What's the best external WiFi antenna with regard to distance for a laptop running WIN7?

J

jj1984

Member
Hello,

Just bought a signal king SK-11TN, but I'm having doubts about my purchase.

It doesn't seem to be working very well.

Which antenna is the best do you think for distance?

I want to connect to networks that are a great distance away.
 
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J

jj1984

Member
Give me a "money's no object" option, a moderately priced option, and a beer budget option.

But, generally, I've got a few bucks.
 
J

jj1984

Member
Intel_man said:
https://www.amazon.com/USB-AC68-Dual-Band-AC1900-Adapter-Included/dp/B01I7QFR10/

This is the fastest USB Wireless AC dongle you can buy that I know of, but it needs a USB 3.0 port to run at those AC speeds.


What kind of laptop do you have? You might be able to grab an internal wifi card and swap with the one you have.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but speed wasn't really one of my considerations.

I'm concerned with range.

I want to connect to networks miles away from my computer.

Any suggestions?
 
Intel_man

Intel_man

VIP Member
If you are operating the network that you want to connect to from miles away... I'm pretty sure ubiquiti has something that suits your needs. @beers might know more about this than me.
 
beers

beers

Moderator
Staff member
jj1984 said:
I want to connect to networks miles away from my computer.
Click to expand...
Generally you'd need some sort of EIRP back from the remote end. If it's just a home linksys then fogetaboutit.

If you are able to put a dish at the remote end there's some Ubiquti backhaul equipment like AirFiber that's pretty decent. Depending on distance you'd have to calculate things like the curvature of the earth (Fresnel zone), transmit power vs antenna gain (EIRP), etc.

Usually the degrees of coverage of those dishes are very specific. You'd have a hard time aiming them at any significant distance if they weren't specifically mounted.
 
strollin

strollin

Well-Known Member
I used to get my internet service thru the type of system beers describes above. I had an antenna on my roof similar to the antennas used by Dish or DirectTV satellite services but instead of the antenna pointing up to a satellite, it pointed horizontally across the valley to an another antenna on a mountain peak. It worked OK but not great. It required dedicated equipment at both ends and precise aiming/tuning to get working.
 
J

jj1984

Member
OK, so I get the impression that if I want really long range wireless connectivity, I need physical control over both terminals.

That is I need some high end antenna connected to both my computer and the router I want to communicate with, yes?

beers said:
Generally you'd need some sort of EIRP back from the remote end. If it's just a home linksys then fogetaboutit.
Click to expand...

The above quote answers the coming question I guess, but I'll ask it anyway.

Is it possible to communicate with a regular wireless router that has no special antenna supplementation e.g. a home router, a small business router, the router at your university's library, etc. from a long range e.g. several miles if you have a strong enough antenna on your computer?
 
beers

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Theoretically, I guess, you'd need a huge antenna gain but you'd also pick up other networks on those channels as well.

You'd be FCC limited to the amount of broadcast power you can transmit back, so you wouldn't be able to reply.

Your free wifi thieving plans may have to be revised.
 
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Harley Ben

Harley Ben

Member
I am using Archer 7. So that's the one I am going to suggest it to you. But it would come around for $100+ amount. I bought it for $120 through Amazon 3 months back.
 
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