High gain antenna for Linksys DMA2100 MCX

[satwar]

I have a WRT610N router sending signal to DMA2100, so no option of boosting the signal at router end, but hoping a high gain antenna will help out at the receiving end.

I'd like to use the 802.11n wireless protocol, and can be 2.6 Ghz only, doesn't have to be dual band. Looking for at least 7dbi gain. I'm trying to punch through the exterior wall of a house with sufficient bandwidth to carry HD video signal.

I was looking at Linksys HGA7S, but it only talks about supporting 802.11g. I can understand why frequency affects antenna design, but how does the 802.11g & 802.11n come into play ?

 

[thiggins]

The antenna is fine. Antennas are designed for frequency bands, not wireless standards. The HGA7S spec refers to 11g because the marketing material hasn't been updated.

There are plenty of third-party antennas available. See How To Fix Your Wireless Network - Part 4: Antennas.

 

[overdrive31]

802.11(N) uses channel bonding to achieve high throughput, the 2.4GHz frequency range we all must use in relation to channel bonding is relatively small. The 40Hz (N) stream takes up 2/3 available space, if there are any neighbors nearby on the 2.4GHz band, you may have some issues fighting over signal. I've never tested single band antennas hooked up to an device that is designed for dual band which many have unique dual band antennas to begin with. It may work by turning off the 5GHz on the Media Extender, then hook up two of those HGA7S's and orient them in horizontal(pointing straight back in the direction of the router) for best results. An omni-directional antenna can cover more distance in a directional pane rather than the limited radius of the omni(vertical orientation or non directional) portion. The router has internal antennas so best thing to do would place it at same level off the ground as the Media Extender so it can get a straight shot from the directional antenna setup. Good Luck

 

[satwar]

Thank you for the help. The HG2414P antenna looks very nice but i haven't had much luck sourcing a seller in Canada yet. I ordered a few HGA7S, before finding this forum, but i know where to turn if it doesn't do the job.

The alternative may be to use a WET610N to connect the MCX to the network, since the WRT610N should work well with it. I have a few on order for other purposes and will give it a try. I'm currently running mixed mode 802.11g & n on my WRT610N, which seems to be bringing my network down to it's knees. I'm hoping to go 802.11n, all the way.

P.S. I tried a USB 802.11n adapter Belkin F5D8051 on my laptop the other day and got a huge performance boost over my built-in Intel 4965 802.11n wifi card. Well worth the money.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Thank you for the help. The HG2414P antenna looks very nice but i haven't had much luck sourcing a seller in Canada yet. I ordered a few HGA7S, before finding this forum, but i know where to turn if it doesn't do the job.

Just to offer another possible source for you, I've used these guys before and they've been good. Couldn't find if they do or do not ship to CA...but for your skimming pleasure... http://www.fab-corp.com/

 

[satwar]

Just to offer another possible source for you, I've used these guys before and they've been good. Couldn't find if they do or do not ship to CA...but for your skimming pleasure... http://www.fab-corp.com/

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

 

[gsxr600]

There are a lot of factors involved and it would be nearly impossible to do a passive site survey over the internet based on what you've said, but I'm not quiet sure that's the antenna you want/need if you're trying to "punch through an exterior wall"...

It looks as if each antenna is dedicated to one band based on the specifications - Linksys doesn't give very good detail.

.11n is much much more than just a wider frequency spectrum, in fact most of the throughput comes from the modulation and most importantly the use of an array of MIMO antennas. Before .11n signals would reflect, scatter, etc etc and the radio on the receiving end would receive the signal milliseconds apart (out of phase) and would not know how to interpret these signals - .11n uses stronger processing power to actually put each signal in phase and amplify the signal, thus the reason you get more throughput with .11n

Since you are only adding antennas on the receiving end (DMA2100) you may want to consider a slightly more directional antenna for each side. I'm not suggesting anything serious like a Yagi, but if it were me I would at least be looking at a Patch / Panel antenna.

Since this is a dual band it's going to be very difficult to find a "consumer grade" antenna (Linksys, Dlink, etc) to meet your needs, and I'm sure you won't want to spend hundreds on a Cisco - however there is a GREAT website that has nearly everything you could possibly imagine for WiFi called Sparco.

Also, the HGA7S is only designed for the 2.4-2.5Ghz wavelength and would not work for the 5Ghz band...

Here's a link to Sparco:

http://www.sparcotech.com/

Just make sure that whatever antenna you choose has an impedance rating of 50ohms, mis-matched impedance causes a high VSWR and can actually damage your equipment - however the industry has kind of standardized 50ohms for the most part. You want the VSWR to be as close to 1:1 as possible. The HGA7S is nearly 2:1 - pretty high IMO!

Hope this helps!

 

[thiggins]

http://www.sparcotech.com/

Looks like a good source for higher-gain dual-band antennas. Thanks!