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Installing external dual band antennas rt-ac56u

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jappish84

Regular Contributor
Even though I wasn't experiencing the same problems, I originally got the idea to install external antennas after seeing this post from hax

My goal is to get better Wifi coverage and speeds throughout the house, so after seeing that there are (IPX?) connectors on the router I ordered ipx to rp-sma adapters, and two pcs wifi antennas, these to be more precise.

When I received both the adapters and antennas I saw that I managed to order a female IPX connector, unfortunately the connector on the router is also a female connector. So my first thought was to solder, as hax did in his post, but then I thought I could just add a bridge inside the female using a small peace of a capacitors leg. The fit seemed close to perfect. The thing is I can't seem to see any improvement in wifi range or speeds, I first tried installing the two antennas like hax did, but later changed to the two top connectors.

So my questions are:

- What connectors should I use, and why are there 4 connectors?

- Should I assume that the capacitor leg (even though I checked continuity) isn't able to connect the antenna properly?

- assume faulty antennas/adapters?

ac56connectors.JPG
ipxmod.JPG
 
The antennas on consumer routers are actually fake or basically plastic and those cables you have hanging out are just extended out as the antennas. 5Ghz doesnt require large antennas so adding some onto it isnt going to help. What you should do is replace those antennas/antenna cables with a much better one that is more sensitive.
 
I'm confused because basically everyone that bought the dual band antennas I linked in my original post gave them top reviews.

I'm not just looking at getting a better 5ghz signal , but also 2.4ghz. Hax mentions in his post that he is getting better signal by doing what I'm trying to do. And as far as I can tell, he is also using an ipx to rma adapter that he chose to solder instead.

Is there some relatively easy way of testing the antennas and adapter cables?

If these antennas are fake / faulty, what antennas should you recommend?
Again, why are there 4 mini connectors on the router? I thought the router was a dual antenna design?
 
Alright, so I found an old cisco router that has its original antenna connected the same way I wanna do on my Asus router. See pic. Only the ipx connector on the router side is different as its a male connector.

So I did some testing using Wifi analyzer for Android to measure signal strength. The signal strength seems to be pretty much the same using the cables/antennas I bought vs cisco original parts. This leads me to think that my connections weren't that great, or that I'm using the wrong combination of connectors, because surely, these antennas should give better signal than the small internal ones?
 
No, no guarantee (i.e. not 'surely') that different antennae will give a better signal. Even compared to small internal antennae that were optimally matched to the radios.
 
No, no guarantee (i.e. not 'surely') that different antennae will give a better signal. Even compared to small internal antennae that were optimally matched to the radios.

I'd rather move internal antenna to outside by using proper length coax. At least internal antenna is engineered per spec. Is the external antenna came with tech. spec.? Assuming it is trustworthy, follow the instruction. If not, who knows what it is? Length of coax incur fractional loss, a connector loses 1-2 dbm. Using best quality parts is MUST. Piece of wire connecting coax will screw up the coax characteristic impedance which will cause quite a bit of loss. Without basic RF/antenna theory/ knowledge, what can be accomplished? It is mind boggling.
 
I have no clue, I just went with what hax wrote in his post, that he got better coverage doing this. Another difference is that he is using much shorter coax. And what's that thick thing on his coax cable?


Still, can someone tell me why there are 4 antenna connectors? Two of them (top ones) are very small, like the one on the Cisco routers top cover.

Logically, one would think large and small antenna belong together and come in pair?
 
Anternas on top are 5GHz antennas. Antennas on sides are 2.4GHz antennas. On your photo above, connector is connected to 5GHz antenna.

I bought two broken routers to get antenas, connectors and cables:
tplink.jpg


Thus I am sure they are 100% reliable.

I unsoldered everything after connector on board, then soldered anenna cable to common ground and wire coming out of connector:


solder.jpg


Signal strength increased, but, as I wrote, it did not solve my problem with constant sudden disconnections. I assume it is firmware bug which happens in crowded environment.

You can try to unsolder small black inductor on the wire between connector on board and internal antenna. When you plug in connector, the connector on board should disconnect internal antenna. Maybe it does not happend with your modification.

Also you can try using 7db or 9db antennas:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SEN9U6/?tag=snbforums-20
I've tried two 7DB antennas. My conclusion that signal strengh does not metter, slow speed is due to firmware bug which causes connection to stall every 5-20 seconds.

However, if you own that Cisco router, just connect it as Access point to AC56u to one of the LAN ports. This was my solutions at the end.
 
Thanks for the reply hax!

Luckily I'm not experiencing connection drop out issues as you are, or slow speeds, just poor signal at the other end of my house, so that's what I'm hoping to fix.

I will definitely try desoldering the inductors and see what happens, hopefully this will activate the external antennas.

My last way out will be setting up an extra AP for sure.
 

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