HI, help me choose between those 2 repeater and those 2 direct antenna

[anaturelover]

Hi
111111 Repeater: sr10000 or HW2R1

I 'm about to buy the Amped SR10000 repeater since it is rank no 1 accordind to some . I also sa that the hawking HW2R1 is often no 1 in other revieux ... Help me choose the best .

( My friend living in a different appartment has the wdr 3600 router(dualband) form tp link and I am 25 meters from his appartment and brick walls et concret walls and metal things are between us. IM looking for constant signal and sensitivity; speed is not that important )
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UBNGY6/?tag=snbforums-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SYUP60/?tag=snbforums-20


222222directional antenna : a yagi or Alfa 2.4HGz 7dBi Booster SMA Panel

I have a alfa awus036nh adapter with stock antenna. I would like a directionnal antenna under 30 $ is possible
maybe

http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008IXKDL2/?tag=smallncom-20
or
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008QRET10/?tag=smallncom-20

or
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B003ZWPRUI/?tag=smallncom-20

SO what do You think ?

 

[azazel1024]

What exactly are you trying to do?

It sounds like connecting to your friends wifi to access the internet? If so, especially with that distance, do not use a wireless repeater. What you'll want is something like your friend's WDR3600, which you can then set yours in WDS bridge mode to connect to it, and then just broadcast, say, your 5GHz network then from the router.

Or you can connect one just in WDS Bridge mode and connect it physically to a second router that you then operate as a router, or as an access point set on seperate channels from the bridged network.

If you need the extra power, switching the two omni antennas on the WDR3600 to a couple of "low gain" panel antennas could go a long way.

If all you are trying to do is connect a desktop computer, then yes, the best option is just replace the anntena on your current adpater with a high gain antenna. That isn't going to work well for a laptop as any time you move it around, you'll have to repoint the antenna. If you are trying to extend the wireless network and/or connect through your friends internet, you'll want a wireless bridge, NOT a repeater.

 

[thiggins]

Multiple brick walls and "metal things" are not a recipe for stable wireless connection. Especially in 2.4 GHz with many other interfering networks.

But if you want to try, a pair of outdoor bridges like the EnGenius ENS200 or any of the other newer ones they have would be what I would try. Relatively inexpensive and don't require messing with WDS.

 

[anaturelover]

HI
Azazel, all im trying to do is to have an internet connection for my desktop using my friend's internet connection (he shares it with the router . Wireless is the only option since moca nor powerline a possible. The only reason i thought of using a repeter is to give my pc access to my friend's netword since my present receiving signal is to poor.

if i understand you suggestion you suggest to plug a router on my desctop and use it as an antenna right(bridge mode is synonyme from what i understant )? but would this bridge get a better reception than a -alfa awus036nh with upgraded antenna
o combination on this alfa antenna (upgraded ) plus a repeter better the appartments?
or would a yagi Antenne Yagi "Bazooka" 17 dBi 50 cm be a better solution?


thiggins- when you suggest to use a pair of EnGenius ENS200 , are you suggesting to place both outdoor? our appartments are on different sides of building; my windows open north his south... not sure if you were suggesting to use it in case we would have been on the same building side..

 

[stevech]

In an earlier thread, I detailed how OP could use two such bridges at windows using outside mounts or suction cups.

 

[thiggins]

thiggins- when you suggest to use a pair of EnGenius ENS200 , are you suggesting to place both outdoor? our appartments are on different sides of building; my windows open north his south... not sure if you were suggesting to use it in case we would have been on the same building side..

Line of sight outdoors would be preferable. I am suggesting the bridges because they have three things you need: good power, directional high gain panel antenna and easy setup. They are also small and relatively inexpensive.

I think you have a small chance of getting this to work, given the physical obstacles.

 

[azazel1024]

If you can see his network at all, even if very weak, then you should be able to get it to work. I think you are going to want to go a Yagi pointed at your friends router for the best chance of getting it to work.

