Wi-fi antenna - omni vs. yagi

[memilanuk]

I'm looking at adding a booster/repeater system to our travel trailer, in the hopes of getting some better access to CG wifi. I understand that it probably won't be able to stream movies, etc. but I would like to be able to connect at all! Seems like the campgrounds we stay at are often down in a hole where my cell signal sucks as well.

Anywho, having read thru a number of threads/posts on wifi, etc. I saw several recommendations for omni directional setups like the Jefa Tech, etc. but not very many for yagi antennas. Any ideas as to why? Is there not enough advantage or signal gain with the directional antennas to make it worth having to aim them @ the CG repeater?

Thanks,

Monte

[wa8yxm]

WyoTraveler wrote:
omni antennas are vertically polorized. Yagis are horizontally polorized.

Who told you that?

I have seen horizontal omni's and knwo how to build them

I have mounted Yagi's vertically (I know how to build them too)

I use a high gain Wi-Fi device basically it is a Linksys WGA-54g (Wireless game adapter) which comes with an Omni antenna the kind that sticks up like a finger.

I built a device to make it highly directional.. Looking at the unit's signal strength meter a very weak signal (NO adapter) around a six Is closer to 26 with the adapter..

How to make adapter..
http://www.amateurlogic.tv
Download Episode 3
George re-cut the antenna on his Linksys.. I did not.

I did nominate George for an awared.. he won too.

[YC_1]

LittleBill wrote:

YC 1 wrote:
If you want to mess about when traveling between RV parks a yagi is fine but a bit of over kill and will not usually produce any significant improvements. A good gain Omni and a simple Wi-Fi repeater works well. Mount it on your crank up antenna and feed it to your router or a good device that you can then feed to any inexpensive router. I am done with the experimenting phase and want to simply crank my antenna up and see what there is out there. A yagi can actually not be as effective in the real world as a good Omni while traveling about. A good gain Omni is a great investment.

one of these

lol you do realize those are not omni's that you linked to right? they are panels and directional.

OOH, hand to forehead. Oops. Try this one

[memilanuk]

Actually... that was something I was thinking about earlier today. We generally don't use the TV antenna on our trailer at *all*... I was wondering if it would be feasible to mount something like a Nanostation M2 on the TV mast, so it could be raised and lowered and 'aimed' at the CG wifi hotspot...

[rwbradley]

Gonzo42 wrote:
I only wish I had a motorized antenna rotator and a scanner, plus room to keep them in the RV.

Reminds me of the 70's... good old fashioned TV towers at every house with a Rotor at the top of the mast, and a little box beside the TV to turn the antenna.

[Gonzo42]

I only wish I had a motorized antenna rotator and a scanner, plus room to keep them in the RV.

[LittleBill]

YC 1 wrote:
If you want to mess about when traveling between RV parks a yagi is fine but a bit of over kill and will not usually produce any significant improvements. A good gain Omni and a simple Wi-Fi repeater works well. Mount it on your crank up antenna and feed it to your router or a good device that you can then feed to any inexpensive router. I am done with the experimenting phase and want to simply crank my antenna up and see what there is out there. A yagi can actually not be as effective in the real world as a good Omni while traveling about. A good gain Omni is a great investment.

one of these

lol you do realize those are not omni's that you linked to right? they are panels and directional.

[YC_1]

If you want to mess about when traveling between RV parks a yagi is fine but a bit of over kill and will not usually produce any significant improvements. A good gain Omni and a simple Wi-Fi repeater works well. Mount it on your crank up antenna and feed it to your router or a good device that you can then feed to any inexpensive router. I am done with the experimenting phase and want to simply crank my antenna up and see what there is out there. A yagi can actually not be as effective in the real world as a good Omni while traveling about. A good gain Omni is a great investment.

one of these

[YC_1]

WyoTraveler wrote:
omni antennas are vertically polorized. Yagis are horizontally polorized.

Yagis can be polarized either way. Television antennas were horizontal. Most common uses are vertical.

[Tom_M1]

Here's a picture of a typical WiFi Yagi antenna found on Amazon:


Typically a WiFi signal is vertical polarization and the antenna must also be vertical. A Yagi can be positioned vertical or horizontal.

[rwbradley]

jcpainter wrote:
What would be an example of a good product to accomplish this?

We already have a cellular antenna mounted to the top of our ladder. Would mounting a WiFi antenna cause conflict between the two?

rwbradley wrote:

3) your trailer is a big Faraday cage (aka cone of silence for WIFI)- this is where your WIFI antenna is a big win, getting it near a window or better on the roof or TV antenna has the best chance of improving things. In this case an 8db Omni with a short good quality cable (5-10ft) is more than enough.

This is the setup I did, with an outdoor 8db antenna, 6ft of RG58 and an old Linksys WRT54G router (basically a JEFAtech copycat) just without their customized DDWRT firmware.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28364595.cfm
I like this solution vs USB antenna as it lets any device in the trailer take advantage of it and is permanent but the High gain USB antenna solution (like an Alfa) will work fine especially if you have a window mount and are facing the right direction. This solution does take some installation though. You may be able to see in pics from that mod that I also added a Wilson Sleek antenna on the roof as well. The two are about 10 feet apart and I am getting the gain I expected I would on both. Although I am familiar with some antenna theory I am a Network Engineer by trade so I will defer to someone with more experience on how close you can put them. This is not an expert opinion, but from what I have heard you only need a few feet separation in this case.

[jcpainter]

What would be an example of a good product to accomplish this?

We already have a cellular antenna mounted to the top of our ladder. Would mounting a WiFi antenna cause conflict between the two?

rwbradley wrote:

3) your trailer is a big Faraday cage (aka cone of silence for WIFI)- this is where your WIFI antenna is a big win, getting it near a window or better on the roof or TV antenna has the best chance of improving things. In this case an 8db Omni with a short good quality cable (5-10ft) is more than enough.

[SCVJeff]

WyoTraveler wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
omni antennas are vertically polorized. Yagis are horizontally polorized.

beams are any polarity you bolt them down in

You are right they do but not as well with mast effecting Z

You must be a low bander (no offense at all!), I really wish I was. But my amateur, commercial and broadcast background is VHF and up. Most if not all beams sold are built to cross pole, and all but the longest are end mounted for the reasons you describe. Either way there is so much traffic on the bands these days, if you can't cross pole an antenna you stand an excellent chance of not getting the link licensed.

[WyoTraveler]

SCVJeff wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
omni antennas are vertically polorized. Yagis are horizontally polorized.

beams are any polarity you bolt them down in

You are right they do but not as well with mast effecting Z

[memilanuk]

Cool. Figured it couldn't be quite that simple 😉

Been doing some more reading, guided by the posts in this thread, and have a couple options to look at.

First and foremost, I'll probably see what I get just using the equipment I already have kicking around - one is a small (~12") yagi + usb wi-fi adapter that I can jack into my laptop (Lenovo ThinkPad T530, dual-booting Win7 / Ubuntu 14.04). Next will be a Buffalo Airstation with a bigger (~24") yagi antenna. If I still don't get what I'm looking for in terms of signal I may look at something along the lines of a Ubiquiti Bullet. Building the system myself doesn't really bother me from a setup and config aspect (I use Linux for my day-to-day computing 😉 ), I just get frustrated with the incompatibilities between device A from manufacturer X and device B from manufacturer Y which invariably pop up :M Almost makes a Wave Rogue or similar setup seem worth it.

[ChooChooMan74]

I built my own system. I have a Ubiquti Bullet with an omni directional anenna mounted on my antenna and a small usb powered Wireless Access point /router.