Pirate555

Friends...

After looking for a real Yagi ~ not wanting to reinvent the wheel , I discovered the commercial-grade ANTENEX YE240015 12.5 dB YAGI. Inside the rugged protective enclosure are 15 real elements providing a front-to-back ratio of 20dB! All mast mounting hardware is included and the ANTENEX is equipped with a TNC (RP-TNC) male connector with just under 3' of quality coax. The ANTENEX is optimized for 2400 - 2480 MHz with a center frequency of 2440 MHz.

See this antenna at:
http://www.antenex.com/c_search.asp?...ubFamily=SCADA
Look at the bottom of the page.

The MSRP is $125, so I was very excited to find one on eSnay and win it for $29.99 plus $7.00 to ship. Now I wish I would have purchased two!

This is my first attempt at Wardriving Hardware and my goal is to not only analyze wireless channels for identification (not content), but have the ability to track-down the actual source of Wireless signals right to the source (res/business/institution).

*This afternoon I put a Linksys WPC11 V3 on the bench and did the external antenna modification except I opted to install a 4' length of RG-174 coax directly to the board with "SMA" Connector on the coax input end.* I plan to use a adjustable HP step attenuator that should serve me well in high signal areas, but I will also pack some fixed attenuators to help me on my quest. It may be that the tiny fixed attenuators will be a better choice over the bulky step-attenuator?

I must add that it was very frustrating trying launch Netstumbler 4.0 (554) for the first time ever. The NS/Card configuration took longer than the WPC11 mod. No, honestly they took about the same amount of time.

Back to the Yagi...

After finally getting Netstumbler to launch I was stunned because I was already seeing 4 wireless networks and my ANTENEX was just laying on the floor next to me and a laptop in the living room! As I lifted the ANTENEX into the hand-held mode, three more networks appeared and I live in a typical neighborhood. Seven 'hits' and I am still indoors. Impressed yet?

The graph-mode of NS4 helped me get real 'fixes' for each network I was detecting. NS4 provided loads of info about Channel load and shows 4 users on Channel 6 of the seven networks detected. Because two of the networks were at max. on the display, I rotated the Antenex into the horizontal position. My own network was still maxed-out, but the second maxed signal dropped to a useable level. Some of the other network signals dropped out totally.

Looking at the antenna pattern:

http://64.78.52.251/images/catalog/S...240015_vfp.gif

I can sure understand why! This antenna is almost like a beacon or flashlight with tons of "forward gain".

The epoxy for the coax on my WPC11 is still drying or I would have taken it all out for my first drive!

I have been gathering FAQ's and files for almost two weeks now so while I was at it, I transferred my WARDRIVING folder to my laptop. I tried 'aerosol-0.65', but after NS4, aerosol was much to basic for me.

Now armed with a new pocket "Canary Wireless WiFi Detector Digital Hotspotter HS10" (See eSnay 9707355949) or see a review of the Canary here:

http://features.slashdot.org/article...05224&from=rss

I am ready to hit the streets in the AM... I think there will be so much info that I will pack a tape recorder for notes.

Friends, this ANTENEX is the real deal. It's construction and performance are simply stunning! If you are serious about Wardriving, this ANTENEX is outstanding. Designed for commercial service, you are assured of quality ~ right out of the box. The antenna is shipped with a coax feedline of just under three feet; a six foot feedline would be the only thing more I would ask for on this antenna. Well ok, I would have also asked for a BNC male connector, but at these frequencies, a TNC connector is the better choice. Adaptors, adaptors, but now I have the GAIN to overcome the adaptor losses!

I've had very disappointing results with Cushcraft on other bands. Unless you like air-cooled dummy loads, forget all of their inflated gain claims. Cushcraft also offers yagi's, but been there and done that. In a word ~ junk.

I hope to follow-up this post with the results of my first Wardrives. Please forgive that I am truly a rookie at this, but I hope to add more posts as I learn more!

*Finally, before I end please let me caution you ~ use a very low wattage solder iron to lift the 2 caps from your WPC11 or you will see your circuit traces turn to black worms. Thankfully, I used a 'Princess' iron and that worked just fine for me.

Enjoy!
Pirate555

Dutch

Why would you want to do that ? Planning to knock on the door, and offer to secure their networks for a small sum of money if they are unencrypted ?

If that is the case, your businessmodel is severely flawed. Head down to the WiFi FAQ section, and read the thread named "Starting a new "WiFi Security" company".

Dutch

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itsnotme

I was reading your "review" then I came across this paragraph:

Then I'll have to admit, your post started sounding more like an advertisement for the ANTENEX. If it's really not an advertisement, then it's not that bad of a review although you didn't really have that much proof that it was a good antenna.

But then, maybe it's just me, or I need to go to bed.

beakmyn

Sound like Viral Advertising.

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And it smells like markting BS. Strike "smells"; "stinks" would be a much better world.

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