Increase the range of your Wireless network! Attach these high gain antennas to your Linksys Wireless Broadband Router or Access Point, and increase both the effective strength of the outgoing signals, and the receive sensitivity for incoming signals.
The added signal strength and sensitivity also improves close-range communication reliability because every packet comes through "loud and clear", reducing retransmissions due to weak signal reception errors.
To install, just unscrew your current antennas, and attach the High Gain antennas in their place. There are no drivers to install, and no modifications to your setup are necessary.
The Linksys High Gain Antenna Kit saves wiring costs and helps to build corporate wireless infrastructure by driving stronger signals into distant corners and hard-to-reach areas. And it's perfect for covering large areas in warehouse environments, public spaces, wireless hotspots, and outdoor venues -- anywhere you need extra coverage for your wireless network.
- Increases the effective range of Linksys wireless devices
- Stronger signal increases wireless coverage into hard-to-reach areas and improves throughput by reducing retransmissions
- Easy installation -- simply replace your current antennas
- Works with both Wireless-G and Wireless-B devices
1 Have to thank Mr Chow for his cheaper alternative
I hade actually bought a supposed Hawking 15db high gain antenna and replaced one of my linksys antennas with it. But, still the signal in my upstairs bedroom was very low. After seeing the cheaper alternative noted by Mr Chow,
http://www.freeantennas.com/prod03.htm
I made the simple EZ 10 reflector in 5 minutes by stapling some aluminum foil to some manila folder card stock, folding at 90 degrees and placing behind the remaining linksys antenna and.... voila, my signal was immediately boosted to an acceptable level... fantastic... wish I had known about it sooner before I spent good money on that expensive Hawking that didn't get the job done !
2 cheaper alternative
I was going to buy the high gain antenna but find the info regarding building your own directional antenna
http://www.freeantennas.com/prod03.htm
I download the template and built the add on to my antenna in about 10 minutes out of cardbox and some left over wire mash screen that I had to cover the gutter from leaves. My before signal strength was about 50%, the after is 75%. Keep in mind if you need to increase the radio signal for 360 degrees, then buy the high gain but if you just have a problem of one of the computer in your house not getting a good signal then go to the above site.
3 Easy way to extend your WiFi network
I had a great experience with this product.
Very easy to install: just unscrew the old attenae, and screw these on. That's it! Much easier than the Linksys range extender, which has some install horror stories written up here in Amazon.
Results: where I used to have 1 Mbps in my house, I now have 36 Mbps. Where I used to lose a signal, I now have 11 Mbps.
Well worth the investment. Cheaper than the Linksys range extender. I wish all technology was this easy.
4 Pricey, but it worked.
I was looking to get just a bit more distance in my home. This gave me the extra 10% to 15% that I was looking for. Don't expect significant improvement though. Positioning of the wireless router and of the antenna themselves will help a lot. It takes some trial and error. Too bad the antenna cost almost as much as the wireless router itself. I would have given a 4 rating, but the price pushes it down to a 3 in terms of value.
5 A little pricey, but made an improvement
I installed these this weekend and saw a nice improvement. Like some posters have said, it's not the "be all end all" to your problems, but if you are having some minor issues and want a bump in power these worked great.
I had been using a pair of antennas from Radio Shack and saw minimal improvement, then I tried the old half moon tin foil thing and was suprised how much that helped. The problem with that is it is very directional, and in my home my router is in the middle of the house on the top floor making it challenging to focus the strength.
Once I installed these I saw a bump on netstumbler to -50db, and very very consistent, there were no ups and downs which the old antenna had. That in itself is an improvement. My two deadspots also went away. I haven't been outside to see if it's increased the range, I'll do that later. I'll probably add that half moon thing again and see how strong the signal gets in a focused direction also. Not the solution for my problems, but fun to play with. :)
It is a lot of $$, but can solve some problems.
6 try before you buy
I have not used this product. I gave it 3 stars to be neutral. I considered buying this but...
