Pcmia Wifi Card With External Antenna Connectors

[Crushdepth]

Anyone know of a WIFI card that comes with external antenna connectors in Thailand? I have scoured Fortune, Pantip and IT Square and have been unable to find a single model with connectors.

I'm living in an 'internet challenged' apartment and I need to set up a long distance WIFI connection.

[monty]

There is a quite new shop in Tukcom Pattaya which stocks Orinoco cards (which I think are one of the few having the antenna plug)

They also sell some indoor high gain antenna's as well....

[Petch01]

There is a quite new shop in Tukcom Pattaya which stocks Orinoco cards (which I think are one of the few having the antenna plug)

They also sell some indoor high gain antenna's as well....

The question of the OP interested me. I know that on the internet is several information available to modify cards yourself. It doesn't look that really difficult. It's all because most brands such as Linksys, D-link, SMC, NetGear, etc. don't have a PMCI with a connector for an external antenna but the demand is there. The reasons are obvious.

Monty is correct. Orinoco (Proxim) IS one of the few, few, few (BTW, thanks Monty, you shed new light on my PMCI's with connectors knowledge). See the datasheett I found on the internet. http://www.proxim.com/downloads/products/c...PCCard_A4HR.pdf

So, OP, off you go to Pattaya if the Orinoco isn't available in BKK.

Petch01

Edited November 2, 2006 by Petch01

[lingling]

If your notebook has a built in one, just open it up, disconnect one of the internal antennas (most have two) and hook that connector up to an external jack. minor modification and that way you don't need a second wifi card...

[Gary A]

A friend of mine bought a wireless card for his laptop and had a poor or no usable connection. He then bought some kind of enclosure that has a small stubby antenna that accepted the card and plugged into the USB port. With a long USB cable he is able to sit the enclosure outside his window. He can now connect and he is happy. A remote antenna would no doubt have been better but he couldn't find one. Good luck.

[Crushdepth]

Thanks for your comments. I think I've found the card I want - a Senao SL-2511CD Plus EXT2. It has a huge 200mW output, very high sensitivity and 2 MMCX external antenna connectors (but it's only b, no g).

Downside is that its being sold in Singapore...but my flatmate is passing through there in a month's time.

[monty]

Looks an OK card! The speed won't bother you when it's only for internet access. It'll take a while before the internet speeds in Thailand catch up with what a 801.11 B card can deliver

The card will be illegal in Thailand, the maximum EIRP in Thailand (and Europe) is 20dBm.

How much your EIRP will be is pretty easy to calculate:

EIRP(dBm) = (Power of Transmitter (dBm)) – (Losses in transmission line (dB)) + (Antenna Gain(dBi))

Your transmitter pits out 23 dBm (equals 200 mW), so with an 8dBi gain antenna, and maybe 2 dB loss on your cable you'll still be putting out an EIRP of 29 dBm...

Simply put, you'd have to screw down your transmission power to 32 mW(15dBm) to stay legal...

However, I seriously doubt anybody will find out if it's just for personal use! Do note that with that power and a high gain antenna you could seriously disrupt other wifi signals...

[inthaiguy]

How about one of these: 14dB Yagi & MIMO Performance 802.11g

Going to get one for myself.

"Connect the Ultimate Yagi to your laptop or router and you will experience an instant jump in performance: up to 10x the signal strength. Enterasys specified this Yagi for communicating WiFi at distance of 1 to 3 miles! "

Edited November 3, 2006 by inthaiguy

[Crushdepth]

Thanks Monty. I am planning to get a directional antenna from that site you mentioned before. Other cards produced by Senao have power management feature where you can reduce output if necessary, so I hope this one does too.

I just moved into a high rise condo and have line of sight on the uni wireless network. I can detect the network with my current Netgear card but can't connect to it as it drops out every few seconds.

[thaieagle67]

Thanks Monty. I am planning to get a directional antenna from that site you mentioned before. Other cards produced by Senao have power management feature where you can reduce output if necessary, so I hope this one does too.

I just moved into a high rise condo and have line of sight on the uni wireless network. I can detect the network with my current Netgear card but can't connect to it as it drops out every few seconds.

Do any of you guys know if wifi with all these antenna's will be of any use if i am living on the outskirts of Pattaya rather than in the heart of town, what sort of range would i need, please bear in mind i'm new to this stuff.

A work friend can get stuff from the USA or through ebay, what are the price comparisons with Thailand?

[Petch01]

Thanks Monty. I am planning to get a directional antenna from that site you mentioned before. Other cards produced by Senao have power management feature where you can reduce output if necessary, so I hope this one does too.

I just moved into a high rise condo and have line of sight on the uni wireless network. I can detect the network with my current Netgear card but can't connect to it as it drops out every few seconds.

Do any of you guys know if wifi with all these antenna's will be of any use if i am living on the outskirts of Pattaya rather than in the heart of town, what sort of range would i need, please bear in mind i'm new to this stuff.

A work friend can get stuff from the USA or through ebay, what are the price comparisons with Thailand?

60 metres indoors and 300 metres outdoors (no obstacles such as buildings).

Petch01