Hello,
my L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN needs to be mounted inside a rack and there’s not really enough space for the WIFI-antennas.
I have some newbie questions regarding the device:
I understand it is OK to operate the device without the antennas attached if WIFI is switched off.
However, it is more safe to have a [http://forum.mikrotik.com/t/leaving-l009uigs-2haxd-in-antenna-disconnected/169713/1]“RP-SMA terminator” in place[/url], just for the case, the WIFI gets switched on by mistake or after a reset.
Is that correct?
Is it possible to use an extension cable to “somehow” mount the original antennas outside the rack?
(Does anybody have a suggestion on how they can be mount in a reasonable way?) Or is there a technical objection against?
Is there a suggestion for an external antenna, if it is advisable to use any external antenna at all?
Also what kind of extenders there should be used? For MikroTik Router L009UiGS antennas extenders like " SMA Female Bulkhead Mount to SMA Male RG316 Antenna Extension Cable" does not fit.
Just a little bit wasting my time here again. Sorry for the sarcasm, and back to business.
I decided to share my experience using various external antennas for the Mikrotik L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN router. One of the main reasons I decided to buy this router was the ability to install custom antennas.
And it seems I made a big mistake in this regard, which led to disappointment.
I was interested in the possibility of using directional antennas such as patch or Yagi antennas. I had two D-Link DWL-R60AT patch antennas, which work quite well.
And a completely custom design from an unknown manufacturer purchased on Amazon.
Despite my concerns, these custom Yagi antennas turned out to be quite good. Now I can hear and connect to routers up to 70-150 yards away, depending on obstacles and the surrounding environment.
I used these antennas on another Wi-Fi device and they performed excellently.
The antennas have excellent characteristics, which are clearly visible in the photos I attached. The SWR and Smith chart confirm this. The moment of truth arrived, and I decided to test them on the L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN. And... I was unpleasantly surprised when the router refused to work with them. With both.
It turns on and starts up. However, I couldn't connect even from a distance of 1 yard. Which suggests that the router simply blocked the RF signal to the antennas completely.
And with both antennas. I repeat - these are working, tested antennas that have proven themselves well.
I haven't had time to delve into why it refuses to work with them yet. Later, I'll try to disassemble and delve into the circuitry design, and will see how we can bypass that.
The only explanation is that the router has a built-in antenna performance check, which is odd given the yellow sticker that says "Do not power on without antennas connected."
So far, there's no explanation.
Don't get too excited about the fact that there are open connectors and you can use other antennas.
It seems they made sure this router only works with the factory J-type antennas.
p.s. Unfortunately, I can't attach all the photos. The forum won't let me. I'll try one by one later.
Attaching the rest of the pictures. Next four.
p.s. I was too lazy to calibrate the VNA for the SMA adapter. So there's a small margin of error, but it's negligible.
p.p.s. Briefly, for those who unfamiliar with Smith charts - the antenna's characteristic curve should be as close to the center of the large circle as possible. Preferably, it should appear as a dot in the center. However, for this type of antenna, this spread is within normal limits.
I played around with polarization and got better results than at the beginning. I tried 90/180, 180/90, and 45/45 (polarization doesn’t work with patch antennas). At least now I can connect to the router. But I haven't seen a significant improvement in performance and distance coverage to compared to the factory antennas. I think this is because high-sensitivity antennas increase the incoming data flow (more packets, more junk, and noise). High-gain antennas start to pick up all that junk at much greater distances. As a result, the router's input becomes overloaded, and despite the expected improvement in performance, we get the exact opposite effect. High-sensitivity antennas probably won't work here. And I don't think there's any way bypass this anyhow. Manufacturers make factory antennas "deaf" for a reason, and usually prefer simple whip antennas. This is to reduce the amount of junk collected at frequencies that slows down, rather than speeds up, Wi-Fi. Antennas with good gain will work well on client equipment, but not on routers. Or the router will need to be adapted to such antennas. That's my expert conclusion. After all, there are only experts here (sarcasm).
p.s. I'll try a few more ideas. I'll connect it to my expert equipment to take more measurements, just to make sure that I'm right. I'll post diagrams and screenshots here later.
p.p.s. Most likely, these antennas will work somewhere far outside the city limits, but not in a city where there are 10 Wi-Fi AP per square feet (joke).
