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General discussion

Wireless usb adapter

Jun 8, 2005 7:45AM PDT

What is the best wireless usb adapter on the market? I am looking for something with very good range, 802.11g, pretty good throughput, fast, etc. Emphasis on the range part. Hopefully under 100 dollars
What should I buy???

Discussion is locked

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This one...
Jun 8, 2005 11:45AM PDT
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(NT) (NT) Add a parabolic dish to finish it off?
Jun 8, 2005 11:50AM PDT
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Maybe, maybe not...
Jun 8, 2005 11:59PM PDT

The OP wisely asked his questions before opening his wallet at the store. Thus we don't have to find creative ways after the fact to turn the sow's ear into a silk purse. The Hawking unit designed around a small reflector and the signal boost is due mostly to the directional concentration, not increased output power. Hopefully by starting with a strong unit at the client end, he won't have to do anything at the access point.

Also, he didn't say what sort of access point he has, so a parabolic reflector may or may not be suitable. They only work on an exposed dipole "stick" type antenna where you are able to position the reflector so that the antenna is exactly in the focus of the parabola. My Buffalo WAP is a vertically mounted unit with internal antennae - one up the spine of the unit and the other across the bottom - exactly where inside I don't know. So positioning that one in a reflector would be a crapshoot. Same issue with an internal laptop unit - where do you put the reflector so that it focuses on the antenna; which begs the question, where exactly is the antenna inside the laptop in the first place...

BTW, that one you referenced in another thread of the USB key-type unit mounted through the bottom of the Chinese wok wire mesh scoop was masterful. But again, the reflector adaptation has to be matched to the underlying hardware.

cheers,
dw