Routers - antenna or not

[Donald]

Many companies sell routers, some having an external antenna you can see and some having no antenna that you can see. It would seem obvious that one would be better than the other. Lets say we compare two 802.11G routers from Linksys, one with antennas you can see and one without.

 

[Quest]

IMHO those that came with externally-connected antenna (assuming that the antenna whip can be unscrewed) you can connect a better external antenna to get better performance (I use Hawking Tech external antennas).

for those came with built-in antenna (meaning that there's no external antenna whip visible), your options are pretty much limited.

Q.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Quest
IMHO those that came with externally-connected antenna (assuming that the antenna whip can be unscrewed) you can connect a better external antenna to get better performance (I use Hawking Tech external antennas).

for those came with built-in antenna (meaning that there's no external antenna whip visible), your options are pretty much limited.

Q.

Agreed.

I have used both types, and have gotten decent performance from models without external antennae (particularly Netgear RangeMax models). However, I still would prefer one with an external antenna if only for the flexibility. You never know how it's going to perform until you install it.

 

[heavyhitter]

Most of the newer models are moving away from the external antenna and moving towards the internal antenna. You really shouldnt notice a difference eitherway. I am using an E3000(internal antenna) and like it, much better than my old 54GL(external antenna) running Tomato.

 

[cryption]

I only buy ones with external antennas.

 

[saberz]

Always get one with an antenna. There is the Netgear line(which I usually hate Netgear, but its good now that DD-WRT is on there), that have the small single antenna on the back.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/accessories/B002RYYZZS

Typically the older Linksys WRT54G line of routers are among some of the best, and even better if flashed(not needed unless you are bored and like to mess around).

 

[The_Jeff]

The internal antenna eliminates a connection that could oxidize, leak, or break.

Theoretically they all run max FCC power under part 15 but if you get one with a low gain antenna then upgrade you can cheat a little. (or reflash for more transmitter power.)

 

[saberz]

Flash the router with DD-WRT and overclock the heck out of the router and boost the signal output/range.

DD-WRT and Tomato are fantastic for full on customizations and offer a bit more in terms of security and logging/administration of your home network.

From DD-WRT Wiki on the Linksys WRT54G series:
Quote:
Clock Speed and Overclocking

The standard clock speed of a WRT54G(S) v2-v6 is 200 MHz. DD-WRT allows overclocking the device to up to 300 MHz for v2-v3 and up to 250mhz for v4-v6. It is also possible to underclock, which may be useful for troubleshooting crashes which may be caused by overheating. Newer Linksys firmware overclocks some models of the WRT54GS to 216 MHz, to prevent instability issues inherent in the 2.x versions.

The WRT54G(S) v4-v6 and WRT54GL v1.x have a BCM3302 v0.8 processor instead of a BCM3303 v0.7 with previous models.

WRT54GL v1.1 is stable when overclocked at 250MHz, with no extra cooling. Your mileage may vary.

For information on running a v4 series greater than the CFE imposed maximum of 250mhz, please see [Increased overclocking through CFE modifications] (technical).


I have this beast of a router running at my parents house. I have the N300 Netgear in my apartment running the same OS. Lots of customization on how you can get your router running(using the interface, or you can script your own additions into it as its Linux based).

 

[QuadDriver]

I have a linksys wrt54G and a wrt54G2 cascaded at home, and my detected signal is essentially the same. I have autodetect software running on an XP SP2 laptop, a ubuntu laptop, and a brand new win7 laptop and the first 2 ping pong back and forth between which they connect to first, the win7 machine seems to find the internal-antenna'ed router a wee bit stronger.

draw your own conclusions.

and of course, as frequency climbs for the carrier signal, the size and alignment of the antenna become less of an issue.

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: QuadDriver

and of course, as frequency climbs for the carrier signal, the size and alignment of the antenna become less of an issue.

How do you figure this? Higher frequencies are much more directional.

I haven't seen any performance difference between the internal or external antennas.

 

[QuadDriver]

Originally Posted By: tmorris1
Originally Posted By: QuadDriver

and of course, as frequency climbs for the carrier signal, the size and alignment of the antenna become less of an issue.

How do you figure this? Higher frequencies are much more directional.

I haven't seen any performance difference between the internal or external antennas.


Whats Nu? ;-) (its an old physics joke but the answer to your question is contained within the answer to that question)

but you will note, higher freqs are able to penetrate easier. direction schmirection. How do you think those nextel phones and cop radios work?

