86u antennas

[Gar]

Before finding a more/less permanent location for my new 86u I was wondering if anyone has experimented with the antenna orientation since one of them is internal. With my old 56u and it's 2 internal ants I had to play with the location, it seemed to work best in a cone from the front.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Before finding a more/less permanent location for my new 86u I was wondering if anyone has experimented with the antenna orientation since one of them is internal. With my old 56u and it's 2 internal ants I had to play with the location, it seemed to work best in a cone from the front.

Moving them around can make a difference, but I've come back to the W formation and then rotate the whole router to aim that however makes sense for the home layout or distant node. My router is near an outside brick facia so I hold it off the interior wall as much as possible. Central, high, in the clear, and W formation.

An RF engineer can offer better insight!

ASUS should give us a clue to the antenna beam pattern.

OE

 

[Gar]

I can't measure a difference no matter how I position it or orient the ants. All 3 are vertical and unit is aimed toward area I need it most. Not too scientific...

 

[OzarkEdge]

I can't measure a difference no matter how I position it or orient the ants. All 3 are vertical and unit is aimed toward area I need it most. Not too scientific...

I recall when I went all vertical, the signal upstairs/2nd floor and downstairs/basement weakened a bit.

OE

 

[Gar]

That makes sense. I'm in a 1500 sq ft 1 story house, it's probably less critical.

 

[Easy Limits]

On page 10 of the user manual there is a picture of what Asus recommends for antenna pattern.

 

[OzarkEdge]

On page 10 of the user manual there is a picture of what Asus recommends for antenna pattern.

Yep, the W formation for antenna positioning, but it's not clear what the antenna beam pattern is.

Website manual, page 10:

OE

 

[RMerlin]

Emission pattern is basically a doughnut around the antenna.

 

[Dave Parker]

Reading the page posted by Ozarkedge and it says 4 external antennas. The picture only shows 3. Mine only has 3. Is this a typo?

 

[Gar]

3 external, 1 inside

 

[OzarkEdge]

Reading the page posted by Ozarkedge and it says 4 external antennas. The picture only shows 3. Mine only has 3. Is this a typo?

For the 86U, yes. The 5.0 GHz band only has a 4th internal antenna.

OE