A really good WiFi adapter

I've used a Hawking HWU54D adapter for several years with good results, but decided it was time to replace it.  I had read several reviews of the Alfa adapters so I ordered a AWUS036H model through Amazon.  The actual seller was DB Roth, a vendor with an excellent history.  The adapter was shipped the next day and received a day earlier than the USPS estimated.  I ignored the enclosed CD with drivers and client manager and just plugged the adapter into the same USB cable I had been using for the Hawking.  Windows 7 went to the internet and found and installed the latest drivers for the adapter (a Realtek 8187 chipset).  I was able to connect and use my neighbors WiFi internet connection immediately.  His signal strength according to Inssider with the Hawking had been about -80 dBm, with the Alfa it was -55 dBm, a 16 fold increase in signal strength.  Considering the Hawking was a directional antenna and the Alfa has a 5dBi omnidirectional antenna, this was nothing short of amazing.  The attached graph from Inssider shows 3 local SSIDs, all about 100 yards or more from the antenna.  The 2 strongest, NedsNet and NedsGuests, are my D-Link router just 3 feet from the antenna.

The adapter also came with a longer 9dBi antenna but I couldn't see much, if any, increase in signal strength with it.

Alfa also makes other models, including a b/g/n version.

The price for this neat gadget, just $33.  If you're in the market for a good WiFi adapter, I can highly recommend this one.

Another adapter I have had amazing success with is the Wi-Fire.  I can be sitting in my RV anywhere on most campgrounds and receive wi-fi!  I was even stopped on the side of the highway once in the middle of Idaho and was able to receive a signal from god knows where using this little device from inside the comfort of my own camper.  I highly recommend it - and its only $49 if you buy it online at www.hfield.com!!

I have one also and it is great.  To anyone interested make sure you get the 1000mw vesion of the AWUS036H.  The original was 500mw.  Not to incriminate myself or anything but the AWUS036H is perfect for aircrack.

I hope this is relavant... I bought a jefa-tech wifi receiver for the RV that has an external antenna which I mounted on top of the TV antenna.  It is advertised to provide 8 dB of omni directional gain over the stub antenna.  It is basically a repeater that picks up wifi signals in the vicinity and then re-broadcasts the signal to any nearby computers, like a router.  It can be set up using WPA2 encryption with a password but, of course, is only as secure as the wifi it repeats I guess, although it may protect the computers by being a "router" but I don't know.  Anyway, it works great.  It can pick up wifi signals that the laptop cannot detect and provides access for as many computers as the bandwidth will support.  If the wifi is secure, you have to configure the repeater to use the password as well as the password between the repeater and the computers.  The Jefa-tech company used a Cisco router as the hardware and reprogrammed it to do this repeater stuff.  They advertise the setup for RVs and RV parks as well as other applications.  FYI.  thanks, Gary.

Link to the order page please

John From Detroit said:

Link to the order page please

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if you mean the Jefa-Tech repeater.... it's www.jefatech.com

thx, gary

taoshum said:

if you mean the Jefa-Tech repeater.... it's www.jefatech.com

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Could you post the exact name of the product you mention.  They don't use the term "wifi receiver" which you used.  Or did you mean the WiFI repeater?  http://www.jefatech.com/product/RV-KIT-REPEATER/Long-Range-WiFi-Repeater-Kit-for-RVs.html .

BTW if that is the model I'm disappointed they didn't give you the option for 5' or 10' of coax cable.  The signal loss at 20' would be quite significant at those frequencies.  Of course the website doesn't tell you what  kind of coax it is.  For example if I was to install the mount on the ladder I've installed the blue box on the ceiling just next to the ladder and put in 2' or 3' of coax.

Amazon sells the 1000mW for $34.95. Says it is the strongest on the market. But, Amazon also sells a $32.95 "2000mW 2W 802.11g/n High Gain USB Wireless G / N Long-Rang WiFi Network Adapter " -- and says it is the strongest. How to choose?

If anyone tries this on a Mac with OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, please advise how it works. One review on Amazon couldn't get it done even with the mfr's 10.6 drivers.

TonyT said:

Could you post the exact name of the product you mention.  They don't use the term "wifi receiver" which you used.  Or did you mean the WiFI repeater?  http://www.jefatech.com/product/RV-KIT-REPEATER/Long-Range-WiFi-Repeater-Kit-for-RVs.html .

