External antenna from PCE-AC68 PCIe card

[Slycer]

Hi,


does anyone know if I can connect the external antenna from PCE-AC68 PCIe card to my AC66U router? I have the router in a cabinet and moving it outside improves the signal by 15dB. So I want to connect the antenna and move it outside the cabinet.

As stupid as it may sound, I don't know if there a difference between antennas for receiving and sending a signal, since the PCIe card is meant to receive and the router is meant to send signal. Also, will the antenna correctly put out a 2.4/5 GHz signal?


Thanks!

 

[L&LD]

If the connectors are the same, yes it will work.

Btw, both the router and the PCIe card send and receive.

 

[Slycer]

Good, so this should work. I think that the connectors are the same. Made by asus, same line of products (AC66 or 68).


In general this is a good idea, right?

 

[L&LD]

Good, so this should work. I think that the connectors are the same. Made by asus, same line of products (AC66 or 68).


In general this is a good idea, right?

Assuming the connectors are the same and you get close to the same 15dB increase in signal; yes an excellent idea.


Effectively like putting a lamp on a table vs. having it under the bed.

 

[Slycer]

Thanks! Ordered. Really hope it makes a difference. Been having problems with this router.

 

[tikiman1]

Might not get much of a gain. There will be some signal loss due to the length of the cables.

 

[jim769]

Yeah there have been multiple threads with people trying different high gain antennas and in most cases it dont work any better and in some cases worse. Just getting the router out of your cabinet will probably make the biggest difference. Good Luck with it.

 

[Slycer]

The card was 90 euros so I do hope it makes a bit of a difference. It's a high end ASUS made product so I hope that 1m od cable doesnt nullify 15db of gain. I'll report back when I get it.

Right now, the router is like 3m away. A wooden cabinet and drywall in between and I get 50dB. Was 34, 35 when the router was out of the cabinet.

 

[jim769]

The card was 90 euros so I do hope it makes a bit of a difference. It's a high end ASUS made product so I hope that 1m od cable doesnt nullify 15db of gain. I'll report back when I get it.

Right now, the router is like 3m away. A wooden cabinet and drywall in between and I get 50dB. Was 34, 35 when the router was out of the cabinet.

What model antenna did you order ? Did you order just one or all three and the biggest issue are they duel band antennas the cover both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz ?

 

[Slycer]

I orderd the PCI card. An external antenna comes with it. But instead of hooking it to the PCI card I'll hook it up to the router.

 

[jim769]

Those look like the the same stock antennas that come with Asus routers. Is there something different about them do you have any gain specs ? Or were you just wanting to keep the router in the cabinet and have the antennas outside the cabinet. I suppose all you can do is give it a try and see how it works.

 

[System Error Message]

The antennas on routers go up to 8db on consumer routers. Just be sure to place the antennas from card way from interference like power or other electronics.

 

[Slycer]

The antennas are probably the same. I just want to move them and not the router outside the cabinet so I can keep the cable mess in there.

 

[jim769]

The antennas are probably the same. I just want to move them and not the router outside the cabinet so I can keep the cable mess in there.

Please post back with how the setup works..

 

[Slycer]

10dB gain with the antenna. Kinda hoped for more. It's 15 when the whole router is out of the cabinet.

 

[L&LD]

10dB gain with the antenna. Kinda hoped for more. It's 15 when the whole router is out of the cabinet.

It was interesting to see this. That means that the pcie leads cause a 5dB loss.

Have you tried different channels on each band to see if one or another is better tuned to the new setup? How high are you placing the pcie antennae array? How are you aligning them relative to each other?

Have you tried using the actual antennae from the RT-AC66U router to the external pcie antennae? Curious if that will improve or hinder additional signal getting through.

While 10dB is still a great increase, I am not sure if the cost makes it a good buy though? Will you be keeping this?

 

[Slycer]

I used the antennas that were on the router.

The position of the antenna array is still not determined. Right now it's on the same spot as where the router was when I got that 15db gain. I have all three antennas pointing straight up.

I will keep it.. It's a lot of money but at least I've got a AC pcie card too. Was on N until now.

 

[L&LD]

Did you try the pcie antennae array with the included antennae, or with just the router's antennae?

They may look the same but be different in internal design and operation.