Defense Articles

Most if not all wireless access points and wireless routers come with the standard omni -directional rubber duck wireless antenna. Omnidirectional antennas used in the wrong situations are such a waste of money and can be a secuirity risk. Directional antennas can be used to focus your signal where it’s needed.

Reasons to use a directional antenna:

1. Save money- Long hallways are common in office buildings. Don’t try to use the defualt Ominidirectional antennas on a long hallway. You will have to purchase more equipment to extend the bubble of coverage. One directioal antenna with a 60 degree focused signal would be able to extend your coverage area twice as far

2. Security- When your wireless signal bleeds outside your operational area you will attract hackers, crackers, leeches, wardrivers and social engineers. The higher the DBI on the antenna the more focused your signal is, so if you have an 8dbi antenna your probably looking at a 60 degree cove or signal comming from your antenna. A 14dbi antenna might have a 30 degree focused signal that might not provide the width of coverage you need and it might send your signal to far.

3. Less Equipment - Cut down on your epuipment that you have to install and manage

4. Shoot Signals around corners - Take an access point, two panel directional antennas and a signal splitter ( The splitter will allow you to hook two antennas to one access point). Now you can mount the directional antennas on a corner mount, shooting the signal down two hallways at onced. This solution is very common and will save you money.

5. Distance - Omnidirectional antennas usally have half their signal wasted by walls. Directional antennas don’t have that waste they focus their signal in one direction thus extending your signal much farther that an Omni. There are two different types of directional antennas: directional and highly directional.

6. Smaller Profile - Omnidirectional antennas are hard to blend into an office enviroment or building. They stick out like a sore thumb and advertise your wireless network to everyone. Directional antennas like the panel type have a smaller profile and often look like lights or smoke detectors.

This articles purpose isn’t saying that there isn’t a purpose for omnidirectional antennas. What I”m saying is that most people don’t even think of changing their antennas after purchasing their wireless router or access point. My next article will discuss the advantages of combining directional antennas and Omnidirectional antennas

Basic determination of what antennas are states that they are an electronic part created to transmit or receive radio waves. While the definition of antennas sounds quite simple, the specific job of an antenna can be quite complicated. Antennas are a system involving conductors that are intended to transmit an electromagnetic field and the joint electric current. In place of that situation, if antennas are put into an electromagnetic field, that particular field will bring about an alternating current upon the antennas, and electromagnetic force between its poles.

There are two basic types of antennas with the first type pairing with an electric field of an electromagnetic wave and oftentimes is part of a length of wire that an electric charge moves back and forth. The second type of antenna pairs with the magnetic field of an electromagnetic wave and is usually in the shape of a loop or a coil. If a person were to add additional conducting rods or coils that are referred to as elements as well as variegating their lengths, spacing and course, antennas that have particularly sought after properties can be created. Most of the time people will see antennas that were for use in a comparatively narrow frequency range.

The most common antennas people see is the straight rod on a radio or car that is about a quarter of a wavelength long. These types of antennas are very easy to put together inexpensively and can beam in and receive from all horizontal directions. Antennas are often used for the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals from electronic equipment like televisions and radios that can move over huge areas at the speed of light and move through various non-conducting walls.

There are many different factors that can affect antennas and how they perform that can be changed during the design of a particular antenna. The factors that can affect antennas are resistance, resonant frequency, amplification, regulation or radiation pattern, polarization, ratio and information measure. A transmit antenna can also have a maximum power rating and a receiving antenna can have changing noise rejection attributes. Whatever the internal workings of antennas might be, without an antenna most of the world would not be receiving much of the information and entertainment that it is today.