External or Internal

taco8412 · 08-15-2004

Hey this forum is great. I hope when I get enough money that I can get a decent setup. Maybe even do a little war driving. But for now. I just have one question.

I have a Intel wireless/pro USB .11B adapter. As i've read here the pickup for it is horrible. I have a NetGear .11G router on the first floor of the house in back room. My computer is 3 rooms back (front of house) on the second floor. If i'm lucky i'll get a really weak signal a majority of the time. Alot of time i'll break off for short periods. I made a parabola antenna and that helps a little.

Would I benefit from an internal .11G, considering my computer is stashed behind a desk? right now I have the USB hanging up high on the ceiling. If i'm better off sticking with an external which one do you recommend?

agentgrn · 08-16-2004

USB w/ an external antenna will give you a lot more flexibility with placement for a better signal. Internal antennas are notorious for sucking.

kdriver · 08-16-2004

I am currently using an Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B USB card to wardrive until my orinoco rebrand arrives. What I did was split the case open and take out the card. Then I ripped off one of the antennas and soldered a biquad where it used to be. After I did that I soldered a omni antenna that looks like lincomatics' to the other built-in antenna. I'll take a picture and post it in a minute. This mod seems to help a little bit. I live in the suburbs of the twin cities and get 60 APs between here and my neighboring town/city, so it works pretty well. Oh yea, I can pick up Best Buy's APs from the county road that goes by it. The road is at least a good 1000-1500ft away from the store. I taped the card to a shoe box so that it would hold itself up when I am driving, I have a flap taped to the bottom of the box that gets wedged into the center council of my car so it stays put.

taco8412 · 08-16-2004

That BiQuad piece is really cool. How percise do the measurements have to be??
And when you say that helped "a little bit"... in a stationary home with the router 60 feet away through 4 or 5 thick walls... you could actually say, it can help a whole heck of alot.

That's a fair amount of modding for a novice like myself but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Upgrading to a G would make little difference?

peekitty · 08-16-2004

No offense intended, but your soldering could use some work. Clean joints should actually give your antenna a better pattern.

kdriver · 08-16-2004

lol, ya my soldering could use a lot of work, I agree entirely. Half the problem was using a soldering iron physically too big for the job. (Weller,

) I am going to get my friend's iron from him *tomorrow* and we will fix em up a bit. As for measurements, ya they got to be precise. I got all of the measurements from lincomatic's site @ http://www.geocities.com/lincomatic/homebrewant.html My bends are off like 1/2-1mm and my wire has little quirks in it, so if you did it precisely and aren't in a hurry like I was, It should give you a better signal if you point the biquad in the right direction. You could even put a reflector on it, I didn't because of the other omni antenna in the way. I recently spent the night in a hotel and was quite a bit away from the hotel's AP, not to mention all the dense stuff like concrete and mortar that the building was made of. I setup the antenna and it worked like a champ, giving me a "very good" in terms of WinXP, heh.

Hell, I was at the gas station across the street and was just barely able to connect, but it did and that was 300-400ft away, with trees and cars, etc. I don't know the exact gain you get by putting it on there, but it's fun and worth a try. If you mess it up, just go get an enterasys orinoco rebrand off the net. I found one for like $13.50 and it was a buy it now on ebay. Some orinoco classics just got posted for $29.99 buy it now, but they say sold as is, so I don't know what that's supposed to mean.

P.S. If you decide to rip off the one antenna, leave the posts so you have something to solder to.

King_Ice_Flash · 08-16-2004

Doesn't anyone know how to spell tomorrow? This is getting very annoying. This is the fourth time I have seen it spelled with an "a" today. Maybe it's me that is missing something.

peekitty · 08-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdriver

Half the problem was using a soldering iron physically too big for the job. (Weller,

)

Well that explains it, those beasts are best used for plumbing work and smelting iron ore. I inherited an old pistol grip Weller that blows circuit breakers when you pull the trigger. You're lucky you didn't burn your arm off.

wrzwaldo · 08-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdriver

... Some orinoco classics just got posted for $29.99 buy it now, but they say sold as is, so I don't know what that's supposed to mean.

Usually means someone tried to update the firmware or some hack and it quit working. That is not necessarily a bad thing if you can reflash it. I recently got a "bad wap11" for $12.00 because it quit working after a firmware upgrade. I reset and re-flashed it and has been working fine ever since.

kdriver · 08-16-2004

Yea, I dunno how my dad got the weller, but I am gonna have to find something else to get the job done before I mealt down the board as I'm trying to solder to it, lol.

P.S. Yea, about the burning my arm off, I wear a pair of welding gloves whenever I am soldering. Can't be too safe. Maybe I need to wear a really cool welding helmet too just to make sure the spatter don't get in my face, like those new Miller helmets. My dad has one of those that auto-shades once you strike the arc. That is really fun to wear when welding.

wrzwaldo: about those cards, maybe you should buy the lot and upgrade em and crap and make a profit. I bet people would buy em from ya if you sold them for around $45 USD because that still beats everyone's prices. That would cover your shipping cost and make you a small profit. Good idea if it would be worth the time.

wrzwaldo · 08-17-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdriver

...
wrzwaldo: about those cards, maybe you should buy the lot and upgrade em and crap and make a profit. I bet people would buy em from ya if you sold them for around $45 USD because that still beats everyone's prices. That would cover your shipping cost and make you a small profit. Good idea if it would be worth the time.