Another reviewer mentioned building an antenna "enhancer" from http://www.freeantennas.com/prod03.htm
I did, and it worked for me. It took 15 minutes to build from (heavy) paper, tin foil and glue. It increased my signal from -78db to -65db and decreased noise from -88db to -92db on my Belkin PCI adapter. Took a little experimentation to align it, but I could not maintain a connection prior to using this.
7 DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM!
I read the other negative reviews, and didn't believe them due to the positive reviews this product had received. What a mistake!
I've had a Linksys WRT54G router and a Linksys WPC54G PCMCIA card for over a year now, and I'm very happy with both of them. Only problem is that I don't get a great signal in my basement. I thought that this antenna would help, but I couldn't have been more wrong. See this Network Stumbler graph (http://suspended.net/images/higain.png). My signal actually decreased when using the "High Gain" antennas compared to the factory antennas.
I'm going to return this item and stick with the stock antennas and maybe build a reflector like this one: http://www.freeantennas.com/prod01.htm
8 Works Awesomely!
These antennas, when connected to your Linksys wireless hub, really crank out a strong signal throughout your home. Boost your signal stregnth to 14 db!
9 High-Dissatisfaction...
Provided little or no signal improvement in my environment. Based on the reviews so far, I suspect environment-structure and product placement are major factors in the effectiveness of this product. Buy with reduced expectations and a return request in mind.
10 Know what you are getting.........
This product is not the Holy Grail to solve all your networking connectivity issues. In the appropriate situation, this product works very well. In my case, I needed a little extra "push" in signal strength to be able to connect reliably in the main living area of my house. Due to the construction of my home, my wireless distance is limited (I have a dedicated cable line in a FROG. The room is surrounded by foil wrapped HVAC ducts). Prior to installing the antennas, I had a signal/quality of 20-30%. This made internet connectivity spotty. After installation, I note a quality /signal in the 40-50% range.
Again, we are all looking for different things from our wireless connection. I use mine mainly for checking email, browsing the internet, and on line gaming. A signal of 40-50% is more than suitable for this. If I am updating windows or downloading other large files, I tend to go ahead and hard wire my laptop.
Chances are, if you are getting no signal in areas of your home/office, these antennas arent going to help you. Trying a repeater will probably help you more. If you are looking for just a little extra signal, this product is for you.
11 Don't let your hope hight -- minimal performance enhancement
I'm using a HGA7T with WRT54GS. My router is placed downstair while all my desktops with wireless adapter is upstairs. It does increase the signal strength, but with a bare minimal sense. The weak signal spots are all still weak as before and inconsistent.
I bet you will have better luck buying a WAP54G instead of this.
12 it works as advertised
Works great. Had low signal on 2nd floor of well built house without it. Main router is on first floor on far side of house.
After installing antennas, signal strength is excellent.
13 Dissappointing - pure and simple
What a complete waste of time and money. I had - and still have - poor reception in my bed room and I bought these antennas to improve the situation. Now the problem has gone from bad to slightly worse. I could quote signal strength and signal to noise ratios, but honestly, I find a simple file transfer more revealing. Before installing the antennas I could download with 370KB/s to the bedroom. Immediately after installing the antennas the average transfer rate of the same 67MB file dropped to 195KB/s.
14 improved a little, better to use range extender ..
The antenna does not boost enough signal to improve reception and the improvement may not cover all place. In addition, signal improvement may not stable. Suggest to use range extender to get better signal strength and quality.
15 Bummer. I was hoping they'd make a difference
I have a linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router and I like it a lot! However, my signal was poor when I was at one end of the house. I knew it was just part of the limitations (it's about 70 feet away and it has to go through floors and walls. My signal would alternate between "Very Low" and unavailable. Then I read about these antennas, and I thought this would give it enough boost so I wouldn't have to add another WAP to cover the distance. Well, it didn't work out that way. It does keep my connection at "Very low" most of the time and sometime it goes to unavailable. I don't think it was worth the $44 that I paid for them. But I knew it was a calculated risk, so I'll probably get another WAP, put it in the laundry room under my bedroom so I can have a more reliable connection!
