In this article I will talk about adding an external Wi-Fi antenna connector to laptops and Tablet PCs.
Typically, high gain antennas are used to increase the coverage of access points, but I will show what effect they have on the transmitter side.
Express testing of directional and omnidirectional antennas as a bonus.
The idea for this mod appeared almost immediately, as soon as the first serious laptop, the Fujitsu s6010, fell into my hands back in 2004. The device did not have Wi-Fi, and this shortcoming was corrected. Like many others, this laptop has a mini-PCI slot that was occupied by the analog modem card. I parted with the modem without any regrets, replacing it with a Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g card from Intel.
Fortunately, this laptop had an integrated antenna for 802.11. This implementation of a wireless network certainly turned out to be neater than the stuff sticking out of the PCMCA or USB.
However, if you look at the photo of the board, you will see that there are two mini-coaxial connectors.
Modern laptops of the appropriate level have two antennas integrated. The hardware-software combination of the Wi-Fi controller automatically selects the antenna with the highest signal level. In my “pioneer” of wireless networks, there was only one antenna, so an unused connector beckoned to my playful hands like a donkey’s carrot. I was eager to make a connector for a discrete Wi-Fi antenna on the Fujik. I didn’t have to think long about the location for the connector. I have an unused RJ-11 from a modem, which sat in a box with unnecessary hardware for a long time. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for my good friend, his D-Link router DI-824VUP+ whose antenna connector was equipped with a suitable mini-coaxial cable burned out. Manual work comes down to mechanically securing the connector to the housing and connecting the cable to the controller. Voila! We got an external antenna on the laptop. Things of a long time ago.
Now I have in my hands the iconic Samsung Q1 Ultra tablet, which has undergone the same modification.
The process was not much different. The wireless network is implemented by a miniature module, which also has two connectors, of which only one is used. Another burnt router (Glory to D-Link - the best supplier of Wi-Fi connectors for those in need!) and a file in hand is the key to a successful tablet upgrade. On the case there is just a suitable technological connector with a plug, which was probably planned for some kind of antenna (cellular network or digital television - known only to Samsung engineers). The connector and hole had to be worked on a little with a file, and as a result we have this:
A standard router antenna significantly improves signal quality. But which of us will stop there? The good thing about the external connector is that you can connect different antennas. The variety of antennas is so great that you can devote not only a whole series of articles to them, but also a significant period of your life. However, general points are worth highlighting. Antennas are divided into internal ones - those that are attached directly to access points or Wi-Fi controllers (don’t be fooled by the fact that they are called “internal”, meaning that they are installed indoors) - and external ones, which installed outdoors, on the roof or wall of a room. We are interested in the first group. After all, for a Wi-Fi spy, along with the sensitivity of the Wi-Fi receiver, mobility is important. This group includes directional and omnidirectional antennas. It is easy to guess that the former provide greater range in a certain direction, while the latter cover all directions well. It is good to use an omnidirectional antenna to detect all grids in the surrounding area, and a directional antenna to ensure a good signal from a specific access point. The antenna is characterized by a gain in units of dBi: the higher the better (I won’t mention the radiation pattern, otherwise I’m afraid that an overdose of information may occur for one time). However, enough theory. After rummaging around the Internet and then in stores, I became the owner of two antennas: a directional D-Link DWL-R60AT and an omnidirectional one from Planet with the simple name 5dbi.
In the photo from left to right: remote mount, Planet antennas, D-Link, “regular Wi-Fi antenna”
I did not get exorbitant gain factors - only 6 and 5 dBi, respectively. But I got both antennas for a very reasonable amount: about 800 rubles. The Planet antenna comes with a nice bonus in the form of a remote mount with a cable. With it, you can install the antenna in a convenient place, for example on the roof of a car, since the mount is equipped with a magnet. Check out the device with this antenna:
Looks serious.
