New antennas installed, not much gain

[haxxorboi]

I added 3xAsus Omni 9dbi 2.4GHz antennas to an N16 (running tomato, output=60mW) I have set in Wireless Bridge to the wireless router (another N16, also running tomato, output=60mW) in the basement. That bridge runs to a switch and provides wired connections to a laptop and desktop.

I was getting decent connection from the router but I wanted to try to get a bit less interference and maybe a little more signal strength. I ordered the three new antennas, put them on the bridge (directly connected, didn't use the included stands), and noticed a small increase in strength (maybe 2db) but was hoping for a bit more.

Was I simply being overly optimistic or did I buy a less than quality antenna?

 

[corndog]

Have you done some work to position the antennas optimally? Every single antenna type has a signal "shape" where there are strong areas and weak. Even "omnidirectional antennas" (usually shaped like a vertical stick) have a strong single in a torus-shaped donut around the stick, but are very weak if you are positioned straight off the end of the stick.

Best to try positioning these things so your router at the other end falls in the middle of that torus. Also, why not try mixing different antenna types? Maybe a stick and a directional cantenna?

Bottom line - don't just throw up your hands too soon. If you're interested in experimenting on this stuff and nerding-out for a while, there are all kinds of options to try.

 

[thiggins]

Higher gain antennas don't reduce interference. They provide more gain for everything, signal and noise, your network and your neighbors'.