16 Adds a bit of range.... sometimes.
First off They are large. But only gained about 10-15% increase in signal strength and about 10-15 feet in range. This was in an typical office setting. I can now reach the board rooms and other areas of the office with my WiFi connection.
It had absolutely no effect when I used it in a Condo unit. A unit three stories above me lost the signal. Before we where able to get the signal from the Linksys Wireless G router but after these antenna's the signal was gone. The Condo unit is old and build largely of cement (and I am sure lead based paint).
I use the same antenna kit in both locations. I first tired it at the condo then I took them to work.
The price is high for a rather low gain and hit and miss success rate.
17 Works Very Well For Me
Very interesting to see how many people aren't having much success with these antennas. I would be interested in how everyone is measuring their signal strength and their placement of the routers.
I'm in an older house where it is long and narrow with hardly any open spaces.
I'm using these antennas on a WRT54G on one side of the house, in conjunction with the WRE54G repeater on the other side of the building.
I used Netstumbler, and the Dell wireless utility that came with the internal wireless card. I get the same readings for signal strength on both programs.
Before adding the antennas, I was getting an average of -50 to
-55 dBi strength 10 feet from the router. After adding the antenna's, I am averaging -36 to -39 dBi.
Sitting 15 feet from the WRE54G repeater the signal gained exactly the same from -50 to -36 dBi after adding the antennas to the router for some reason.
The worse strength I received in my house jumped from -92 dBi to -67 dBi.
18 Range increase moderate
Measuring the signal strength produced after installing the new antennas I noticed a 10%-15% increase in signal strength from 60 dBi to 50-55 dBi range at a distance of 30 feet and through two walls. The signal to noise ratio was also increased. The cost of the new antennas is almost the same as the router itself and I would only recommend these if all else fails. Test differing channels to avoid interference. Try to install the router in a central location or on top of a bookshelf would probably aid just as much as procuring these antennas. They do however provide the 7 dBi gain promised.
19 Good Conversation Piece
or perhaps a place to dry your socks, but pretty much useless for their intended purpose. I installed these on my WRT54G router (taking care to screw them in firmly) and actually saw a slight decrease in signal. Absolute waste of money. I've returned them. A better option would be the Linksys repeater (as soon as it really supports WPA security). Don't waste your money on these.
20 Complete Waste of Money
Absolutely no change in signal strength or speed. When I called the Linksys line I was told that I "obvously had a defective one and should exchange it." Then I read the amazon reviews. Next time I will look first!
21 No signal strength improvement
I see no change in the signal strength using the high gain antennas. There may be better transmission quality, but the meter on my computer reads 18 Mbps transfer rate regardless of whether I use the original antennas or the high gain antennas. I have no way to assess if there are fewer dropped packets.
22 Linksys HGA7T High Gain Antenna Kit for TNC Connectors
Perhaps you peole are not tightening the antennas enough, thus giving it the right connection because I do see a big diference
23 Doesn't work
Just received the antenna, and I'm disappointed in the poor performance. No improvement at all. On the other hand, I installed the range extender. A little difficulty in the installation, but it works like a charm. Buy the range extender; forget the antenna.
24 HGA7T high gain antenna review
I have a dead spot in my home that requires relocation of the router to an inconvenient location in order to get a signal. Not wanting to relocate the router, I ordered this high-gain antenna with hopes of taking care of the problem. It didn't seem to do anything. With the standard antenna I had a "very good" signal on a nearby PC. When I changed to the high gain, signal strength dropped to "good". In the dead spot, I still couldn't get a signal. What a disappointment.
25 Little to No improvement
I had high hopes that this product would increase the signal strength on my WRT54G wireless router. However, I can see little to no improvement in the weak areas and dead spots of my house.
26 Didn't work for me.
I typically get a low to very low signal on my wireless connection on my home PC. I've really been hoping to increase the range of my Linksys base station, so I jumped at the opportunity to pick these up. I was thinking of getting the "Cantenna", but these are aesthetically more attractive, which is important because of the location of the router.
Unfortunately, the signal dropped to zero when I plugged these in. I don't know why - I tried them in every which way I could. Too bad - they're going back.
