I’m thinking of adding wireless network access in my home. But as a radio buff I know that placing an antenna optimally with respect to nearby conductors can make it work much more reliably.
So, if you buy a wireless access point to add to your network, can you remove the antenna and put it on a cable that locates it just so? Can you mount a quarter wave whip to a ground plane with a cable bulkhead? In other words, do they make this radio device with the kind of flexibility that radio folks generally make transceiving antennas? I can’t tell from any of the product photos or descriptions…
but one of the guys at uni set up his wireless lan in such a fashion that he managed to attatch an antenna to his wireless aln card ( it was soldered ), plonk the antenna in a pringles tube, and managed to get a directional link with some guys further down the road who had a similar set-up.
i never saw it work, but i saw the remains. the solders broke.
Yes, you can in the case of Linksys. Their antennas simply unscrew from the access point. Modifications have become so popular that third-party companies sell special high gain antennas for use with Linksys access points (the connectors are special). I have used them and gotten quite good results. However, I use the stock antennas for the wireless network in my two-story house and have never had a problem getting a signal anywhere in it.
CT, a German computer magazine built the Pringles can antenna and tested it against commericially available directional antenna and againt one made from a coffee can. The coffee can antenna was only a tad worse than the commercial units, and the Pringles can sucked - which is not surprising. The Pringles can only has a metal foil layer, which can be a real bitch to connect to. For directional stuff, either buy one, or find a set of instructions for one made from a coffee can - and be prepared to spend bucks, because the cables and connectors aren’t cheap.
I designed wireless Ethernet transceivers, and before that I spent a year planning the radio links that connected them. I think I can give something like a professional answer.
That answer is…maybe. Maybe the case was designed such that the antenna is a permanent part of the product, or maybe there’s just an N-connector (probably) on the back that will take the 1/4 wave antenna or an appropriate cable that leads to a more gutsy antenna up a tower, or an antenna you design yourself. On the other hand, I can think of good reasons to ensure the customer keeps his hands off the antenna port altogether. I’ve designed things incorporating that philosophy too.
If the company you’re shopping at offers other antennas for that product, chances are you can remove the proprietary antenna. But there’s no hard rule saying the antenna has to be removable. Not to my knowledge. So I’d ask the salesman.