I conduct an express test in the kitchen, behind two concrete walls from my access point. I use standard Windows tools and take measurements using sticks. Without an antenna - three sticks, with an antenna from a burnt router - four, and with new antennas - five sticks each. Well, it's clear that the money was well spent. It's time to take a walk and do tests in the fresh air. Let's see how far our antennas will allow us to move away from the access point.
To ensure that the tests are as close to reality as possible: my own well-deserved DI-824VUP+, which has been serving faithfully for more than 4 years and has largely rehabilitated D-Link, worked with its standard antenna in my apartment on the 9th floor.
Standing outside my windows (1) without an external antenna, I was able to connect to my wireless network. The free option from the burned out router gave me this opportunity, and having connected, I successfully pinged the router, but there was no way to move further. The omnidirectional antenna allowed me to move a little further away. (2) With the D-Link directional antenna, I moved as far as the terrain in front of the house would allow me (3), but the sufficiently high signal strength forced me to continue my research.
I went up to the 14th floor of the building opposite (4) and, to my surprise, was able to connect to my network and ping the router. It was clear from the signal level that this is the maximum distance that can be achieved with this equipment, but even this, in accordance with maps.yandex.ru, is an impressive 300-plus meters.
Finally, I will revive the interest of those who absolutely do not want to get into their beloved laptop or tablet with screwdrivers and files, or, to their chagrin, did not find an empty mini-coaxial connector in them. I present to your attention a poppy Wi-Fi USB dongle D-Link DWL-G122. Having removed the case, we see that even here the connector we need is hidden (!). True, it is a little different from those we dealt with earlier.
At the moment, the only thing that separates me from modifying it is the absence of another burnt-out Wi-Fi router.
Up. Already separated only by the road to the comrade, which very conveniently found a burnt D-Link.
In this option, of course, it’s good that you don’t have to tinker with an expensive laptop.
In conclusion, I would like to express the hope that owning such an upgraded device will not force the owner to indiscriminately break all wireless networks that come to hand. Good Wi-Fi reception is also useful in peaceful life. Those extra hundred or two meters that are not enough to reach a public access point can provide Internet in a place dear to your heart.
A router is a network device designed to distribute the Internet to several computers or laptops connected to it by cable or via a wireless Wi-Fi connection
Before using the router, you need to install it correctly
You can find prices for setting up network equipment in the "" section.
You can get additional instructions and solutions to problems associated with poor working Internet in the section
This port, depending on the router model, is used to connect:
Storage medium (flash drive or NAS)
3G/4G modem for Internet distribution
Printer
Details about ports and setting up routers for the largest providers in Moscow and the Moscow region are described in our materials
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Please note that the router can only have one of two types of ports for the ISP cable - WAN(Ethernet cable with connector) or DSL(telephone cable with connector). A router with a DSL connector is suitable for use only with a provider that provides Internet via. Routers with a connector are suitable for providers who offer Internet services over a dedicated line (Ethernet)
Don't confuse it with a telephone cable
The RJ-45 connector is 2 millimeters wider in width than the RJ-12
One of the main criteria when choosing a router is the type of cable that carries the Internet to your apartment or office. It is this cable that needs to be connected to the WAN/Internet (or DSL) port of the router. There are two most common types of wired Internet connections: via a two-wire telephone cable and via a leased line (twisted pair cable category 5e or 6)
On a computer or laptop with the Windows operating system, press Win+R, in the "Open" field, enter the command " ping 8.8.8.8 -t" without quotes (this is the Google DNS server address), then click OK. If you have an Internet connection, you will see lines with in the console window. Readings are measured and displayed every second
If there is no Internet connection yet, you can ping the router itself with the command " ping 192.168.1.1 -t". Your router's address can be downloaded to the other two octets: 192.168. 0.1 ... 192.168.10.1 ... 192.168.100.1 ... 192.168.1.254
You can find out the router address in the network card settings - this is described in
As you move away from the Wi-Fi signal source or when the interference pattern between the laptop and router changes, the ping will change
If you are far away from the router, the PING console command will display lines with errors “Interval exceeded...”, “Transmission failed,” “General Failure” and others.
