WiFi adapter & tv antenna

[tal ormanda]

I have an hdtv antenna sitting here and my wifi adapter that has an external antenna that unscrews, can the two be connected to work together?

[jumper]

Your antenna is either a VHF or UHF (or a combo) antenna (there is no such thing as an "HDTV" antenna). It is tuned for a few hundred MHz, not 2.4 GHz. The cable also has the wrong impedance for wifi. If it is powered (has an amplifier), it cannot transmit, only receive.

I really should just say , but if you're not afraid of frying the wifi adapter (or the antenna if it does have a built-in amplifier) please try it and report your findings! For a variety of reasons, however, you are more likely to have better success with a long wire.

For a directional antenna, a "cantenna" is a better place to start than trying to adapt a tv antenna. After much research and experimentation several years ago, I settled on using a seven inch A/B stick antenna inside an aluminum pie tin reflector crudely bent into a pseudo-parabolic shape.

My recommendation is to use the biggest wifi antenna you already have along with a metal reflector of some kind.

[tal ormanda]

http://www.tp-link.us/products/details/?categoryid=217&model=TL-ANT2424B ?

or do you have any that you can link to would be fine.

Edited August 14, 2012 by tal ormanda

[jumper]

Reflectors:

• 
  

Deep Dish Cylindrical Parabolic Template
google.com/images?q=wifi+antenna+reflector

Cantenna:

• 
  

[Tripredacus]

there is no such thing as an "HDTV" antenna

This is incorrect. You can buy an over-air HD tuner that definately has an antenna but they usally aren't very good. When I used to have one, I built my own antenna using a speaker, a VHF TV antenna, an Atari VCS RFU switch and a metal coat hanger. It didn't look very good, but the picture quality was awesome.

[tal ormanda]

Mk thanks.

[jaclaz]

Just for the record:

Antenna on the Cheap (er, Chip)

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448

Spanish:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080701025639/http://www.selui.com/wireless/antenapringles.html

Spanish double (and USB ):

http://carzel.wordpress.com/2006/01/03/antena-casera-para-wifi/

jaclaz