We stopped adjusting antennae in this country with the demise of AM and VHF Tv....

 

[PandaBear]

external antenna or not doesn't matter much nowadays. I've one strong signal router with internal antenna and a weak one with external antenna. What I care most about is the chipset, because that's where most of the filtering and power amplification comes from.

Search online and see if the router uses Atheros or Broadcom chipsets, and buy it. Stay away from cheap ones using Marvell, Ralink, unknown chips and you'll be fine.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
external antenna or not doesn't matter much nowadays. I've one strong signal router with internal antenna and a weak one with external antenna. What I care most about is the chipset, because that's where most of the filtering and power amplification comes from.

Search online and see if the router uses Atheros or Broadcom chipsets, and buy it. Stay away from cheap ones using Marvell, Ralink, unknown chips and you'll be fine.


Bingo.

I have a Cisco AP541N, fantastic range. I recently deployed a pair of them as a cluster to cover a large heavy truck shop (25 bays IIRC). They were replacing some jerry-rigged install of a D-Link "wireless N" router, and a 3COM AP. With the AP541's in the same locations as the other devices were, coverage was FAR greater, with 5 bars at any given location in either bay area.

 

[Errtt]

I'm on my 3rd Router.
1st - was internal antenna, it lasted a couple years but one day died. Had to reset 1-2 times a month, sometimes 3.

2st - was a linksys. Got tired of having to reset it a few times a day. It was their upper end dual channel N draft and wasn't fast. Counter dude lied to me.

3rd - was a NetGear; took it back after a few hours as it started doing reset after reset after reset on it's own. So I don't count this as a working 3rd.

3rd (working now) - is a D-Link DIR-655 and it has three antennas. I notice with this one when I'm in the garage (far end of home) I get full bars signal unlike I did with the previous(1st & 2nd). Reset it once (last week - my son did)and it has been on line about 7 or so months. I have it paired up with a D-Link Modem. So far it's kept me happy and that's what counts.

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: QuadDriver
Originally Posted By: tmorris1
Originally Posted By: QuadDriver

and of course, as frequency climbs for the carrier signal, the size and alignment of the antenna become less of an issue.

How do you figure this? Higher frequencies are much more directional.

I haven't seen any performance difference between the internal or external antennas.


Whats Nu? ;-) (its an old physics joke but the answer to your question is contained within the answer to that question)

but you will note, higher freqs are able to penetrate easier. direction schmirection. How do you think those nextel phones and cop radios work?

We stopped adjusting antennae in this country with the demise of AM and VHF Tv....


Higher freqs do not penetrate better than lower freqs. See how many walls can be between your 5GHz signal versus the 2.4GHz.

 

[QuadDriver]

I stated that poorly, I dont mean to penetrate a dense substance, I mean to 'enter and reflect in' a partially enclosed space. your office at work is a good example, unless near a window where the entire AM wavelength has a direct path to your radio, you may get zero reception, but if a much smaller cell phone wave is able to get entirely inside the building and between each 'bounce point' and eventually your cell, it works.

this distinction may not be that important in say less dense wood structures, but in a dense concrete and steel building, its the world.

 

[Nick R]

We have a Netgear WNDR3700, the top end netgear router carried in stores. Range on it is great, but the 2.4Ghz is much better than the 5Ghz channel. But it doesn't choke on the amount of devices and data we use compared to the Linksys E1000. Just in half a month, we used 95GB of data down, 4GB up, according to the traffic meter

(Lots of HD Netflix, Hulu, etc)

 

[tmorris1]

5GHz is pretty much only good in the same room or maybe 1 room away.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
We have a Netgear WNDR3700, the top end netgear router carried in stores. Range on it is great, but the 2.4Ghz is much better than the 5Ghz channel. But it doesn't choke on the amount of devices and data we use compared to the Linksys E1000. Just in half a month, we used 95GB of data down, 4GB up, according to the traffic meter

(Lots of HD Netflix, Hulu, etc)


95GB? That's the first four seasons of Dexter! I'll pull that kind of data in 24hrs, LMAO!

BTW, you guys don't carry the ProSafe stuff?

The ProSafe WNDAP350 would be what I would expect to be deployed in a larger retail environment (if using inexpensive Netgear equipment).

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: tmorris1
5GHz is pretty much only good in the same room or maybe 1 room away.


I had good coverage over an entire doctor's office with one AP. This would be seven rooms. However 2.4Ghz was definitely better.