Internal vs External Antennas (Routers)

[Icemanbrfc]

So I've ordered an Asus N17U router, and I'm keen to understand the differences there might be, between internal and external antennas.

Ill do a bit of a review on the N17U once i receive it.

In my line of work (Cellphones), the evolution from an external antenna to now having internal antennas has been remarkable. However, getting good network signal is dependant on whether the area you are in has sufficient coverage, or that there are enough towers/a tower etc

But how important would a router be in terms of internal vs external antennas, especially in a home that's smallish in size.

I wasn't intending on getting another router, but i thought id give this Asus router(budget constraints) a try.

 

[Rickster]

I think internal antennae on a router is retarded, it makes no sense.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

I think internal antennae on a router is retarded, it makes no sense.

Well thanks for that lol

 

[SauRoNZA]

Ultimately an antenna isn't an antenna isn't an antenna.

You'll get some that have internal antennas that are more powerful than others with external antennas and vice versa.

Much of a muchness really. You should rather compare the actual antenna output power than the type of antenna.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

Ultimately an antenna isn't an antenna isn't an antenna.

You'll get some that have internal antennas that are more powerful than others with external antennas and vice versa.

Much of a muchness really. You should rather compare the actual antenna output power than the type of antenna.

Thanks. Well I've ordered it, so should get delivery either tomorrow or Tuesday. Will see what the performance is like in terms of WiFi with the internal antennae, as compared to my current one with external.

 

[AntennaMan]

Ultimately an antenna isn't an antenna isn't an antenna.

You'll get some that have internal antennas that are more powerful than others with external antennas and vice versa.

Much of a muchness really. You should rather compare the actual antenna output power than the type of antenna.

Thanks. Well I've ordered it, so should get delivery either tomorrow or Tuesday. Will see what the performance is like in terms of WiFi with the internal antennae, as compared to my current one with external.

Just to clear things up a bit (and get technical, of course), what you need to look at is the transmitter output and the antenna gain.

This should ideally be listed separately on the router and will look something like this:
Transmit power = 15 dBm
Antenna Gain = 2 dBi (sometimes the unit is given as dB, although dBi would be the correct term to use).

If you are lucky they will list the internal antenna gain and external antenna gain separately.
Now the magic of working with decibels (which is just a ratio) will be demonstrated in the following example:

Example:
Transmit power = 10 dBm
Internal Antenna Gain = 0 dBi
External Antenna Gain = 4 dBi

All you have to do is add transmit power and antenna gain.

Thus for internal antenna:
TXpower + AntGain = 10 + 0 = 10 dBm

For external antenna:
TXpower + AntGain = 10 + 4 = 14 dBm.

The external antenna should be better in this instance.

Gain is not the only factor though. Probably the most important is the radiation pattern. Internal antennas are usually a small chip antenna or patch antenna etched onto the pc board. The radiation pattern is influenced by basically everything you can think of, but mostly by conductive (metal) surfaces. So the copper on the PCB, the switch-mode power supply inside the router, everything will make the internal antennas transmit in a certain pattern and you have no control over that pattern. Using external antennas gives you some measure of control over the pattern. So in some instances even if the gain of the external antennas were lower than the internal ones, it might still be better to use them.

Of course all of this might be irrelevant since antennas are black magic and no matter what you do, you will or you won't get it working as expected

Just test and see what works best for you. It will never be the same for everybody in all circumstances.

 

[Icemanbrfc]

Just to clear things up a bit (and get technical, of course), what you need to look at is the transmitter output and the antenna gain.

This should ideally be listed separately on the router and will look something like this:
Transmit power = 15 dBm
Antenna Gain = 2 dBi (sometimes the unit is given as dB, although dBi would be the correct term to use).

If you are lucky they will list the internal antenna gain and external antenna gain separately.
Now the magic of working with decibels (which is just a ratio) will be demonstrated in the following example:

Example:
Transmit power = 10 dBm
Internal Antenna Gain = 0 dBi
External Antenna Gain = 4 dBi

All you have to do is add transmit power and antenna gain.

Thus for internal antenna:
TXpower + AntGain = 10 + 0 = 10 dBm

For external antenna:
TXpower + AntGain = 10 + 4 = 14 dBm.

The external antenna should be better in this instance.

Gain is not the only factor though. Probably the most important is the radiation pattern. Internal antennas are usually a small chip antenna or patch antenna etched onto the pc board. The radiation pattern is influenced by basically everything you can think of, but mostly by conductive (metal) surfaces. So the copper on the PCB, the switch-mode power supply inside the router, everything will make the internal antennas transmit in a certain pattern and you have no control over that pattern. Using external antennas gives you some measure of control over the pattern. So in some instances even if the gain of the external antennas were lower than the internal ones, it might still be better to use them.

Of course all of this might be irrelevant since antennas are black magic and no matter what you do, you will or you won't get it working as expected

Just test and see what works best for you. It will never be the same for everybody in all circumstances.

Thanks AntennaMan love the name, especially for this thread.

Will check once i receive the unit. Will see what the wifi strength is like between that and my current router with external antennae.

I might just use the other to bridge the 2, but im trying hard to figure that out