Ever wondered what's inside a wifi antenna? Here's some pics.

[fleckens]

I've always wondered about these big antennas on routers. Wondered if it was a gimmick having big antennas, anyway I had the opportunity to teardown some antennas on some Asus AX routers I happened to be fixing.

Was surprised that they don't even put the actual antenna at the top of the tube.... What kind of BS is this Asus?

 

[Justinh]

That's funny. You'd think the 5GHz rod would be 2X longer than the 2.4GHz rod, not the other way around. heheh

 

[Crimliar]

That's funny. You'd think the 5GHz rod would be 2X longer than the 2.4GHz rod, not the other way around. heheh

Twice the frequency means half the wavelength. That said, most of our Asus routers have Dipoles inside the plastic housing (unless things have changed). If you look at business class access points you'll see different antenna configurations again! The design is pretty simple and straight forward in most cases though!

 

[fleckens]

That's funny. You'd think the 5GHz rod would be 2X longer than the 2.4GHz rod, not the other way around. heheh

Dosen't work like that, the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength of the dipole. I know you're joking though

I'm just very surprised they don't mount the antenna at the top of the tube as that would have a clear advantage.

 

[Tech9]

What kind of BS is this Asus?

Marketing. Bigger antennas, red/gold accents, RGB lights, etc. on the consumer market are seen as better.

 

[fleckens]

Marketing. Bigger antennas, red/gold accents, RGB lights, etc. on the consumer market are seen as better.

Yes, that's exactly it.

I think this is why I like the ASUS ZENWIFI devices, no BS external antennas. Internally their antennas are constructed much better, two tubes that forma dipole. They only use a tube on the ground plane on the antenna in the pics above and the centre conductor forms the dipole.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Marketing. Bigger antennas, red/gold accents, RGB lights, etc. on the consumer market are seen as better.

As far as aesthetics go, I would much prefer a shorter stubby antenna stick. Less obtrusive. Less likely to break (shorter lever).
Just plain easier on the eyes. The 8 legged look needs to go bye bye.

 

[Tech9]

The 8 legged look needs to go bye bye.

There is a choice on the market. I replaced my APs today not only because of platform change, but also because the new ones look much better. Compact U6 Mesh access points look like light fixtures. A local signage company made acrylic plates for me to cover the mounting holes from previous installation.

 

[fleckens]

As the hinges are all broken. I'll be doing an experiment and fitting the dipoles inside the router so there are no protrusions.

Will compare wifi performance between external and internal mounted dipoles. I suspect there will be no difference on this particular router and this antenna design.

 

[Tech9]

Home router antennas are low gain omnidirectional usually 2-3dBi, the radiation pattern may change slightly due to orientation, but overall I also expect no big difference in performance. Most dual-band antennas are not really optimized for either band, but cheap to make and good enough.

 

[RMerlin]

The length of an antenna is determined by the frequency you want to catch with it, which is why the antenna isn't the full length of the plastic. Make it longer (or shorter), and it will not be as affective as catching the RF frequency you are aiming for.

As for not putting it at the top of the plastic container, I suspect it's they want to use a shorter wire to reduce signal loss as it travels over the wire to the amp. Not sure however why they feel the need to make the plastic so long, possibly to make it easier to orient.

A few years ago, Netgear experimented with having the amps directly in the antenna itself to prevent that problem. I don't think it went anywhere, and it never got used again in their following products.

 

[Tech9]

possibly to make it easier to orient

Mostly to orient the customer. More expensive because it's bigger - must be better.

 

[Kitsap]

Mostly to orient the customer. More expensive because it's bigger - must be better.

Used to orient the customer's credit card! Yes, I am a little bit cynical at 73.

 

[Tech9]

This marketing practice is widely used on the consumer market and not specific to Asus products. If someone wants Gaming look - mostly spiders, color accents, RGB lights, etc. If someone wants more discrete look - mostly soda cans and cubes. There is something for everyone's... credit card.