Question

Replaced 5 dBi with 16 dBi antenna but no change

Asked by: yasserd

Hi,

I have a wireless router (dlink di-524) to which I attached a 5 dBi antenna. To extend the signal coverage I replaced the antenna with a 16 dBi one. However, I noticed no change in the signal strength.

1-What's the reason?
2-How can I extend it?
3- What's the difference between making the antenna straight up and horizontal (or 45 degrees)?

Regards,

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Asked On
2009-08-08 at 22:29:08ID24637783
Tags

Antenna

,

dbi

,

signal

,

Range Extenders

Topics

Wireless Networking

,

Wireless Network Cards & Adapters

,

802.11 Wireless Access Points

Participating Experts
2
Points
250
Comments
6

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Answers

 

by: saul2paulPosted on 2009-08-08 at 22:39:15ID: 25052965


1.Check out the LAN  CABLE which connects the Antenna to the Router, try to put a new one like CAT6...

2.Check if theres any frequency problems like having a Microwave around the network always weakens the signals

Check the internal settings of the antenna like which says strength boosting , Super G mode .etc etc..

GL

 

by: Darr247Posted on 2009-08-10 at 00:05:58ID: 25057653

1. Not enough data. Need to know the location, building material composition, surrounding networks, et al.

2. Run cat5 cable from one of the DI-524's LAN ports to another access point where you want the signal extended.

3. Straight up and down gives maximum horizontal coverage; tilting the antenna 45 degrees tilts the signal 45 degrees.
Hardly any signal is emitted in the direction the tip's pointing, or directly away from the tip.

The signal typically emanates from an omni antenna in the shape of a donut, with the tip and shaft through the donut hole and the amount of dough relative to the wattage. With a stronger dBi rating it still has the same amount of dough (wattage), but it's squeezed to more of a pancake shape to make it reach farther.

e.g. Scroll to the bottom and compare the pattern charts for these 2 antennae
6 dBi - http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=22264
15dBi - http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=22365
The 'horizontal' charts show the 'shape' of the signal when looking straight down at the tip of these omni antennae; the 'vertical' charts show the shape of the signal as if the base of each antenna were at 270 and the tip at 90 on those charts. So just rotate the 'vertical' charts 45 degrees to see what effect that should have on the signal.

Note in the 6dBi antenna's specs it says the signal spreads vertically in a 28 degree 'slice' (while travelling horizontally), while the 15dBi antenna squeezes that down to an 8 degree 'slice'.

Anyway... a higher dBi antenna will not necessarily make an arbitrary measure of signal strenth increase if the location of the first measurement was enveloped in maximum signal of the lower dBi antenna.

 

by: yasserdPosted on 2009-08-11 at 06:58:54ID: 25069090

Hi,

- Location: a room in my house.
  Material: Cement

-I didn't understand this statement: " if the location of the first measurement was enveloped in maximum signal of the lower dBi antenna."

Thanks Darr247 for the information.

 

by: Darr247Posted on 2009-08-11 at 12:44:46ID: 25072604

If the concrete has rebar in it, it will be hard to get *any* wireless signal through it. Cement block wall is marginally better.
The best way to mitigate those materials is placing an antenna on the other side of it.
e.g. http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=22307 (indoor; they have similar for indoor/outdoor)
Note on its charts, the surface it's mounted on would be the plane from 270 to 90 degrees.
That one has a 4' coax with the proper RP-SMA connector to fit D-Link routers with removable antennae.


>> the 'vertical' charts show the shape of the signal as if the base
>> of each antenna were at 270 and the tip at 90 on those charts.

After thinking about it for a while, that *should* say:

the 'vertical' charts show a cross-section of the shape of the signal as if the base
of each antenna were at 270 and the tip at 90 on those charts.


> -I didn't understand this statement

If you're already measuring the full strength signal of the 5 dBi antenna, swapping in a 50 dBi antenna would not increase the measured signal strength at the same location. The antenna does not change the wattage of the radio, all it does is focus that power to a smaller area so it reaches farther... like an adjustable nozzle on a water hose - tweaking it from a wide fan covering a large area to a smaller fan spray that reaches 2 or 3 times farther does not change the amount of water flowing through the hose. Try measuring the 5 dBi from a location far away where there is hardly any signal, then swap in the 16 dBi and measure from that same location/distance.

 

by: yasserdPosted on 2009-08-15 at 01:27:45ID: 25104562

Thank you Darr247.

Last question:

If I used a directional antenna that is claimed to extend the signal for about 5 miles (i.e. 24 dBi) will it work in my case (as you said the power will not change).

 

by: Darr247Posted on 2009-08-15 at 15:41:42ID: 25107180

The higher the dBi, the more-critical the aiming becomes. While such an antenna may extend the signal and reception to 5 miles when perfectly aimed, being off by only a couple degrees total might drop its gain to 21 dBi, and being off by 5 degrees total (e.g. 1 degree horizontal and 4 degrees vertical) could miss the client entirely.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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