Something like 16-20dBi gain is going to take a -80dBm very weak signal to around -60dBm, which is a moderately good signal.

If you can't even see their network with whatever you have right now, odds are good nothing you can do is likely to work without some serious effort (like a Yagi antenna on both ends). Issue here though is if anyone else's wifi is "in the way" and also happens to be on the same channel, because it is closer and because you are using such a high gain antenna, it is likely to swamp your attempt at connecting to your friend's network.

 

[anaturelover]

hi I do have a weak signal right at the moment with my stok antenna alfaNH. i can see the network but 19% and disapped a while .......then ok ....

If i understood well the engenious was suggested in case of same side of the building so since we are not, it would not be the best option.

Im not sure I understood well (eng is my secon language) but i think you are suggesting me to use a yagi antenne instead of a indor bridge(router in bridge mode) and instead of the alfa I have adapter I have.. is that right?

I might try to go with a yagi plus a repeter (the sr10 000 is top rated)

one probleme, I never touched a yagi antenna and someone suggested me the buy Yagi "Bazooka" 17 dBi 50 cm wich i guess is a good choice but its is sold from europe and im in canada.. wich almost doble the price (shipping).

Is there a good yagi antenna you cold recommend me that is sold in america (canada or usa)? I know there are a couple on amazon.ca but it might be scrap , prices vary, and I cant see the good from the bad since yagi are unknown to me. im kink of lost and when i pay i like to pay for a product that has made its proofs (proven its well fonctionning)

thx a lot

ho and do I need something else to make the yagi work? i connect that in a usb port maybe?

 

[azazel1024]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPB2XX4/?tag=snbforums-20

I'd keep the adapter you are using and pair that antenna up with it. I believe that the Alpha USB wifi adapter uses an RP-SMA connector, so it would work with the above antenna.

Do not get a repeater, what you are trying to do would not work with one.

That is likely you best choice, unless you want to hop up to a high gain directional parabolic antenna, but those are a lot bigger, but will step you up to around 24dBi.

However, with the signal strength you are currently getting a 16/18dBi Yagi antenna likely could get a stable, if not overly strong connection to your friend's wifi router.

Just don't expect miracles.

 

[anaturelover]

ok

i purchase from .ca . on this page there are 22 yagi with some that has 25 dbi and 28dbi (for less dollar sometime)
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=sr_pg_1?...ds=yagi+antenna+RP-SMA&ie=UTF8&qid=1409870300
how do they compare with the one you linked?

is the one you linked one you are sure is good or is it a guess kindda or?
Did you know it or you based on review?

Also im curious with you say that a repeater wouln 't be a good idea with the yagi, could you tell me a bit? I thought i could aim at the router or the repeater at half the distance(closer tot me) to see with gives the more signalpower

 

[azazel1024]

I've used superpowersupply antennas before and they generally seem to make a good product. The higher tha gain, the more precisely you are going to have to orient that antenna. Something like a 16dBi antenna you are going to have a cone of only 15 degrees or so to aim it properly, which is fairly narrow. With a 24dBi antenna it is going to be more like 5-8 degrees and a 28dBi is going to be around 3 degrees.

That is going to take a LOT of finicky adjustment to get it aimed properly, especially when you don't have line of sight to actually see where the router is.

Some of those higher gain Yagi antennas also have rather long coax cables connected to the antenna. The longer the coax cable, the larger the signal loss from the cable. With 2.4GHz signals traveling the cable, even a good low loss cable is going to lose around 2-3dB of signal per meter of cable and a not so good cable is going to lose more like 4-5dB per meter.

So a 16dBi antenna with a 1m cable is going to result in similar signal gain as a 24dBi antenna with a 3m cable.

You also have a physically larger antenna that you have to try to place, which might be more of an issue inside. Also make sure whatever antenna you get is specifically for 2.4GHz. Some of the antennas on that Amazon link are not for Wifi, they are for the 1900-2200MHz band (cellular), and are not going to have very good gain for 2.4GHz.