BTW if that is the model I'm disappointed they didn't give you the option for 5' or 10' of coax cable.  The signal loss at 20' would be quite significant at those frequencies.  Of course the website doesn't tell you what  kind of coax it is.  For example if I was to install the mount on the ladder I've installed the blue box on the ceiling just next to the ladder and put in 2' or 3' of coax.

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it is the "repeater", sorry.  the antenna is reported to provide 8dB of gain.

Pierat said:

Amazon sells the 1000mW for $34.95. Says it is the strongest on the market. But, Amazon also sells a $32.95 "2000mW 2W 802.11g/n High Gain USB Wireless G / N Long-Rang WiFi Network Adapter " -- and says it is the strongest. How to choose?

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The difference between 1 and 2 watts will be hardly noticeable.  It's not like horsepower  as the signal goes in all directions so it might only reach 10 or 20% farther.  But we don't know if the receiver is any more sensitive so that doesn't help.  Antennas can make a huge difference which is why I'm surprised the Hawkings dish antenna isn't as good.  A shorter feed line is always better than a longer feed line at these frequencies.  (But at CB radio frequencies the difference between 20' and 40' is negligible but at these frequencies you could lose half your power and sensitivity.)

Anyhow I'm thinking of purchasing both this device and the Hawkings just to experiment.  (Did I forget to say that I'm a computer geek, although software, and have my radio amateur license?  )

has anyone done a direct comprison of the Alfa 1000mw unit vs the hfield Wi-Fire????

I am curious is the Wi-fire better due to its directional antenna?????

Thank

With Radios you need to look not at the power of the transmitter (1 or 2 watts in this case) but the gain of the antenna..  Here is why

If I double the power of the transmitter I can then reach out about 1.4 times as far (Square Root of 2) since the inverse square rule applies.  (double the distance the power drops 4 times)

HOWEVER... can I "Hear" the router?  If I can't hear the router.. What good is all that extra power?

Now, if I double the power  of the antenna (Increase gain by about 3db).. I can reach out, once again, 1.4 times as far

BUT I CAN ALSO HEAR 1.4 times as far.

Sadly, this applies to noise as well as signal.

John,

not sure that you understood my question or that I understood your answer )

Based on comments in this topic I investigated the Alfa 1000mw unit and the Wi-fire. Price for both is reasonable, although the Wi-fire is more expensive by about 16 bucks.

My question is, has anyone compared the 2 units side by side and which one performed better.

The comments on Amazon suggest the Alfa 2000mw unit and the higher db antenna to be useless or inferior to the 1000mw  with the smaller gain antenna

Thanks

related to these various device and functionality choices...
is there a file of "one line" drawings anywhere that shows the various configurations?

thanks.

toshu, a directional antenna will almost always outperform an omnidirectional antenna, all other things being equal.  All other things meaning the actual electronics connected to the antenna.

InPursuit said:

related to these various device and functionality choices...
is there a file of "one line" drawings anywhere that shows the various configurations?

thanks.

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if you mean "schematic", I have not seen any.

The info I have looked at is here
http://www.hfield.com/the-wi-fire/
http://www.alphaelectronics.net/producto.php?id=1278

most comments are from amazon customers about performance where both products are praised, in general

Ned said:

toshu, a directional antenna will almost always outperform an omnidirectional antenna, all other things being equal.  All other things meaning the actual electronics connected to the antenna.

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I would in general agree with that assumption, but your example as the lead post here said that the Alfa was a better package than the Hawking directional unit.
I wold like to buy a unit and t seems that both have gotten good reviews so was wondering if anyone had compared the 2 side by side???

I did compare the Hawking and the Alfa under the same conditions on my computer and the Alfa was noticeable better.  This is one of the exceptions where an omni-directional antenna outperformed a directional antenna.  The difference is probably attributable to the higher gain of the Alfa, even though omnidirectional, and possibly better radios as it's a several years newer.  So all other things were not equal in this case, but the comparison is still valid.

I have not compared the Alfa with the Wi-Fire, and don't know anyone that has.  Barring real world testing, all you can go on are the specifications and trust they're correct.