On 2010-01-08, Stroller <strol...@stellar.eclipse.co.uk> wrote:
>
> On 8 Jan 2010, at 15:49, Grant wrote:
>> ...
>> That's a good idea, but I'm actually able to pick up the difficult
>> AP's with the same dongle when its normal omnidirectional antenna is
>> attached instead of the strong directional one. Could a failing
>> antenna exhibit this behavior?
>
> I'm extremely sceptical of these cheap external aerials.
The one to which the OP provided a link isn't that cheap ($50)
and gets universally excellent reviews. My testing indicates
that it does indeed provide something on the order of the
claimed 15dBi gain. It's performance is very close to that of a
well-built double-biquad reflector: both show 10-12dB increases
over a stock 3dB "whip" when I tested them with various bits of
HW (a USB WiFi dongle, two different brands of WAP).
That said, the cable on the Hawking unit is pretty flimsy --
and hence probably is rather vulnerable to both electrical
noise or physical abuse. It probably wouldn't take much of a
pinch or kink to cause problems.
--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Here I am in 53
at B.C. and all I want is a
visi.com dill pickle!!
