Here at Engadget, we're all about
DIY projects that make your (and our) life easier. Ever since the days when range-extending
cantennas were the rage, we've all been hankering for increasing the reception of our notebook's WiFi adapter (
legally). Displeased with the built-in Dell 1470 a/b/g mini PCI unit in his
Asus A2H notebook, a brave, engineering mind over at NotebookReview took to eBay in search of a solution. After purchasing a $118 "Turbo-Tenna," he concocted a plan (hit the read link for the full skinny) to wire the amplifier internally in order to provide a sleek, unobtrusive appearance. Using a soldering iron and an "on / off switch," he wired the Hong Kong-based device to his laptop's power supply and routed the connector to free pins on the VGA output. Once complete, his reception went from spotty and sluggish (1Mbps) to a much improved 24Mbps. It was noted that the installation was a tad on the complex side, and when the antenna is in use, your VGA port is subsequently out of order -- but hey, who needs a connection to the board room projector when you're enjoying wireless internet on a beautiful
offshore island?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nathan @ Nov 13th 2006 6:44PM
That's a fair effort to get good WiFi reception, let's hope ASUS is watching and fixes the problem with future laptops.
MikeTLive @ Nov 13th 2006 6:48PM
just tell me when wireless gear finally goes back to having antenna jacks.
I can see no reason not to have them.
SRD @ Nov 13th 2006 7:34PM
Nathan. There never was an issue with the asus laptop. He just wanted to boost the reception in fringe areas. the laptop functions fine. and mike this is more than just and antenna it is amplified and powered by the vga jacks. you cant get that kinda boost froma regular antenna. but a jack should be included.
Nizam Rahman @ Nov 13th 2006 8:18PM
I'd wanted to do this for a long time. The internal antenna sometimes just doesn't cut it.
Juaquin @ Nov 13th 2006 10:35PM
I don't have the balls to open up and solder things in my rather expensive laptop to boost wireless signals. Which is exactly why they need a jack. Heck, someone can make a USB-powered antenna that plugs into a port. Why should that be so hard?
Vagrant @ Nov 13th 2006 11:51PM
I had problems with the built-in antenna on my Dell Inspiron 8200.
First, I purchased a better miniPCI card that supported B/G & WPA a la the Intel 2200BG.
I then took the laptop apart and ripped out the flimsy flat metal that is supposedly my antenna. (No wonder it sucked. It was just krap metal in the base of the unit under the right palm rest.)
I aquired a 6" MiniUF plug, or whatever plugs into the miniPCI card, that had the other end as a bulkhead Type N.
There's really nothing on the right side, after you rip out the antenna, which allows you to drill a hole big enough to fit the Type N head through.
That's pretty much it. I replaced some krappy 2cent tinfoil with a 7dB omni-directional antenna I can take off and on, or extend it with a patch cable, or hook it up to any antenna now.
*Note: For those of you who want the easy route, and are willing to pay, check this out: http://www.demarctech.com
You can just purchase a 200mW PCMCIA card and then grab yourself an RP-MMCX antenna. Before I did the above mod, I purchased one of these cards and it rocks.
RichardC @ Nov 14th 2006 1:48AM
Every Asus laptop I've worked with (a few dozen different models) have an AUX antenna connection hidden under the very left display hinge. It can be seen by snapping off the plastic cover (it's meant to be snapped on and off). If you don't want to open up the machine, you can just use this connection, and draw power off the USB port.
Here's a pic of the port on my Asus A6Vc:
http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=asusauxzw5.jpg
It's the tiny round gold connector on the very left. And no, the cracks to the right of the hinge are from taking the screen apart, not accessing the AUX port.
patcat88 @ Jan 8th 2008 2:56PM
Just put a high mw tx power Mini PCI card into your laptop. Replace the existing card. No perminent modifications.