Long Range WiFi Antenna and Boosters

By | December 30, 2014

After buying a wireless USB adapter or router range can become a concern as the default range of many devices can often be limiting.

One way to solve this problem is with wireless boosters or amplifiers. These come in a variety of packages from simply adding a bigger dBi Antenna, to boosters that will screen out noise making them more effective.

Simply buying a bigger dBi antenna can work in many cases but here are some things to keep in mind.

Higher gain antennas have a very narrow radiation angle.

Low gain (3dBi) antennas have a thick/broad doughnut-shaped ring, so that their near-field coverage is quite good. This gives them good near-field performance (within your house) when your receiving antenna might be several feet above or below the center-line of the 3dBi antenna.

High gain (9dBi) antennas have a nearly flat “metal washer” shaped radiation pattern, with only a very few degrees of radiation angle. This means that unless you are quite a distance away from them, you must be exactly perpendicular to the center of that antenna, or you will not see the gain.

This is how “high gain” antennas get their gain, by compressing the radiation pattern into a tightly focused beam, causing it to extend the working distance out much farther, but this severely sacrifices the near-field coverage angle.

Wireless range extenders

Are wireless boosters better than bigger dBi antennas?
Because of the reasons listed above many times people do not see much of an increase in range from simply buying a bigger antenna. The distance and size of an antenna is crucial to get the maximum benefit.

Another way to go is to buy a booster that uses electronics to boost the signal which often give much better results.

Boosters work by taking a signal and amplifying it through a electronic circuit and reducing the noise the signal picks up along the way.

7 thoughts on “Long Range WiFi Antenna and Boosters

  1. Wans7

    Hello Need Help Here…. My wifi adapter is ALfa AWUS036NH… First using i didnt using any wifi Booster… i scan wifi on kali linux and Beini 1.2.1 … i get wep/wpa and Open wifi or target… Now i have Wifi Booster and then i scan but didnt get any target ‘(Wifi)… in Beini “No ivs found” while in kali linux take long time to scan… my Alfa awus036nh booster is Alfa Antenna Wifi ARS-N19MBP 9dBi Antenna booster ( Alfa 9dBi WiFi Booster SMA OMNI-Directional High-Gain Screw-On Swivel Antenna With magnetic base )…. Help me please…

    Reply
  2. Azwan

    Which best booster for alfa Awus036nh ??
    powerful booster look like Bolo Brands N Wireless 18dbi 2.4GHz Wifi High Gain Antenna 18 dB 2.4 GHz Wifi Antenna Booster with Mount Kit , is it suitable for alfa auws036nh???

    Reply
    1. Robert

      Each antenna and wireless booster is made to work in certain environments.

      For example a 4 dBi antenna would be good when you are close to a router signal while 9 dBi antenna would be better when farther away.

      After a wireless signal is transmitted the wave becomes larger and larger as it travels. The goal of an antenna is to capture the high and low peak of the wave. So when it is first transmitted the wave is small and a smaller antenna is better, father away the wave is larger and a larger antenna is better.

      Alfa make their adapters with easy screw on interfaces so different antennas and boosters can be used depending on the situation.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *