What is the difference between a wireless range extender and an antenna?

Question

Which one should I get to better receive wifi networks at home without DSL or cable?

Answer 1

Antenna will increase the sensitivity of your wireless card. Thus, increasing the distance you can be from the access point. The access point's range is still limited to the 802.11 specified 200 feet with line of sight. Use an antenna if your signal is just a little weak because there are a couple walls in the way.

A range extender will recieve the signal sent from your access point and re-broadcast. This may have security implications as the range may reach into places you dont want your wi-fi network reaching.

Also, you can not share a dial up connection. You must be using some type of broadband (DSL or Cable modem subscriptions).

Answer 2

First, if you are like most people you need cable or dsl service to reach the Internet. Your wireless service has nothing to do with your Internet access. It simply broadcasts the signal. Next, a range extender is a device that increase the strength of a wireless signal. For instance if you had a wireless router in your basement and were unable to get a strong signal on the second floor, you would plug in a range extender, configure it and it would rebroadcast the weak signal making it strong enough to be usable. The configuration isn't hard but that might depend on how technical you are. The antenna is an attachment to your wireless router that sends out a stronger signal. It requires no additional configuration. Please consider that the strength of your wireless signal depends on a lot of different factors such as the type of material in the walls the signal has to pass through. I would suggest that you try a moving the router to a more central location first.

Answer 3

Are you wanting to pickup signals that are not within your own house? If so then you need a different setup than picking up locally sent signals.

If you have a local router which is the wireless access point you can cover more of your house with a range extender.
It simply "repeats" the local router and thus extends its range.

An outside radio/antenna combination allows you to aim at a remote access point and bring the signal into your local area.
If you don't have DSL or Cable this is a common method for broadband internet and many ISPs now offer the service. It generally costs more due to the extra infrastructure that must be utilized by the ISP.

Answer 4

An antenna picks up a radio signal and feeds it to the receiver where a wireless range extender boosts the signal strength so it can be picked up further away

Answer 5

The range extender is normally used at the router to send a signal which can travel a longer distance. The antenna is normally used at the receiving end to increase sensitivity so that it can pick up weaker signals.

Answer 6

A larger Antenna will give you 15-30% increased coverage. A range extender will double your current coverage, and you can put it in a particular area that has a weak signal.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

cable has no antena it works like cabel tv does

wireless is in a computer or laptop and works with a router with a hifi signal from a box in your home or schools have them