With Wi-Fi coming to many cities around the country, I hope this guide will provide you with several ideas how to get the best performance as well as giving your own wireless network a BIG boost of power.

Wireless access points and routers come from the factory with very small (usually 2-3 dBi) antennas. These factory-supplied antennas limit the wireless signal range and performance, and often cause unstable or broken communication. Replacing the antenna with a higher gain antenna will greatly improve the performance and range..

Replacement Omni Antenna

There are two types of wireless antennas, an Omni-directional antenna and a directional antenna. Your wireless access point or router comes from the factory with an Omni-directional antenna. Omni-directional antennas transmit and receive from all directions (360°) making it the ideal wireless base antenna. There are basically two options for replacing this antenna. First, if you are only interested in improving your wireless communication for distances within your home or office, you can simply replace the antenna directly on the wireless device with a higher gain antenna. Be careful, not all wireless devices have a removeable antenna; if yours does it will screw off. A high-gain replacement antenna is very inexpensive and will more than double or triple the performance of the factory-supplied antenna. You simply remove to factory-supplied antenna and replace it with a higher gain antenna. Similarly, you can also improve wireless adapter performance by replacing the antenna with a higher gain antenna. Desktop adapter antennas are often hidden behind the computer and therefore blocking a large portion of the signal. Simply raising the antenna to a more open space will improve its performance. Purchasing an extension cable and/or a higher gain antenna will resolve that problem.

Omni-directional Base Antenna

A second option, if you desire even greater range and performance (beyond a few rooms and walls), is to consider a larger more powerful indoor/outdoor antenna. This would not only improve the wireless communication in and around the building, but will also provide a hot-spot that can be accessed and shared to remote areas. An outdoor rooftop mounted antenna will also provide a much better wireless signal from a Wi-Fi source provided by your city or neighborhood.

A directional antenna is used for accessing a distant wireless source (Wi-Fi), or extending your wireless network to remote buildings using a wireless bridge configuration. A directional antenna does not provide a 360° pattern; therefore it must be aimed toward a wireless source. When using a directional antenna to extend your wireless network to remote areas (buildings) you would normally configure your wireless equipment to point-to-point or point-to-multipoint (bridge) mode. You can also bridge multiple AP's together indoors to provide a greater wireless coverage area and better performance. Bridging multiple AP's together permits you to roam wirelessly between all AP's within range and stay connected to the wireless network. For more tips and information about wireless bridging see my About Me Page.

Directional Antenna

Larger antennas such as indoor/outdoor Omni-directional and directional antennas also require special 50 ohm low loss cable between the antenna and the wireless device. Click on the link below for more tips and information about wireless antenna cabling.

In addition to choosing the right antenna it is very important to select a wireless device that has the power output and features that you need, as well as choosing the proper cabling to connect the antenna to the wireless device.

For more information or futher assistance, see my About Me Page. You will find links to product and technical information, as well as other information to help you with your wireless network design and layout. If you find this guide helpful DON'T FORGET to give a YES score. Also, please let me know if you would like to see any additional information in this guide, or need any further assistance.