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#1
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Extending wireless antenna
I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her
son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. Thanks. ben |
#2
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"atDFN" wrote in message s.com... I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. There should be no problem extending the cable... hopefully it has a connector and you can get a ready-made extension. because you are dealing with RF it's best not to just splice-in a new piece as if it were a lamp cord |
#3
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On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 12:30:28 -0600, "philo" wrote:
"atDFN" wrote in message ws.com... I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. There should be no problem extending the cable... hopefully it has a connector and you can get a ready-made extension. because you are dealing with RF it's best not to just splice-in a new piece as if it were a lamp cord Thanks. No, the add-on antenna from Belkin looks like it's coax. It's hard to see in the picture, but looks a lot like the cable you use to run for cable TV. Doesn't look like it has the center wire extending into the connector, though. I'm also reading about other powered antennas for wifi. ben |
#4
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Thanks. No, the add-on antenna from Belkin looks like it's coax. It's hard to see in the picture, but looks a lot like the cable you use to run for cable TV. Doesn't look like it has the center wire extending into the connector, though. I'm also reading about other powered antennas for wifi. I took a quick look at the Belkin antenna on their website. the center wire does not show up in the picture...but i'm sure it;s there...as that has to be standard coax. You can probably get an extension cable at radio shack or any electronics store...it all looks completely standard. |
#5
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philo wrote:
"atDFN" wrote in message I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. There should be no problem extending the cable... hopefully it has a connector and you can get a ready-made extension. because you are dealing with RF it's best not to just splice-in a new piece as if it were a lamp cord The natural impedance of most antenna systems is 300 ohms, so without specific information from the manufacturer I would try extending it with 300 ohm cable. Many systems also use transformers or baluns to handle less lossy 75 ohm cable, which is another possibility. -- Chuck F ) ) Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems. http://cbfalconer.home.att.net USE worldnet address! |
#6
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On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 17:47:22 GMT, atDFN wrote:
I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. Thanks. I want to get one of those. How much was it? It should be dirt cheap. Cant find one locally. Im not sure if it would even help. I have a PC 28 feet away in another room. When it works it works great. The speeds etc are actually very good. I can download huge windows updates etc just like on my cable modem with a regular connection. However the microwave kills the signal royally. Ive seen some reviews where they warn about it but they say it kind of slows it down - not totally kills the signal. I either have a much more powerful microwave or something. Some other things interfere too. Not sure if it would actually make much difference with interference like that but was thinking about trying an antenna that sits on the desktop instead of hidden in back of the big metal PC case at floor level. |
#7
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On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 22:12:08 GMT, "
wrote: I want to get one of those. How much was it? It should be dirt cheap. Cant find one locally. Indeed they "should" be dirt cheap, but usually they aren't, are VERY expensive for just a thin piece of coax with a couple of (usually) RSMA connectors on each end. "Should" cost $4, maybe $10 after typical markup on cables, but they often cost closer to $20... at that price it's almost worthwhile to just buy a USB version which includes a 5 ft USB cable, or add your own, longer USB cable. Im not sure if it would even help. I have a PC 28 feet away in another room. When it works it works great. The speeds etc are actually very good. I can download huge windows updates etc just like on my cable modem with a regular connection. However the microwave kills the signal royally. Ive seen some reviews where they warn about it but they say it kind of slows it down - not totally kills the signal. I either have a much more powerful microwave or something. Some other things interfere too. Not sure if it would actually make much difference with interference like that but was thinking about trying an antenna that sits on the desktop instead of hidden in back of the big metal PC case at floor level. Getting the antenna out from the back of the PC can definitely help, though some cards are a lot worse than others... I have some D-Link PCI cards that have at least 2-3X the range of cheap Trendware/Xterasys cards in exact same environment. Something else that can help a weak card is to put a repeater nearby... it need not be nearly midway inbetween the card and router, close to the card can work too... I have a Belkin 802.11b router doing that, without any configuration at all it'll function as a repeater (though it'd be good to configure for security reasons) only cost ~$10 from a Black Friday sale. |
#8
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On Mon, 26 Jan 2004 23:01:51 GMT, kony wrote:
Something else that can help a weak card is to put a repeater nearby... it need not be nearly midway inbetween the card and router, close to the card can work too... I have a Belkin 802.11b router doing that, without any configuration at all it'll function as a repeater (though it'd be good to configure for security reasons) only cost ~$10 from a Black Friday sale. I had an extra one but returned it. I got that $10 deal from a black friday sale but already had one from the month before so I returned it. I should have kept it. Office Max is really screwing the people in the state Im in now. None of the hot deals are offered here since Jan 1. Its torture reading about everyone getting a 80 gig WD for $20 this week. Let alone all the free DVD disks and other junk. Exactly what I needed. I think the cheapskates are killing the deals though. Too many people scamming the deals - the stores are starting to crackdown and I dont blame them. People buying before the sale and then returning and buying. People buying 6-8 of the same items ! Thats just ****ing them off. |
#9
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atDFN wrote:
I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. Thanks. ben There is always some signal loss through coaxial cable. At high frequencies (2 GHz here), there's a lot of loss. Longer cable = more loss. It's possible that the improved received signal strength gained by putting the antenna in a better location will be offset by added loss in a longer cable. There are additional issues with adding an additional piece of cable to the existing part: the new cable must have the same characteristic impedance as the rest of the antenna. It also needs to be low-loss cable designed for microwave applications. All coax is NOT the same. It isn't necessary to locate the antenna right at the window. Across the room is as good, provided that the antenna can still "see" the other end of the link. Perhaps you can make the five foot cable work this way. How about a directional antenna instead of the omni type? Roby |
#10
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On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 14:19:47 GMT, Roby wrote:
atDFN wrote: I have a customer who is trying to use a wireless connection with her son's computer. The son is connected to the Belkin wireless router. However, Mom is living in a 5th-wheel in the back yard. So, she's surrounded in a metal box. She has a PCI wireless card plugged into her computer. As soon as I saw where she had her computer, I was doubtful she'd ever get it to work. However, Belkin makes an antenna for this card. Problem is, its cable is only 5 feet long. I've tried getting an answer from Belkin but have so far been unsuccessful. I want to know if I can extend the cable on the antenna so I can get the antenna up in front of a window. As a general rule, does anyone think that would work? I just don't know if the antenna has to be powered and if the additional cable would help or hurt. Thanks. ben There is always some signal loss through coaxial cable. At high frequencies (2 GHz here), there's a lot of loss. Longer cable = more loss. It's possible that the improved received signal strength gained by putting the antenna in a better location will be offset by added loss in a longer cable. There are additional issues with adding an additional piece of cable to the existing part: the new cable must have the same characteristic impedance as the rest of the antenna. It also needs to be low-loss cable designed for microwave applications. All coax is NOT the same. It isn't necessary to locate the antenna right at the window. Across the room is as good, provided that the antenna can still "see" the other end of the link. Perhaps you can make the five foot cable work this way. How about a directional antenna instead of the omni type? Roby Thanks for the additional information. The positioning of the computer is very odd. In the cramped setup this customer has in the 5th-wheel, I don't think the antenna is going to help. I've learned a lot from the responses given. I think she's going to be better off not trying to do the wireless thing. The other computer is quite a distance away and at an angle where the signal is having to try to travel at an angle through all the brick in the house. She's open to the idea of getting satellite internet. A local provider has a modem with an exterior antenna. Again, thanks to everyone. I've collected a lot of information for the future. ben |
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