Unfortunately I have no room for additional projects right now

Barry · 08-17-2004

Only one problem with the auto shading helmets, shadows. Was going to town on a lawnmower trailer and moved my arm in between the arc and the little solar panel that powers the lense. Couldn't see crap but a big red spot for about twenty minuts. Dad just laughed and said "Oh yea,...."

kdriver · 08-17-2004

Oh damn! That had to suck big time! I feel bad for you dude.

08-15-2004	#1 (permalink)
taco8412 Dave Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: PA Posts: 3	External or Internal Hey this forum is great. I hope when I get enough money that I can get a decent setup. Maybe even do a little war driving. But for now. I just have one question. I have a Intel wireless/pro USB .11B adapter. As i've read here the pickup for it is horrible. I have a NetGear .11G router on the first floor of the house in back room. My computer is 3 rooms back (front of house) on the second floor. If i'm lucky i'll get a really weak signal a majority of the time. Alot of time i'll break off for short periods. I made a parabola antenna and that helps a little. Would I benefit from an internal .11G, considering my computer is stashed behind a desk? right now I have the USB hanging up high on the ceiling. If i'm better off sticking with an external which one do you recommend?

08-16-2004	#2 (permalink)
agentgrn KB1JQO - Packin' Heat Join Date: May 2002 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 517	USB w/ an external antenna will give you a lot more flexibility with placement for a better signal. Internal antennas are notorious for sucking. __________________ -A.G.-

08-16-2004	#6 (permalink)
kdriver Just Havin' Fun! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Twin Cities, MN USA Posts: 23	lol, ya my soldering could use a lot of work, I agree entirely. Half the problem was using a soldering iron physically too big for the job. (Weller, ) I am going to get my friend's iron from him tomorrow and we will fix em up a bit. As for measurements, ya they got to be precise. I got all of the measurements from lincomatic's site @ http://www.geocities.com/lincomatic/homebrewant.html My bends are off like 1/2-1mm and my wire has little quirks in it, so if you did it precisely and aren't in a hurry like I was, It should give you a better signal if you point the biquad in the right direction. You could even put a reflector on it, I didn't because of the other omni antenna in the way. I recently spent the night in a hotel and was quite a bit away from the hotel's AP, not to mention all the dense stuff like concrete and mortar that the building was made of. I setup the antenna and it worked like a champ, giving me a "very good" in terms of WinXP, heh. Hell, I was at the gas station across the street and was just barely able to connect, but it did and that was 300-400ft away, with trees and cars, etc. I don't know the exact gain you get by putting it on there, but it's fun and worth a try. If you mess it up, just go get an enterasys orinoco rebrand off the net. I found one for like $13.50 and it was a buy it now on ebay. Some orinoco classics just got posted for $29.99 buy it now, but they say sold as is, so I don't know what that's supposed to mean. P.S. If you decide to rip off the one antenna, leave the posts so you have something to solder to. Last edited by kdriver : 08-16-2004 at 10:35 PM.

08-16-2004	#7 (permalink)
King_Ice_Flash Alien Paranoid Stumbler Join Date: May 2003 Location: WI Posts: 2,688	Doesn't anyone know how to spell tomorrow? This is getting very annoying. This is the fourth time I have seen it spelled with an "a" today. Maybe it's me that is missing something. __________________ "Yeah," said a voice from under the table, "you go to pieces so fast people get hit by the shrapnel."

08-16-2004	#10 (permalink)
kdriver Just Havin' Fun! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Twin Cities, MN USA Posts: 23	Yea, I dunno how my dad got the weller, but I am gonna have to find something else to get the job done before I mealt down the board as I'm trying to solder to it, lol. P.S. Yea, about the burning my arm off, I wear a pair of welding gloves whenever I am soldering. Can't be too safe. Maybe I need to wear a really cool welding helmet too just to make sure the spatter don't get in my face, like those new Miller helmets. My dad has one of those that auto-shades once you strike the arc. That is really fun to wear when welding. wrzwaldo: about those cards, maybe you should buy the lot and upgrade em and crap and make a profit. I bet people would buy em from ya if you sold them for around $45 USD because that still beats everyone's prices. That would cover your shipping cost and make you a small profit. Good idea if it would be worth the time. Last edited by kdriver : 08-16-2004 at 10:45 PM.

08-16-2004	#4 (permalink)
taco8412 Dave Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: PA Posts: 3	That BiQuad piece is really cool. How percise do the measurements have to be?? And when you say that helped "a little bit"... in a stationary home with the router 60 feet away through 4 or 5 thick walls... you could actually say, it can help a whole heck of alot. That's a fair amount of modding for a novice like myself but I'm willing to give it a shot. Upgrading to a G would make little difference?

08-16-2004	#5 (permalink)
peekitty Macaca Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S. Florida Posts: 1,056	No offense intended, but your soldering could use some work. Clean joints should actually give your antenna a better pattern.

08-17-2004	#12 (permalink)
Barry Managing the iTards. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 5,882	Only one problem with the auto shading helmets, shadows. Was going to town on a lawnmower trailer and moved my arm in between the arc and the little solar panel that powers the lense. Couldn't see crap but a big red spot for about twenty minuts. Dad just laughed and said "Oh yea,...." __________________ Never do anything you don't want to explain to the paramedics.

08-17-2004	#13 (permalink)
kdriver Just Havin' Fun! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Twin Cities, MN USA Posts: 23	Oh damn! That had to suck big time! I feel bad for you dude.

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