How add external wifi antena to laptop?

Just bought a Lenovo R61i laptop. see link

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146392

How can I add and external wifi antenna to this laptop?
Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
built in antennas will be

On Jul 3, 2:00*pm, m...@privacy.net wrote:
> Just bought a Lenovo R61i laptop. see link
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146392
>
> How can I add and external wifi antenna to this laptop?
> Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
> built in antennas will be


The Thinkpads generally have very good reception with built in
wireless, check it out first.

If not, you will want an external USB or ethernet client adapter.
Search newegg for client under wireless or USB under wireless and
follow the reviews.

But try your R61 first. Built in is so convenient.

> Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
> built in antennas will be

Higher? Why? What are you trying to connect to? What makes you think
height will make any difference?

On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:00:10 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Just bought a Lenovo R61i laptop. see link
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146392
>How can I add and external wifi antenna to this laptop?

There are some ideas on how to butcher your laptop and add external
antennas at:
<http://repair4laptop.org/wireless_lan_antennae.html>
In general, they will require some drilling or modifications that will
destroy your warranty. I would not recommend doing this on a new
laptop.

A generally better idea is to add a wireless USB, PCMCIA, CardBUS,
PCI-Expresso, or Express Card to your laptop. Some of these include
external antenna connectors. For example:
<http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1>
The USB device would be attached to your favorite style antenna, with
a 16ft USB cable between the laptop and the radio.

>Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
>built in antennas will be

If you're thinking of using an omnidirectional antenna on a stick,
that works. I've seen it used at the local college. It has the
advantage of being fairly small when collapsed. However, if you know
the location of the campus access points, a directional panel antenna
offers more gain, generally less critical positioning, and some
interference reduction. Think about carrying a small 8dBi panel,
patch, biquad, or loop antenna instead of an omni. Height is good,
but gain and directionality are much better.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

seaweedsl <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Jul 3, 2:00*pm, m...@privacy.net wrote:
>> Just bought a Lenovo R61i laptop. see link
>>
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834146392
>>
>> How can I add and external wifi antenna to this laptop?
>> Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
>> built in antennas will be
>
>
>The Thinkpads generally have very good reception with built in
>wireless, check it out first.
>
>If not, you will want an external USB or ethernet client adapter.
>Search newegg for client under wireless or USB under wireless and
>follow the reviews.
>
>But try your R61 first. Built in is so convenient.

Ok will chk the built in first and see what happens.

the R61i should be delivered this afternoon

"Bill Kearney" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>> Want to get the antenna up much higher than what the
>> built in antennas will be
>
>Higher? Why? What are you trying to connect to? What makes you think
>height will make any difference?
>

I'm abt 1000 feet away from a truck stop that has free
wifi

Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>A generally better idea is to add a wireless USB, PCMCIA, CardBUS,
>PCI-Expresso, or Express Card to your laptop. Some of these include
>external antenna connectors. For example:
><http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1>
>The USB device would be attached to your favorite style antenna, with
>a 16ft USB cable between the laptop and the radio.

Great!! That should work above!!

Question tho..... what abt using a USB device that is
also its own antenna and just putting THAT up high?

Course it means the signal is decoded first and must
travel down some length of ire....where as your
solution above allows the antenna and decoding circuit
to be separate.

Also..... would PCMCIA adapter be better than say USB
based ones?

>If you're thinking of using an omnidirectional antenna on a stick,
>that works. I've seen it used at the local college. It has the
>advantage of being fairly small when collapsed. However, if you know
>the location of the campus access points, a directional panel antenna
>offers more gain, generally less critical positioning, and some
>interference reduction. Think about carrying a small 8dBi panel,
>patch, biquad, or loop antenna instead of an omni. Height is good,
>but gain and directionality are much better.

Ok will check into it..... but have any suggestions?

On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:44:10 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>A generally better idea is to add a wireless USB, PCMCIA, CardBUS,
>>PCI-Expresso, or Express Card to your laptop. Some of these include
>>external antenna connectors. For example:
>><http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1>
>>The USB device would be attached to your favorite style antenna, with
>>a 16ft USB cable between the laptop and the radio.
>
>Great!! That should work above!!

Ummm.... did you get permission from the truck stop to use their
internet connection?

>Question tho..... what abt using a USB device that is
>also its own antenna and just putting THAT up high?

It's effectively the same thing, except that you don't get a choice of
antenna when the radio and antenna are one assembly. If you need a
bigger (or smaller) antenna for some reason, you get to replace both.
Also, you'll find the pricing of such devices rather odd. Some
conglomerations cost more than the sum of the components. There is
one advantage in that the assembly is probably more waterproof than a
do it thyself system.

Also note that you're limited to about 16ft of USB cable. If you want
to go farther, you should probably consider using PoE (power over
ethernet) which a different and more complexicated animal. Basically,
you would need an "ethernet wireless bridge" or "ethernet client
adapter". There's a partial list of such devices at:
<http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi#Wireless_Ethernet_Bridges>
Not all of those listed will work, so please be careful before
spending money.

>Course it means the signal is decoded first and must
>travel down some length of ire....where as your
>solution above allows the antenna and decoding circuit
>to be separate.

The losses in the coax cable are substantial. This is why I suggested
a seperate USB device... to minimize the coax cable length.

>Also..... would PCMCIA adapter be better than say USB
>based ones?

I really don't want to get into a long winded article on PCMCIA versus
USB. In your specific application, you need to get the radio part
away from the laptop. USB does that. PCMCIA does not. However, if
the distance between the antenna is fairly short (i.e. < 10ft), either
will work.

Note that the USB adapter I suggested has an external antenna. USB
adapters with internal antennas tend to be rather small and therefore
with very low gain antennas. You won't get much range out of them,
but you can place them "up high".

Personally, I prefer the "ethernet wireless bridge" and PoE solution,
but it's also the biggest, most expensive, ugliest, and most complex
solution.

>Ok will check into it..... but have any suggestions?

Nope. I explain how things work. You do your own shopping.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558