Worth a shot if u find it for a few bucks and have some foil
Written: Dec 20 '05
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Pros: Easy to install, somewhat effective depending on circumstances, available for cheap
Cons: Not as effective as might be desired
The Bottom Line: Try it out if you find it at a cheap price. It might actually help and can't hurt at all.
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| stooper21's Full Review: Hawking H-AI6SI |
I snagged this from Micro Center for cheap. It was being clearanced and was also an open/returned item. I have an SMC 2804WBR router and had to spend a few minutes trying to guess which antenna was the 802.11b/g and which one was 802.11a. My problem was it was hard to notice any difference. To be honest, it seemed that my min and max signal strengths didn't change at all, but the average signal strength was slightly higher. Yes, that's a very subjective measure. However, it did seem that my wireless signals were more stable, although only negligibly stronger.
Anyway, I later found a different review from another Epinions writer (lobsters - http://www.epinions.com/content_191514250884). This review explained that the loss/attenuation on this antenna's cable was exorbitant and practically ruined the rating of the antenna itself. This all seemed very plausible to me so I tried out an experiment. I grabbed some aluminum foil (Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty) from the kitchen and added my version of "shielding" to the cable. I estimate that I covered the cable in at least 5-7 layers of aluminum (spent about 15 min "wrapping" the foil several times). I don't think I used more than 1.5 sq ft of foil. (Note, I wrapped the *cable* not the antenna.)
Surprisingly, this actually made a difference. At least, on my adapter signal strength meters, the signals increased 15-20%. Probably, that's still less than most people would expect from such a misleadingly large and impressive looking antenna. But if you have this antenna already or can find it for a few dollars, it's prob worth it to wrap that cable up with some aluminum foil or what have you.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 5
Driver Availability: Other
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Epinions.com ID:
stooper21
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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