Pirate555

Friends...

I purchased two of these AIRLINK 101 ASB-7MA ANTENNAS some weeks ago and while Airlink claims +7 dBi Gain, I saw no real improvement at all over the stock antennas on my Routers, laptop or remote PCI card.

The AIRLINK ASB-7MA ANTENNA is rated for 2.4~2.4835 Ghz and 360 degree operation. If it's just a vertical wire in the air, I can agree it is 360 degrees. Airlink also specifies a beam width of 40 degrees. This Antenna is supplied with a 100 cm length of RG178 coax.

It didn't matter where I placed the antenna, the signals looked almost the same and never approached 100%.

I will attempt to upload a photo of the actual antenna itself. As you can see, the antenna actually has a total 7 1/2" to it and it is just copper wire. How Airlink claims +7 dBi of gain is beyond me. I expected at least a printed circuit board antenna, but noooooo... it's just a basic 'spike' antenna.

I was going to return the Antennas, but could not find the receipt. So they would not be a total loss, I took one of the antennas apart for the pigtail, but alas, it is a "Reverse SMA" connector. I didn't notice that until I attached a adaptor to the pigtail and saw zero signal to my modified WPC11 Wireless card. After I changed out the RG174 coax with a real SMA connector, my WPC11 card came to life!

Frys sells this AIRLINK ASB-7MA ANTENNA for $19.95 plus tax. The box states, "Increases Range and Speed!", but I sure didn't experience that at all. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say ~ save your money.

Pirate555

Attached Images

AIRLINK.JPG (16.0 KB, 78 views)

wrzwaldo

What exactly is a

Are you sure it's copper wire or something stiffer that is copper plated?

Attached Images

t Give A Shit.jpg (41.0 KB, 78 views)

Airstreamer

I would suggest you do a bit of research on antenna theory before spouting off crap like that. Because the design wasn't a PC board has NOTHING to do with the characteristics of the antenna. It is 'just a piece of wire' alright, but it is FORMED in a particular way that effects the RF properties in various ways. Just because YOU see no "100%" reception doesn't mean squat. There are MANY other variables that you are not accounting for.

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Pirate555

I just double-checked and it's just stiff wire that is copper-plated and measures .02 inches in diameter.

But it may as well have been made from a coat hanger.

Pirate555

Airstreamer

Wrong again, bozo. Coat hangers are made of STEEL. Different RF properties at UHF/Microwave frequencies. Do your research.
/background sound of flame throwers pressuring up

__________________
"America is at that awkward stage.
It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.."

- Claire Wolfe, 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution

Pirate555

I look for form, function and fit.

It's form is as I described in my post. If the antenna HAD some type of yagi or 'J' etched on a board I could understand a +7dBi claim.

As for function I saw no significant improvement over the stock antennas. To me +7dBi gain means this: +3db doubles the power and another +3db doubles the power again. I saw nothing in practice and application of that specific antenna that would agree with that formula. While I did not use actual lab equipment to measure that promised gain, I can sure read a signal strength meter provided by D-Link and my computers. Sure there no critical scale provided, but if the antenna provided a true and honest +7dBi of gain, I should have seen the signal improve accordingly and I did not.

And fit, no, I would not invest another $40+ for junk like this because it sure didn't meet my needs and I don't need another hank of coax and clunky antenna kicking around when there was no real improvement over the stock antennas.

Manufactures can make fantastic claims, but for me the bottom line is performance.

My coat hanger comment was just that. Yes, there is a difference in copper and a coat hanger, but both make a crappy antenna in this configuration. I did notice that Frys had quite a few boxes with 'return' stickers on this same antenna. Gee, could it be that others had the same experience?

Have a great day.

Pirate555

[I would suggest you do a bit of research on antenna theory before spouting off crap like that. Because the design wasn't a PC board has NOTHING to do with the characteristics of the antenna. It is 'just a piece of wire' alright, but it is FORMED in a particular way that effects the RF properties in various ways. Just because YOU see no "100%" reception doesn't mean squat. There are MANY other variables that you are not accounting for.]

wrzwaldo

How do you know you didn't see it? What are you using to test it?

beakmyn

I am invoking the 'Law of Illogical Argument'

Most likely the device is qualified by the FCC and as such you can probably get a copy of the testing specifications and results. The manufacturer must have valid data to back up their claims.

And I'm sure they didn't use a wireless card and Netstumbler to measure the gain on the antenna. Not that Netstumbler can't do it. But, it was placed on a non-radiating surface in a RF Anechoic chamber and hooked up to some pretty cool equipment and a calibrated 2.4Ghz was radiated from an antenna at a set set distance and the signal was measured and checked against another calibrated antenna to ensure accuracy. More or less.

Those coils aren't there to make it look pretty.

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streaker69

Ah, The Beakmyn Principle, I was wondering when that was going to get defined.

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wrzwaldo

I know. At first I thought it was worms but then errrr never mind, you were talking about the antenna weren't you.

itsnotme

OK! Who slipped wrzwaldo the roofie?

Starpoint

Thats why I only buy em when Fry's puts em on sale for 7-8 bucks each

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dakkon2k

/bump
Wonder if this law will join Streakers "Tech TV" rule as a thread killer?

OP places 7db ant 5' from AP, wonders why it don't work. Tries again at 3' nothing. OP gets pissed, tries again at 1'. OP comes to NS to whine about PoS $20 antenna. OP knows he should get full signal, cause his intel 2100 or ralink card w/NS running is teh shiat!

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Airstreamer

First, learn to quote properly.

Second, if you don't recognize loading coils built into an antenna to change the radiation pattern it's not my fault. YOU get your head out of your ass and do the research like I suggested, and you'll learn that a yagi is NOT the only type of antenna with 'gain.'

Hint: http://wireless.gumph.org/articles/homemadeomni.html

That have an etched PC board or a yagi?

They specify a 40 degree beam width. So, dipshit, what do you think the radiation pattern of this antenna looks like?

Hint: It looks a little bit like the doughnut pillow you probably will want to sit on after you pull your head out, unless of course, you LIKE that kind of pain.

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"America is at that awkward stage.
It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.."

- Claire Wolfe, 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution

G8tK33per

Allow me....


"I can't understand how people can be so stupid. I can't understand that."

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