I went ahead bought a third party antenna.. Apparently rated for more then the WBR-2310 can dish out though.. I have no clue.. Thats why im asking where I would find what the stock antennas are rated for? and what the router is rated for etc?
There is an interesting table that shows DBm next to the appropriate power output (in watts, mw etc) at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBm
An output number of 15DBm (32mw - or there about) is lower than a number of other manufacturers claim for their products, but it really is important to remember that the antenna and location relative to the other devices (like laptops) as well as walls and interference from other devices (like wireless phones) can play havoc with the signal your remote device sees from the router. Even more so, as laptops transmit lower powers than most routers, also what the router sees from the remote device!
The EFFECTIVE power your laptop sees from the router and transmits back to the router is also something that is always never going to be 100% predictable and what is worse, will vary as you move about, or in a bad situation, if someone picks up a cordless phone or even walks between you and the router!
A good antenna will certainly help avoid problems at the margins of power - and when the signal is good and there isn't any interference, also a good antenna will help keep speeds up and avoid re-transmits and therefore slow downs. However, this does not say what a good antenna actually
is!
You'll find an entire science related to antennas and stuff, so it can be confusing, but the simple thing with WiFi is that the standard is actually for quite a low power system. What will help?
Four things in order of effectiveness:
#1 Buy a router with a higher output power (20DBm is better than 15DBm).
#2 Raising the antenna so it is above furniture and other obstacles in the room(s) involved.
#3 Putting in an antenna that has a larger size relative to the frequency (a "half wave" antenna will be more effective than quarter wave if that is what it comes with) for the router you buy.
#4 Putting in some kind of directional antenna - but these can be much more expensive than the cost of the typical cheap consumer router.
Number 1 and 2 deliver way more "bang for your buck" than the others and they don't require you to buy anything. If you want a little bit of fun (watch out for your fingers if you use a craft knife) to see what some people do to overcome the junk signal quality they get, take a look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOBfxbpxosA
WiFi signals are omnidirectional, in that the power goes out in all directions. This helps to change that which might be really useful if you have your router at one end of your house and need a better signal at the other end of the house. Usual disclaimers apply if you try it.
Oh yes, and it DOES look like a DLINK router in the vid, doesn't it?
And as a "Post Script", take a look at this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY8Wi7XRXCA
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Topic: WBR-2310 Antennas (Read 7672 times)