[libratem]

Just got this direct from 'Bott. I'm using it with an AirPort Extreme base station.It seems to work fine-- it even helps my Ti-clad Powerbook extend its range a bit more.

The cable that comes with the antenna is only about 4 or 5 feet long.I need about 5 more feet so I can feed it through a wall and put it on the roof of a carport-- I live on a steep hill and I want to bring my Airport range to my patio.


I emailed Dr. Bott support this morning and asked if an extension cable was available. I was told that the FCC forbids any cable longer than the one supplied. I live about 3/4000 feet away from my nearest neighbor, so I doubt I'm going to be interfering with anyone's microwave oven or cordless phone....

The jack on the antenna is pretty non-standard, from what I can tell-- it's a small nub/rod maybe a bit larger than an audio miniplug. Any ideas how I can extend the length of the cable?

Also, I'm considering giving my TiBook's range a boost with a Cisco 352 PCI card. Anyone have any experience using these with AirPort?

[Tom N]

Well I suppose it is possible that the FCC "Forbids" longer cables, but I think DrBott is blowing something up your butt.

After all do you think all wireless radios used are located right next to the antenna? Hmm When I look at my own setup I have a wifi radio on a bookcase, with a cable going up the wall, into the ceiling, and over to a ceiling mount omni antenna (looks like a smoke detector).

It is however true that the FCC certifies the whole radio/antenna as being compliant, so what DrBott really may mean is that they never though of selling an extension, and didn't ask the people who make this product for them to get an extension certified.

So, why buy antennas for wifi use from DrBott? They don't make them, they don't design them, they are only middleman in a resale chain that puts very large markups on their items, and produce no real additional value for the customer.

I'm not against retail, markups, or making a good profit, but I do believe there needs to be value in the item sold. The Dr Bott antennas are the same ones sold by quite a few wifi antenna sources for under $50, and in some cases even $30. So, is the name DrBott on the antenna worth an additional $50?

I would suggest you contact one of the many wifi antenna and product sellers to get the extension cable you need.

To start you on your search:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/antenna_kits.html

http://www.netgate.com/index.html

And do a google search for other suppliers. Any of them should be able to help you out.

Good luck!

Tom N.

[ghporter]

Dr. Bott either misstated what they meant or didn't know what they were talking about. The length of the antenna cable is of no importance to the FCC. What it does affect is the amount of signal that gets to the antenna. At approximately 2.4GHz, even the best coaxial cable leaks like a sieve. A 1.5M cable can probably only guarantee 25%-50% of the signal from the output jack gets to the antenna-the rest just sort of evaporates along the way-at least as far as the antenna is concerned.

If you're really interested in increasing your range in a particular direction, there are other, better choices than buying expensive antennas. Your best bet is probably to build a parabolic reflector that faces the direction you want to cover. You want a simple parabola shape, and it doesn't have to be built of composites and titanium; you can build the shape out of cardboard and lay aluminum foil over it. The "tighter" the parabola you use, the more narrow the coverage, which can be a bad thing if you want to cover more than one direction. I've seen diagrams for such a reflector for Linksys wireless devices, and they not only work, they can be made fairly stylish, too.

The only problem I can see is identifying exactly where in the AE box the antenna is. The focus of your parabola needs to be exactly there.