High Gain Antenna's

[JonnyAlpha]

Hi;

I need some advice on high gain antennas.

I have an Access Point in my garage setup as a wireless client connected to a 4 port switch it picks up a signal from a router setup as an access point connected via a LAN cable to my router.

At first I got no signal but then I bought and fitted some 5dB Omni antennas at both ends and the signal improved but is still pretty weak.

I have read some conflicting info on high gain antennas and would like to know before I replace them with 7 or 9 dB antennas that they are not a sales ploy and that 5dB is about as good as it gets?

I normally use Solwise for my WiFi products but I was at a computer fair today and nearly picked up a couple of Safecom RP SMA 9dB antennas for £9.00 each, they were also selling 9dB RP SMA DIGITUS antennas for £10.00 each.

Any advice and recommendation on which ones to buy would be appreciated.

Ta :)

[cszeto]

Yes, there are higher performing (gain) antennas. There are also different types:

- Omnidirectional (whips)
- Directional (patches)
- Highly Directional (Cannetnnas)

After 3 plus years (http://forums.practicallynetworked.com/showthread.php?t=9373), if the same configuration is still not working... You should seriously consider just hard wiring the location, if it is that important that it has coverage. The collective time and expenses you have already expended probably far exceeds doing it right in the first place by now (unless this is actually a "leech" configuration).

[JonnyAlpha]

Hey don't be so quick to knock people, when I first started this project I was living in the house, but since then I have been working away and very rarely get home so things have been on a back burner.

FYI I successfully setup the Access Point as a Wireless Client and connected it to a 4 port switch so any PCs attached to the workshop side of the LAN could access the internet - see below.

The signal has degraded over the years as there is a dam fir tree slap bang in the line of sight!! A friend will be removing it shortly, after which my 5dB antennas may well be fine.

BTW this is not a leech setup and my time and my money are exactly that - mine. Hard wiring would mean running a plastic conduit through the garden which I do not want to do.

My Guide:

Extending a WiFi / Wired Network using a DLink G604T(Second Router)/DWL-2000AP+(Access Point) and DES-1005D(4 Port Network Switch).

The steps below show how to setup a second router, in this case a DLink G604T, as an AP and connect it to another AP (DWL-2000AP+) configured in Wireless Client Mode allowing you to extend a wired LAN and connect multiple devices to the internet using a using a 4 port switch (DES-1005D).
This should work for other routers and other hardware.

1. Reset second router to factory settings, my Dlink is reset by holding down the reset button for 10 seconds with the power on - I had to resort to a custom reset for my DLink which I found here some time ago - https://www.expansys.lu/ft.aspx?k=53282 as occasionally when Iv'e been playing around with it it crashes and a standard reset will not work.
2. Connect a wifi enabled device to to the second routers admin screen by navigating to http://<ip address of second router> for the G604T it was http://192.168.1.1 in a web browser.
3. Disable DHCP on the second router.
4. Change the management IP to be in the same range as the main router - I changed my G604T to 192.168.1.200.
5. Power up the second AP (The one that will be the wireless client on the other end of the extended WiFi network).
6. Reset to factory defaults - mine was reset by pressing the reset button for 10 seconds.
7. Connect the second AP to a PC using an ethernet cable.
8. Open Network Connections on the PC and assign a static IP Address in the same range as the second AP that you are connected to - mine was set to 192.168.0.51
9. Open an IE browser and connect to second APs admin page by entering http://<ip address of the second AP> - mine was http://192.168.0.50
10. Enter the admin screen usually admin <no password> but check your specific model manual.
11. Now it gets a bit hazy here on my DWL-2000AP I had to select Advanced - and change the mode to Wireless Client and carry out site survey, this is to find the AP that you want to connect to and enter its SSID and mac address to ensure that the AP now in wireless client mode knows which AP to connect to (consult your specific models manual.
12. Once the site survey was completed it found my second router (my G604T) and I clicked connect.
13. Close the connection window.
14. Apply changes to the AP - my device auto re-started
15. Exit browser web browser.
16. Disconnect the second AP from PC.
17. Re-connect the second AP to the 4 port switch.
18. Remove static IP address from PC.
19. Re-connect the PC to the 4 port switch.
19. Check IP address - IP address should be assigned by and be in the range(subnet) of the main router (My assigned IP Address was 192.168.1.65)
20. Test internet connection.
21. Login to second router, by entering the second routers IP Address in a we browser as above - mine was 192.168.1.200 and change wireless encryption to WEP or WPA the highest that your AP (Wireless Client) can handle, and enter an encryption key - write it down for the next step and keep it safe as any WiFi devices that need to access the second router will also need the same key. It may also be a good idea to set an admin password for the second router to avoid unwanted access.
22. Carry out steps 7-10 above and set WEP or WPA as chosen above in step 21, and also set an admin password for the second AP.
23. Reconnect the AP to the 4 port switch and remove the static IP address from the PC that was connected to the AP to set it up.
24. Fingers crossed check internet connection.

[cszeto]

When you put it into that context, then you are also making demands on the time and resources of these forums which are mostly around the subjects of basic SOHO networking with a configuration which is beyond that scope. Most SOHO networks are within a single building.

Your detailed steps are great. It may help others with similar requirements or desires as long as they also have a DWL-2000AP or a model with similar functionality/capabilities.