AC-87U Boost Antenna Signal???

[Jeff Engel]

First post here... I have an Asus AC-87U running the latest Merlin Firmware. I am trying to extend the network and current have two different range extenders on either side of the house, but the extenders are unreliable. They are close enough to get good signal, but I want to simplify the system and just use the Asus if possible. It is sitting on a cooling fan, and has 9DB High gain antennas on all four antenna ports.

Is DD-WRT the only way to boost the antenna past 100%? Is that reliable? Will it actually help range or not?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jeff Engel]

Bump.... I really need some help on this one. My extenders are cutting in and out even though are within 30 ft of the router.

 

[L&LD]

Do you have better performance with the stock antennae? They will be most likely better matched.

PM hggomes for the link to his firmware. This will give you the most power your hardware has on tap.

 

[Jeff Engel]

I will PM him.

I have no idea on the matching.... It seems I get a bit better performance with the high gain antennas in terms of transmission to my devices, but I don't know about them in relation to transmitting the signal to my Linksys AC1200 extenders.

 

[Big_AL]

Hi Jeff,

Question - what is the dBi rating for the stock AC-87U antennae please? Is it 6? Can't seem to find this info anywhere.

May I also ask where you got your 9dBi Antennae from please....or at least the full description of them so I can check them out ?

I have a similar goal to you - I have the exact same Router but only one repeater at the top of my stairs to try get a decent signal to my son up in the loft....but it's only 2.4Ghz....and pretty poor. I would rather just have a much stronger signal from the AC-87U through out my house....than shell out for a better spec repeater.


SO - in my quest - I found these ...http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00O90G0Z6/?tag=smallncom-21

They are 12dBi antennae specifically for our routers......BUT - they are stupidly long....23 inches!! Reviews are not so hot in that they are obviously UGLY and that they don't appear to be able to stand up on their own... you would have to cobble some kind of template to hold them up. But I think you would see a big gain....I read on some other forums that it's all about the gain....and not necessarily the TX power....but I am no expert so am not qualified to give advice on that....

So if your AC-87U is 'out of sight' then this could be worth a try....as there is at least one 5 star review that said it made a big difference and could now get wifi outside...etc. So this isn't an option for me - after having very carefully negotiated with the Mrs to have my AC-87U mounted halfway up the wall in the stairwell ( middle of the house) I then spend a few £'s on some neat trunking and extra Cat5e cabling....ect.....she's still not thrilled with it but is learning to live with it!

I think if I could add the 9dBi antennae I might see enough of a gain...to get a decent signal up to the loft....I don't think she would notice the slightly longer 9 dBi antennae!

Did you try that custom FW ? Did it solve your problem? Do you still get all the features as the stock one from ASUS ?

I would be very interested to hear how you got on..