Linksys High Gain Antenna Kit for TNC Connectors HGA7T

Manufacturer:	Linksys
List price:	~~$72.00~~
Our price:	$41.79 that is 42% off!

Linksys High Gain Antenna Kit for TNC Connectors HGA7T

Average rating: Stars

For me, a waste of money

Well, perhaps there are circumsrances where this product would actually increase signal strength over a given distance as compared to the antennas that came with my WRT54G, but it didn't happen in my case...I noticed ZERO improvement.

I also tried the antenna reflector design:
(...)

That didn't do anything for me either.

Now I understand antennas and signal strengths to a certain extent, and the laws of electronics and physics says that both the reflector AND the Linksys "high gain" antenna simply HAVE to make improvements. But, well, for whatever reason, neither made any difference for me.

Very dissapointing.

But try the reflector first, it took me about 30 minutes to make, and it SHOULD do something for you, especially if you are trying to direct your signal in a specific direction.

If you have your router approx in the middle of your house, or half-way-ish between your computers, then you want OMNIDIRECTIONAL signal gain, and in that case, you want the Linksys high gain antennas.

There are several other choices around the internet for increasing signal strength as well.

Linksys High Gain Antenna Kit for TNC Connectors HGA7T - Linksys

They work fine if you understand what you've purchased

Folks, these antennas, as well as the stock antennas, have an omnidirectional (same in all directions) horizontal radiation pattern. This means that, when installed in a suitable location, the most significant reception gains will be seen with equipment that is on the same level as the router itself. Most of the "these did nothing for me" stories appear to be from people who have the router downstairs and the equipment upstairs, or in the basement. These antennas are NOT designed to improve reception between floors in a home.

2.4GHz signals are heavily attenuated by walls, foil-clad insualtion, and other building materials. Interference can also be present from cordless phones, microwaves, wireless cameras and other gear in this band -- adding an antenna can make these types of issues WORSE. Changing the channel your wireless router uses can help, since chances are most of your neighbors are using the same channel you are. Some routers have a built-in site survey utility to help you locate an unused channel.

If you are having trouble reaching a particular device through several walls, or between floors, try a directional antenna as these will concentrate the radio energy where they are pointed. Some reviewers have pointed to a site that illustrates how to make a directional antenna with index cards, glue and foil -- this is a rudementary directional antenna but will surprisingly provide excellent results in many applications.

In summary: If you purchased these antennas and they did not work or made the problem worse, you need to reconsider the type of installation (multi-floor, multi-wall, etc.), sources of interference, channel selection, blocking materials such as foil-clad insulation, as well as proper antenna selection.

Linksys - Linksys High Gain Antenna Kit for TNC Connectors HGA7T

Disappointing Results

While installation is a snap, I did not achieve a net gain in signal strength. I am using a Linksys WRT54G router and a Linksys WUSB11 hooked up to a TiVo DVR. The signal was fine until I had to move the TiVo about 30' further away into another room, where my signal strength fluctuates from 5% to about 25%, poor to marginal. I get up to a max of 30% at times with two HGA7T in a Linksys AS2TNC antenna stand, however, it usually hovers near 20% which is about what I averaged before. I plan on getting a Linksys WRE54G range expander, despite the configuration issues. I honestly expected to get much better results with the antennae than I did since all I did was move the WUSB11 into another upstairs room, whereas it had previously been directly above the room where the WRT54G was. I tried tweaking the placement of the antennae and the WUSB11, and the reported results were the best I could do. Some slight movements resulted in poorer reception.

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