Wireless technologies are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. Until recently, the optimal way to connect a personal computer to a local network and the Internet was considered to be a twisted pair connection, which provides a speed of 100 Mbit/s (and even higher) and excellent stability. However, progress does not stand still and there are already quite a lot of wireless devices on the market that can provide fairly fast and reliable communication.
If you already have a wireless router installed at home or in your office (also known as a router) that allows you to organize a wireless network, then to connect a personal computer or smart TV to it you will need a wi-fi adapter. This will be a good alternative to a wired connection, which requires labor-intensive cabling.
There are hundreds of models of wi-fi adapters on the market. How to choose the right model?
First of all, you need to determine the supported wireless communication standards. Modern devices can support the following standards (in order from slow to fast): 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac.
The 802.11n and 802.11ac standards are the most modern and fastest. At the same time, the 802.11n standard was adopted in 2009 and at the moment most wireless devices support it. The 802.11ac standard was adopted in 2014. Fewer devices are produced that support this standard and, as a rule, they are more expensive. The remaining standards are considered obsolete, but all modern devices also support them to ensure compatibility.
Below is a summary table reflecting the main differences between the different standards.
The speed of the wireless connection depends on the supported standard, as well as the number of transmitting and receiving antennas. In the 802.11n standard, the maximum data transfer rate per antenna is 150 Mbit/s, in the 802.11ac standard – 433 Mbit/s.
It should be noted that the theoretical data transfer rate in all standards differs significantly from the real one. Firstly, wi-fi devices spend half their time transmitting data and the other half receiving. Therefore, the theoretical speed must be immediately divided by 2 (which is reflected in the table). Secondly, along with useful information, quite a lot of service traffic is transmitted, including that necessary to ensure noise immunity.
That is why, even under ideal conditions, the data transfer speed from one device to another will be 2-3 times lower than the theoretical one (the one indicated on the box), depending on the class of the device. Budget models, as a rule, show noticeably more modest results than top-end adapters. If there is interference in the form of walls or household appliances, the speed may drop several times more.
Wireless devices can currently operate in two frequency bands - 2.4 and 5 GHz.
Wireless communication standards 802.11n and 802.11ac provide the ability to use multiple antennas (MIMO, from the English Multiple Input Multiple Output), which increases the connection speed by a multiple. The 802.11n standard allows the use of up to 4 antennas, 802.11ac - up to eight.
To achieve maximum speeds and a stable connection, it is advisable to choose wireless equipment with multiple antennas. As a rule, adapters and routers with multiple antennas are more expensive.
Manufacturers of wi-fi adapters, as a rule, release drivers for their devices for most operating systems. However, older versions of operating systems (such as Windows XP) may not be supported. There may also be problems with device support on new operating systems.
Therefore, when choosing an adapter, you must definitely pay attention to the list of supported operating systems.
If you purchase an adapter to connect to a TV network, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the list of supported adapters on the manufacturer’s website (if available).
Conditional price ranges for wi-fi adapters (please note that the pricing policies of manufacturers may vary greatly):
adapters costing up to 1200 rubles. As a rule, these are inexpensive 802.11n adapters that have either an internal antenna or 1-2 external antennas. Claimed data transfer rates range from 150 to 300 Mbit/s. Provide acceptable communication quality at an affordable price.
Connection to access points and integrated routers of external antennas is provided by high-frequency WIFI connectors. Traditionally, such RF connectors are RTP-TNC, RP-SMA, N-type. Any RF connector for a WIFI antenna has 2 elements in its design - traditionally they are called a plug and a socket. In simple colloquial speech, specialists often use dad and mom, or male female in English terminology.
Miniature 50 Ohm RF connector designed as a minimal RF connector for connecting coaxial cable. The connector provides up to 500 connection/disconnection cycles and is not intended for outdoor use.
