Extending my WiFi card antenna

[DruidZ]

I have a custom setup in our Landmark using a computer running FreeBSD. It has two ethernet cards and two WiFi cards. Call each pair A and B.

Ethernet B and WiFi B serve all the devices in the unit. Phones, laptops, etc. connect to WiFi B and the Blu-Ray and aother devices are wired to Ethernet B.

Internet comes in to the unit on the A side. If I have an ethernet connection I plug into ethernet A and route to B. If not then I connect to the campground WiFi or else tether to my phone from WiFi A. Again, it routes to the B side.

Now, this all works pretty good except for the standard problem of poor campground WiFi. I am thinking of extending my WiFi A antennas to the roof to get a clearer signal. I am wondering if I can just get some cable and connect to the two antenna connectors on the card and bring them out to a better location. This brings it higher as well as avoiding going through the metal walls of the unit, sometimes through two walls if I am on the wrong side.

I have looked at various products but most seem to be USB based. Since I already have the WiFi set up I just want to put the existing antennas outside, sort of like putting my computer on the roof virtually. I assume that the antennas that come with the WiFi card are not really suitable for outdoor use and I would have a mounting issue anyway. So, I am looking for commercial products that do what I want. Here is one that I found.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ASRock...783806&hash=item3fb965e1a9:g:W6oAAOSwlxxb5dyz

That seems to be what I want but I don't know how long the cable is. Does anyone know if this is what I want? Is there a better solution?

 

[CDN]

Hello,

I have used these antennas to get the signal outside the RV from my router system. About 3 to 5 db gain on average

https://www.amazon.ca/Tonton-Extens...2208&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=wifi+antenna&psc=1

If you want the best option for weak campground WiFi you can use one of these yagi's. This provides 18 db of gain but does require peaking to find the best signal. Likely best used when at a site for a longer time.

https://www.amazon.ca/Antenna-Stand...=1549732467&sr=8-4&keywords=wifi+antenna+yagi


Brian

 

[RoadJunkie]

Campground WiFi range is indeed improving, possibly due to the ability to consumer rate. A highly rated park has repeaters throughout, and tuned pretty well. Strength of the signal is usually not a problem for me anymore, it's the throttled speed that is annoying. Streaming, all sorts or manners thereof, has been one cause of the slowdown. Another impact to speed is that almost any piece of electronic apparatus is connected to WiFi, multiplied by the number of people and apparatus within the park network. I like the idea of an external antenna to gain signal strength, but would prefer an omni-directional antenna, albeit less gain, but also less tuning for direction.

 

[DruidZ]

Hello,

I have used these antennas to get the signal outside the RV from my router system. About 3 to 5 db gain on average

https://www.amazon.ca/Tonton-Extension-Wireless-Security-Magnetic/dp/B07CNVDFR5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1549732208&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=wifi+antenna&psc=1

I assume that it doesn't matter whether I am going out or coming in. I see that this gives me two antennas which is what the card has. The only problem is bringing in two cables to the unit. I was wondering if I could replace this unused radio antenna but that only has one cable.

If you want the best option for weak campground WiFi you can use one of these yagi's. This provides 18 db of gain but does require peaking to find the best signal. Likely best used when at a site for a longer time.

https://www.amazon.ca/Antenna-Stand...=1549732467&sr=8-4&keywords=wifi+antenna+yagi

If a single antenna is OK then this might be a good option. I would prefer something that I can lay down when traveling though. I could mount it so that the top comes to the top of the unit but being able to raise it higher when parked would be nice.

- - - Updated - - -

Campground WiFi range is indeed improving, possibly due to the ability to consumer rate. A highly rated park has repeaters throughout, and tuned pretty well. Strength of the signal is usually not a problem for me anymore, it's the throttled speed that is annoying. Streaming, all sorts or manners thereof, has been one cause of the slowdown. Another impact to speed is that almost any piece of electronic apparatus is connected to WiFi, multiplied by the number of people and apparatus within the park network. I like the idea of an external antenna to gain signal strength, but would prefer an omni-directional antenna, albeit less gain, but also less tuning for direction.

True that but sometimes it's nice to get that extra access. My current situation has me sitting with a metal shed right between me and the hotspot. My Blu-Ray connects to it better because it is a little higher. I expect that being higher and outside will generally improve the situation but it should never make it worse.