• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Mini PCI-E wireless NIC antennas

O

octoberasian

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
4,081
I'm planning on using a micro ATX or mini ITX board for a pfsense router. This is probably best section to ask. Now, the boards I want to use have a mini PCI-E connector and I would like to put a mini PCI-E wireless NIC there.

However, Google fails to tell me where to find the wire antennas used to connect to the wireless NIC. I know how they look like in laptops, but have not seen those wires sold before (to my knowledge) for desktop use. And, the last place I've seen those wire antennas were in low cost/cheap budget PCs from a company like HP.

I would think they would sell these where the wire antennas connect to an external one or similar.

Anyone here with an SFF computer know how I would find one?
 
if you purchase a mobo with build-in mini pci-e wifi, the antennas are included
Asrock H67M-ITX/HT
ZOTAC Z68-ITX WiFi
 
I use a mini-itx with a mini pci-e wireless card for pfsense and i don't use any external antennas - i use the same ones they put behind laptop screens. I've just attached mine to some plastic and mounted it in the 5.25" in my case.
 
You're looking for a U.FL to RP-SMA (F) connection cable (pigtail). The bulkhead mount type are usually included in retail motherboard packages. You can get them at places like sparkfun.com or wlanparts.com for between $5 and $7.
 
ajira99 said:
You're looking for a U.FL to RP-SMA (F) connection cable (pigtail). The bulkhead mount type are usually included in retail motherboard packages. You can get them at places like sparkfun.com or wlanparts.com for between $5 and $7.
Click to expand...

Ah-ha! Thank you very much.

I found them on SparkFun: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9145

Most likely use it with this mini PCI-E wireless NIC:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106062

(Hopefully the next pfsense/FreeBSD build adds Wireless N support but B/G is fine for now.)

Now to find a case and a good drill or dremel. :D Four inches doesn't seem that long. Lol.
 
I got a Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 abgn WiFi + Bluetooth 3.0 Wireless N Combo Card since it has two spots for antenna hook ups does someone make one antenna that will hook to it or will I need two seperate antennas?
 
hevnbnd said:
I got a Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 abgn WiFi + Bluetooth 3.0 Wireless N Combo Card since it has two spots for antenna hook ups does someone make one antenna that will hook to it or will I need two seperate antennas?
Click to expand...

I believe you will need two separate antennas. I used an intel 6200 to replace the two antenna Azurewave model that came with my wife's Asus P8H67I-Deluxe. That motherboard already had the socket and wires installed for the antennas but I swapped out the wi-fi antennas that came with the motherboard for two that I knew were designed for dual band operation. You can read more on that swap here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1602494

It looks like the antenna manufacturer changed their site so the link in that post no longer works. This is the model I went with: http://www.air802.com/product.php?productid=18509&cat=830&page=1
 
Last edited:
So it sounds like with the air802 antenna you linked I would only need one antenna if I could fine a cable that plugged into it and had to antenna hook ups on it.. Did I read your post right?
 
No, I don't think it works that way. I think you still need two antennas it's just that these are made for working on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Many of them that you find on the market are really designed only for 2.4 GHz (they may work on the 5 GHz channel but may not be optimal in terms of range, etc.). Being able to work on the 5 GHz band was very important to me as I live in a busy apartment complex where there are lots of devices on the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

I think a person might be able to get by with having only a single antenna on a card like this, but it would probably limit the bandwidth available. These cards use multiple antennas at the same time in order to improve their reception and bandwidth.
 
kind of an old topic but could someone recommend a pci-e adapter card for one of those mini wifi cards? i was thinking about getting one of those Killer Wireless-N cards, but i dont think they fit in normal pci-e slots (unless there is something better out there that uses a normal sized pci-e slot?)
 
illli said:
kind of an old topic but could someone recommend a pci-e adapter card for one of those mini wifi cards? i was thinking about getting one of those Killer Wireless-N cards, but i dont think they fit in normal pci-e slots (unless there is something better out there that uses a normal sized pci-e slot?)
Click to expand...

You are allowed to stick physical pci-e x1 or x4 expansion cards into the pci-e x16 slot. They will work perfectly fine.

If you aren't using the x16 slot for a graphics card, you can use that slot for your pci-e wireless card.

What you can't do is fit either a x16 or x4 card into the x1 slot.
 
oh i've got the x16 used. but i thought for some reason the mini pcie cards you find in laptops were not pin compatible with regular sized pcie slots that you find in desktops o_O
 
aberchonbie said:
You are allowed to stick physical pci-e x1 or x4 expansion cards into the pci-e x16 slot. They will work perfectly fine.

If you aren't using the x16 slot for a graphics card, you can use that slot for your pci-e wireless card.

What you can't do is fit either a x16 or x4 card into the x1 slot.
Click to expand...

Nothing a dremel can't fix :)
 
Oh, I'm sorry.. I didn't realize you were referring to the mini pci cards. Those will not fit in regular pci express slots.

Makes sense you were talking abt mini pci wireless cards
 
yep. i'm wanting to get killer 1103 card, and stick it in my desktop. but not sure which adapter to get.

seems to beat out the intel ultimate 6300 http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe...less-n_1102_vs_intel_centrino_ultimate-n_6300 in 5GHz (which is what i'll be using)

on a side note, there does not to seem to be very many 450Mbs cards out there. these two seem to be the best... but my problem remains, how to get them to work in my desktop :p
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
DesertCat said:
I believe you will need two separate antennas.
Click to expand...

This is correct. I don't know why it can't function with just one but you will need both. When one of my antenna cables inside the case snapped (royal pain in the arse) my range dropped from 30m+ to 30cm using just one high-gain antenna. I suspect that only worked because there was about 8cm of wire still running from the card before the snap.

No idea why it needs both though or what that means for directional antennae.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top