If you can get a repeater physically much closer to your friends router that might be a viable option, but repeaters halve bandwidth, and if it is a poor connection to begin with, half a bad connection is a down right terrible connection (and it'll trash your friends wifi while you are connected on it, as his router is trying to talk with your range extender at a very slow speed, taking up all of the air time for his devices).

If you want to move something physically closer, you are better off with a bridge or a router in bridge mode with a Yagi pointed at your friend's router, and then a second router to rebroadcast the signal in your apartment (or wire directly in to the bridged router).

The other issue you'll have with a repeater is, you can't stick a high gain antenna on it, unless you are using it as a client bridge (if that is even an option), as it is going to be rebroadcasting the wifi network through the yagi, which is pointed back at your friend's wifi router.

 

[anaturelover]

hi,


hum interesting tips so far..

at the moment my 19 % or so is with my alfa pluged in a usb extension that mesures about 8 meters and then goes in my pc. my antenna alfa is at the end of this cable and is placed at the closest spot to the friend's router's direction.

Lets assume that the coaxcable coming with the yagI antenna is 1 meter o you know if it is beter for me to have .
A)descktop- 8 meters of usb extenser -alfa 036nh - 1 meter of coax cable -yagi antenna or
B )desktop- alfa036nh (close to the pc)- 8 or 9 meters of coaxcable - yagi antenna. or
C) desktop -alfa 036nh one meter of coakcable -yagi antenna (that would be in a different spot of course about 8 meters away from the spot used in A and B)


I though of placing an eventual repeater in a appartement in between me and my friend. Are you suggesting me to place the repeter not direct at middle point between me and my friend's appartment but rather like repeater closer to him than at middle point? not sure what you meant(like 1/4 of distance in on his side rather than 1/2 of distance). His speed is supposed to be high so even half of it will be ok for me since I am satisfied with 5 mbps. I only want it to be constant.

up to the paragraph ending with time for his devices). here is what i understand could be ok is that correct? http://cjoint.com/?0Igc4fMOmqy

By saying# If you want to move something physically closer# do you mean at the same place of where the supposed repeater would be I could put a different equipement instead on a repeater?
( by the way i can ask a neighbor to plug a machine in its appartment(where the repeater would be) but nobody can drill holes nor add cable in between the appartment)
Are you saying instead of a repeter i could place a router in bridge mode with a yagi(no2) pointed at my friends router? what would be the need of a third router if i place a router (No.2 ) at the repeater 's place? to re emit in my direction after receiving from the No2 yagi/router ?

to resume icould use a no1 yagi antenna to aim at repeater attached (to omni antenna ) . But placing a yagi on this reapeter would not work.
ANd I could replace the repeater by 2 router (one that would yagi aim at my friends appart and the other that would emit in my direction(or omni direction.) but would that be worth it?

As you see the 2 last paragraphs i have difficulty to understand ..could you repeat (LOL) in other words on what are the options and wich you think would be best?

thanks

 

[azazel1024]

By far A. Though you may need or want to play with the location of the antenna a bit if you can. Moving it around a little might avoid something like metal duct work, elevator shaft, firewall (a physical one), etc, which it might otherwise be aimed through. Of course it might not improve anything.

Once it hits the adapter it is also digital and no signal loss. So long as it is in analogue form, either air waves or worse, on the wire, there is signal loss.

If you are able to place a repeater in between you and him, that might be a viable option, based on the signal you are able to get now with your current setup.

As for what would be best, short of running wire, would probably be for you to use your current USB adpater, with a yagi attached pointed at your friend's setup. Then in your friends apartment, attach a second router, set to access point mode, with yagi antenna on it, set to a channel different than what his current wifi network is set on, so there isn't interference (best to set it on the furthest channel possible from what they are using) and point that Yagi at your yagi. Also different SSID for that access point than what your friend's network is named.

