I've currently got a D-Link WiFi-G card that I equipped with a 4dbi gain omnidirectional antenna to even get a reliable signal where my computer is. I went with this antenna mainly out of convenience and the fact that I could move the antenna ontop of my desk to get a better signal.
It helps, but the signal is still quite weak at times and I drop a few packets or get dropped off the network completely(necessitating a reboot to get another IP... bleh). The windows WiFi network dealie usually registers "Very Low" with the signal sometimes fluctuating from "No Signal" but still barely on to "Low" at which point it hits a full 54Mbps and has pretty good transfer rates. Most times it sits around 18-24Mbps.
While dropping off the network doesn't happen often, I was noticing that there are "Rubber Duck" 5.5dbi gain antennas that fit Linksys routers for a reasonable price and it got me thinking of trying to make my setup 100% solid.
Now, in the interest of keeping the cost down to less than $20 for this upgrade, can I replace just ONE of the two antennas on the router? I read that maybe the router uses only one antenna for both transmit and receive, so I guess I should replace that one. I'm not even sure if that information is correct though, and a few google searches really haven't yielded the information I'm looking for.
I'm pretty sure going from a 2dbi antenna to a 5.5dbi antenna would completely eliminate any signal strength problems I might be having.
It helps, but the signal is still quite weak at times and I drop a few packets or get dropped off the network completely(necessitating a reboot to get another IP... bleh). The windows WiFi network dealie usually registers "Very Low" with the signal sometimes fluctuating from "No Signal" but still barely on to "Low" at which point it hits a full 54Mbps and has pretty good transfer rates. Most times it sits around 18-24Mbps.
While dropping off the network doesn't happen often, I was noticing that there are "Rubber Duck" 5.5dbi gain antennas that fit Linksys routers for a reasonable price and it got me thinking of trying to make my setup 100% solid.
Now, in the interest of keeping the cost down to less than $20 for this upgrade, can I replace just ONE of the two antennas on the router? I read that maybe the router uses only one antenna for both transmit and receive, so I guess I should replace that one. I'm not even sure if that information is correct though, and a few google searches really haven't yielded the information I'm looking for.
I'm pretty sure going from a 2dbi antenna to a 5.5dbi antenna would completely eliminate any signal strength problems I might be having.