in each, a link of 20 miles + with line of sight should be a walk in the park. Another bridge that we have had decent luck with is the Linksys WET-11, which dont seem to be made any more, and we havnt tried the WET-54 yet.
I try to stay away from long coax runs, as there is too much signal loss on the coax, and any decent coax is huge and hard to work with and run. We find it easier to just locate the radio by the antenna and run cat5.
When you first try to incrase your range, i reccomend trying the freeantennas approach first, if possible. Since it's free, if the effort is futile you wont be out anything except time, and if it does help your situation, any of the other antennas will make even more of an improvement.
I am hoping to start getting some pictures to go along with this guide for visual aides, so i will start getting them while at work whenever i can. If you see any errors, please point them out, or any additions to what I have here. I just thought this would be a decent start for anyone interested in their options of boosting the range of their network. Look for new goodies to be added to this in the near future.
When choosing the hardware you want to use for your specific application, you should look at all of the options and decide what will yield the best results for you.
Freeantennas.com parabolic reflector:
The main advantages of this method is it's cost, ususally free with supplies around the house, and its results are decent. To build the antenna, one simply goes to http://www.freeantennas.com/ and click the link for the Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector Template. The instructions on the site are pretty straightforward. I didnt bother with printing on cardstock, Paper has worked fine for me, just isnt as strong. After saving and printing the template, i find an Xacto knife works well for cutting it out and cutting the slits. Then line the reflector piece with foil. The site says to glue, but I have always just used scotch tape without a problem. I have found that if you keep the tabs on the bracket piece longer, you can bend them down and tape them in place once the antenna is assembled. Then the reflector is slid over the antenna, and suddenly the antenna has some directional characteristics, as well as a higher gain. You then aim the reflector towards your AP or client, and your signal and range will be slightly increased.
The "Cantenna" AKA Waveguide atennas:
Waveguides are quite popular on the DIY antenna scene. They are also inexpensive to make, usually only consisting of a tin can or 2, a small length of solid copper wire, and an RF connector, commonly the N Female panel mount connector. There are many guides to build waveguide antennas on the net. A little time spent googling should yeild many results. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=DIY+waveguide&btnG=Google+Search Cantennas are usually connected to the wireless card with a commercially bought pigtail, which is a small piece of coax with connectors on each end, made specifically for the application. http://www.hyperlinktech.com and http://www.wisp-router.com are a couple of vendors we (my employer) use to buy pigtails from.
Commercially bought antennas:
I personally prefer commercial antennas. They offer a definate gain, nice mounting options, and look nice. There are many options, I like to use 19 db gain grids and panel antennas with radio compartments. Depending on the antenna, they usually have N connectors (can get both male or female) or sometimes a smaller connector. The biggest downside I see with commercial antennas is cost. Most of the previously mentioned antenna types are very cheap, while commercial ones can get pretty pricey. Also, if you're in it for the learning experience, buying one might not be your best choice either.
Radio Selection:
The radio (wireless adapter) you choose is very important. When going for range, you definately want an external antenna connector. Orinoco classic cards are pretty popular. I havnt come across any usb adapters that have a pigtail connector stock, the best I've come across USB wise is an orinoco card in a USB adapter, which i havnt found a reliable source of them. An excellent ethernet to wireless bridge that I'll admit I'm a fanboy of, is the Senao CB3+ Deluxe. The bridge features a 200mw Senao NL2511CD plus EXT2 card that I love (theres one in my laptop right now) which has 2 pigtail connectors, a good recieve sensitivity, and native Power Over Ethernet (POE) support. These are great for those ultra long links, because you can mount it inside a sealed box outside beside the antenna, and run a single weather-rated cat5 cable into the house to the computer or other networking equipment. the power to the radio is put onto the 2 unused pairs in the cat5 cable, using the 802.3 AF standard. Then a short crossover cable connects the power injector to the computer's network adapter, and the computer can now connect to a wireless network. If both locations have a similar setup with a 19 DB panel antenna and a CB3 in each, a link of 20 miles + with line of sight should be a walk in the park. Another bridge that we have had decent luck with is the Linksys WET-11, which dont seem to be made any more, and we havnt tried the WET-54 yet.
I try to stay away from long coax runs, as there is too much signal loss on the coax, and any decent coax is huge and hard to work with and run. We find it easier to just locate the radio by the antenna and run cat5.
When you first try to incrase your range, i reccomend trying the freeantennas approach first, if possible. Since it's free, if the effort is futile you wont be out anything except time, and if it does help your situation, any of the other antennas will make even more of an improvement.
I am hoping to start getting some pictures to go along with this guide for visual aides, so i will start getting them while at work whenever i can. If you see any errors, please point them out, or any additions to what I have here. I just thought this would be a decent start for anyone interested in their options of boosting the range of their network. Look for new goodies to be added to this in the near future.