You'd be looking at a combined gain of over 30dB, which is pretty darned significant. That would almost certainly beat any kind of wireless repeater you could possibly setup between you and your friend and would also avoid any pitfalls that a repeater has.

Personally I'd get the Yagi and attach it to your current USB wifi adapter and play with location to see what you can get as you already have the adapter and USB extension cable. It is vaguely the cheapest, likely to be viable option. If that doesn't work well enough (and it just might), I would then look at a cheap N150 router that has a detachable antenna and a Yagi to go with it and ask your friend if they'd mind you setting it up in their apartment attached to their router.

 

[anaturelover]

just received

HI i just received the yagi antenna from amazon,

I was wondering is there a driver to install or anything to tell me pc that now there is a yagi antenna pluged? cause there was no cd nor instruction in the box, just plain antenna.,

Also i see the netword i try to reach is channel 6 . when someone change the channel router in the router itself, do the users receiver (me in this case) have to change something to tell the antenna not to search on channet 11 but on 6 ?

thx

 

[ChristineBCW]

Driver installs for antenna? "No", I don't believe so. When I play with antennas, I do shut everything down and disconnect cables (pretending there's a Gaussian Effect somewhere - an accumulation of electromag factors that are negated by mere Disconnects).

Then I reconnect and power everything up in whatever proper sequence.

Maybe our Antenna experts can discuss Power On/Off usefulness during Antenna shifting but I like to think that, since the Signal Flow is a constant, adjusting the Antenna's focus or location wouldn't impact the Receiver's (adapter) basic functions - it's merely 'reading' whatever the Antenna is sending it.

All of my consumer-adapters do auto-adjusting. They may see 8 different sources of signals, but "best" will be My Own and the others may exist on different channels so my Adapter can see all of those, but selecting My Own means My Adapter is using My One channel.

 

[anaturelover]

lets say if your router(connected to desktop) is in channel 11 now. and you your son has a laptop .
-you look at other connections in the air and figure out there is less people on channel 6.
-you set the router from 11 to channel 6. ok now your router is on channel 6.

? does your son need to tell his laptop anything so that the antenna looks on channel 6?

 

[stevech]

lets say if your router(connected to desktop) is in channel 11 now. and you your son has a laptop .
-you look at other connections in the air and figure out there is less people on channel 6.
-you set the router from 11 to channel 6. ok now your router is on channel 6.

? does your son need to tell his laptop anything so that the antenna looks on channel 6?

No, after a short time of no-signal on channel 11, the laptop should scan, find, and connect to the same SSID that is now on 6.

 

[azazel1024]

^
||

Correct. Short time is typically from hundreds of miliseconds to a couple of seconds depending on the client. Depending on the drivers, either when the client no longer is able to communicate with the base station, or it fails to see the beacon signal for a period of time, it'll then rescan the current band looking for the base station again and then switch channels once it sees the beacon signal at the new frequency.

This is not a disassociate/reassociate process, so other than a few (or a few hundred) dropped packets, it shouldn't even cause any issues with VOIP/video conferencing like switching APs sometimes can cause (you might get a second or two's pause in the video/voice).

As for attaching/reattaching an antenna, the only issue you might have is you'll lose connectivity temporarily when the antenna is disconnected (in a SISO configuration, MIMO you wouldn't lose it unless you remove all antennas first). The only time I've "tested" this was with my 2:2 router, removing one antenna only dropped through put (doing a file transfer test) and removing the second one dropped the connection. This was at 20ft. Signal strength went from -44dBm to -86dBm upon removing both antennas. I could connect very close in to the router, but I got around -68dBm holding my laptop only a couple of feet from the router.

No, there are no drivers needed for a new antenna. Just attach and point it at the client and done. Well...you might want to do some testing to ensure you've got it pointed in the optimal direction, but that is it.