Boosting WiFi signal: DIY antenna vs Powered WiFi amp

MidoBan · Mar 1, 2014

Hi, i'm looking to boosting my router's wifi signal in my house so i can get good reception in my garage (~65 feet from the house). I do get reception now, but not fast enough.

I did some reading, and found out that i can build some DIY antenna. But then i found out about a powered (amplified) wifi booster that i can buy. My question is if an antenna can compete with a powered amplifier or that there is no way and the amplifier will yield much better results?

Also, what about getting a very high dBi antennas and replace the router's stock ones? i have 2 on my router, should i replace them both?

a DIY antenna:

the amplifier (ebay link):

$(KGrHqV,!lUFJ,ru+(!WBS(KmG493g~~60_57.JPG

Thanks

bill001g · Mar 1, 2014

I am not sure how you would gain anything from a wifi amplifier. Most routers already transmit at the legal maximum power so if you connected it to the router it would in effect do nothing. If your PC did not transmit at the maximum then I suppose it might help on that end. Be very careful there are devices you can buy that are not legal look for FCC id numbers to be sure it is a legal device.

A home made direction antenna is hard to say. I would just buy a commercial one then you know you really get the rated gain.

Most this antenna modification stuff is all old news. You pretty much can't do it anymore. Almost all modern routers use MiMO and other feature that are dependent on the simultaneous use of multiple antennas. If you were to connect something else to one you would in effect remove it from the router. This would mean that you may be able to let a remote PC connect but your close PC then lose the ability to run the high speed options used by the multi antenna solutions.

I would look into using power line networks to extend the network into the garage.

The next option is to use a AP place closer to the garage but connected to the main router via ethernet. You could also use a AP that has a built in directional antenna like engenius ENS200

The last resort option would be to place a repeater half way between and live with degradation in speed a repeater causes.

MidoBan · Mar 1, 2014

bill001g :

Oh i see. I thought that since the booster is 8 Watts, it will amplify the wifi signal even further, and increase it's range. I thought that it was the purpose of the product and not only amplify the receiving end.

The reason i went in this direction is because the router is currently at the closest position to the garage from within the house (the garage is separate from the house). And i dont have a power source outside to put an outdoor wireless repeater in.

EDIT: what about getting a very high dBi antennas and replace the stock ones? i have 2 on my router, should i replace them both?

bill001g · Mar 1, 2014

8 watts is big time illegal. You can only go to 1 watt and to 4watts including the antenna gain.

The reason nobody runs huge transmitters is you have to reduce you antenna size so you may be able to transmit strong you can not receive.

Outdoor wireless AP/bridges run on PoE.

MidoBan · Mar 1, 2014

bill001g :

What about getting a very high dBi antennas and replace the stock ones? i have 2 on my router, should i replace them both?

bill001g · Mar 1, 2014

Yes you could replace them both. That is a fairly cheap thing to try. 9db is about the biggest you will able to fit in the house within reason.

MidoBan · Mar 1, 2014

bill001g :

Is more dBi equals better reception/transition or is it not as simple as that?

bill001g · Mar 1, 2014

technically every 3db doubles the strength. In the real world the effectiveness does not appear to increase at that rate.. It does generally increase but it if you went from 2db to 9db you do not actually see 4 times the signal level.

wjdavis5 · Jul 16, 2014

Standard Routers certainly do NOT transmit at the max legal power. Most (linksys, dlinks, belkin etc.) transmit at roughly 30-50 mW with a 3/5dbi gain antenna. In the US the max transmit power is 1W (1000mW). If you want to purchase a router that DOES transmit at the max legal look here: http://www.ampedwireless.com/

bill001g · Jul 16, 2014

If you like to believe technical specs written by the advertising department you can buy ampped stuff. I can promise they sell no devices with a 1w transmitter. They LOVE to include the antenna gain in their specs.

They have gotten a little less deceptive lately but you really have to dig and also understand they almost always quote the transmit power including the antenna.

The only place they can not lie is in the FCC test filings. So on one of the later models they claim 700mw of power. When you look at the FCC filings they actually do test at 28db output which is just above 700mw. But this includes the antennas. When you subtract a 5db antenna you are down to 23db or 200mw which is a very common transmit power of the amplifiers used in routers.

You want to check it go to
https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm?calledFromFrame=Y

The company code is ztt and the product is -rta15

Don't get conned by fancy marketing.

Dusty_ · Nov 16, 2015

bill001g :

I am not sure how you would gain anything from a wifi amplifier. Most routers already transmit at the legal maximum power so if you connected it to the router it would in effect do nothing. If your PC did not transmit at the maximum then I suppose it might help on that end. Be very careful there are devices you can buy that are not legal look for FCC id numbers to be sure it is a legal device.

A home made direction antenna is hard to say. I would just buy a commercial one then you know you really get the rated gain.

Most this antenna modification stuff is all old news. You pretty much can't do it anymore. Almost all modern routers use MiMO and other feature that are dependent on the simultaneous use of multiple antennas. If you were to connect something else to one you would in effect remove it from the router. This would mean that you may be able to let a remote PC connect but your close PC then lose the ability to run the high speed options used by the multi antenna solutions.

I would look into using power line networks to extend the network into the garage.

The next option is to use a AP place closer to the garage but connected to the main router via ethernet. You could also use a AP that has a built in directional antenna like engenius ENS200

The last resort option would be to place a repeater half way between and live with degradation in speed a repeater causes.

I would think if you had max signal power out of the modem , an signal booster amp would take that signal and increase that signal to the amps max ,therefore having a stronger signal before a device picks it up . same thing as a guitar string and an amplifier.

bill001g · Nov 16, 2015

First watch the dates on posts this is over a year old.

You forget the fact that this is regulated by the government so the output of the amplifier must be designed to never exceed the legal maximum. The are designed to take some amount of input power and output the maximum legal power. Most have restrictions on how much power you can input and you an easily burn them out if you put too much into them.

Now if you are talking about illegal devices you now really have no way to know what you are getting. Since there is no independent party verifying what a seller claims you could just as easily get a empty box. Its not like you can complain that someone ripped you off when you are trying do something illegal.

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