Got used RT-AC68U E1 and tried some mikrotik antennas

[Offler2]

Long story short, I moved to a new flat and it had installed TP Link WN722, and I needed to get something reliable with at least 1gbit, 5GHz wifi and USB with fileserver and LTE usb support. Since I had DSL-AC68U on old address I picked first RT-AC68U I found for 55 euro.

It turned out to be E1 revision, so it at least has 1000 MHz dualcore CPU, however I have no idea which radio and amps it might have.

The location has a problem, that there is way too many wifi APs in 2,4GHz band - at least 20, and router with its original antennae measure noise to be -79 dBm at the current position. Unfortunately there are items in the household which still use 2,4GHz and I simply cannot turned it off.

On the other hand on 5GHz were just 2 other APs, and the noise was -93 dBm.

I checked this forum for info about internal components in E1 revision, compatibility with Merlin and if there are any antenna alternatives. In general I dont feel confident enough to try Merlin on a router, which might contain two different versions of Broadcom radios, and at the moment I cannot put it apart just to check. Mostly the recomendations about antennas were to stay away from any cheap alternatives, as they are probably worse than the original.

So "for the science" and curiosity I decided to get three HGO-Antenna-OUT by Mikrotik from a reliable local source.

These three antenna are specified for dual 2.4 and 5ghz bands, with 3,3dBi in 2,4 and 5,5 to 7,1 dBi. Some sources cite VSWR <2.5. Cost for single antenna is between 6.50 - 10 euro.

Few comments:
- Even when HGO-Antenna-Out is specified to be omnidirectional,
- Antennas have to be alligned in same direction for best results.
- These antennas dont bend, so are ideally placed on a standing router as RT-AC68U
- Currently using channel 12 with 20MHz in 2.4GHz band and channel 100 with 80Mhz in 5GHz band.

Results:
- In 2.4GHz band noise reduced from -79dBm to -91 dBm
- There is like 3db improvement in signal strength overall in RSSI both on router and on client device (lenovo tablet M-10). The Tx of the router is usually locked on 433/866Mbit, Rx might be down to 390-780Mbit.
- Even low signal strenght like -70dBm no longer cause signal to drop out.
- Temperature of the router seems to be lower, but i really havent measured it.

Putting it in terms of usability - people who tell you to NOT change antennas on your router are right. Even when you get better antennas than the originals, the improvement is not very significant.


Also some non-Wifi related info...

ISP plan is 800mbit, but over ethernet and 1gbit LAN card i can get up to 925mbit download. Honestly I did not expected this old reliable router to handle the link that well. At the moment, only FTP fileserver is used on internal LAN as a movie sharing service for TV Box

I am looking on topics for a potential upgrade, mostly looking at RT-AX86u, just to find out its already considered obsolete

 

[Analog-1]

Some sources cite VSWR <2.5.

With an SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) of 2.5, you can expect a significant power loss, meaning a noticeable decrease in transmitted signal strength, and potentially damage to your transmitter if used for extended periods; it's generally considered too high and should be adjusted to a lower value for optimal performance.

 

[Tech9]

I picked first RT-AC68U I found for 55 euro

This is a lot of money for End-of-Life 12+ years old hardware.

 

[Offler2]

With an SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) of 2.5, you can expect a significant power loss, meaning a noticeable decrease in transmitted signal strength, and potentially damage to your transmitter if used for extended periods; it's generally considered too high and should be adjusted to a lower value for optimal performance.

So far no of loss of signal strenght. Manufacturer did not provided info about VSWR, some sellers did, without source.

In general i would recommend to keep original antenna, unless you are about to solve a specific issue with radio environment.

This is a lot of money for End-of-Life 12+ years old hardware.

This one was made in 2017, used but with original packaging and all other items included.

Given limitations of the flat (5E utp ethernet cables in the walls) and my requirements (fileserver, support for 4g dongle as a backup internet) and already tested reliability of the device, it was the cheapest good router available.

Also it was already pain to make 1gbit work here, i dont have high hopes for higher speed.

People were asking 80 euro for AX86, and newer BE models are way too expensive. Its still possible to get N wifi and 100mbit ethernet tplink devices, new for 25 euro.

 

[Analog-1]

I wish the best of luck.

 

[Tech9]

fileserver, support for 4g dongle as a backup internet

Both are terrible on Asus routers. Supported just enough for marketing purposes.