New Alfa AWUS036H 1000mWhat!!?1!!

[Seshan]

The Alfa AWUS036H has been update and they say it's 1000mW, Anyone get it yet? Does it have better reception? http://www.data-alliance.net/-strse-73/Alf...-USB/Detail.bok

[555]

Really? I have a 500mw w/ 8Dbi antenna but an 1000mw? I would like some screen shots on the range :)

[Netshroud]

Is there a 802.11n version?

[Seshan]

Yeah, but I heard it doesn't get as good reception.

[WreckeD]

1000mW is a little extreme

and the downfall :(

while you will be able to see more wifi AP then you were before, you wont be able to transmit any data across it

it needs to be close to a 1:1 ratio for data to transmit properly

a 1000mW router with a 1000mW and some amplifers added you would be able to connect from a far distance

[Iain]

Now that's got me thinking - I know that dBi relates to gain but how do dBi and power rating relate to what APs can be seen and what data can be transmitted?

[moonlit]

FYI, transmit power means absolutely nothing when you're wardriving or trying to detect APs a long way away, the sensitivity is what matters then. Especially if the card is in monitor mode, nothing can be transmitted at all, it just silently listens, the transmit power is absolutely irrelevant in that case.

Oh, and you should probably check your local radio laws, 1W @ 2.4GHz is probably way, way more than you're allowed without a radio licence (though if I recall, you can operate 2.4GHz at much higher wattages on even the most basic ham radio licences).

[Brian Sierakowski]

FYI, transmit power means absolutely nothing when you're wardriving or trying to detect APs a long way away, the sensitivity is what matters then. Especially if the card is in monitor mode, nothing can be transmitted at all, it just silently listens, the transmit power is absolutely irrelevant in that case.

Oh, and you should probably check your local radio laws, 1W @ 2.4GHz is probably way, way more than you're allowed without a radio licence (though if I recall, you can operate 2.4GHz at much higher wattages on even the most basic ham radio licences).

So if you were to use this in monitor mode, you'd probably be OK since you're not transmitting? Or more to the point, it might not make sense at all to own this if you're only going to use monitor mode, since a 500mW will listen just as well as a 1000mW, right?

I don't think people have anything to worry about using this, I just recently got through with a cisco aironet 1300 installation, amongst other things I learned that 1) there are radio signals everywhere, and 2) the people who actually own and know how to use a spectrum analyzer are few and far in between, it's unlikely that you'll be caught.

[moonlit]

As far as I'm aware it's legal to own a wifi card that powerful but not legal to actually transmit at 1W (or even 50mW for that matter) unless you're licenced to do so, implying that a long as you 1) turn down the transmit power to the legal limit or 2) turn the transmitter off and just listen to whatever floats your way. However, IANAL, and my meagre legal knowledge doesn't extend very far, nothing I say constitutes legal advice and anything I do say is probably pased primarily on UK law, whether correct or otherwise, so always check with a professional.

[barry99705]

The wattage isn't the issue, it's the radiated power. Point to multi-point setups have a lower allowed eirp than point ot point. Here are the guidelines. http://www.wifihowto.org/?mo=HowTo;Item=9

[Zimmer]

Reminds me of a mexican radio station that had such a huge reach that it reached to the midwest (Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, etc). It finally got shut down (or it might have had to lower the transmit power). Anyways just thought I would tell that story.

[VaKo]

Those damn Mexicans are using science to take over America!

[Zimmer]

Vako HAHA :) ya that and their catapult technology being far advance (reference to the Onion)

[henrik.falk]

I've read that the 1000mW version might just be a marketing trick.

When tested the 1000mW version just gave a 7% increase in efficiency compared to the 500mW version.

That, or as stated below, the numbers have to be the right numbers to matter.

[bowler]

How safe are these teh 500mW especially with regards to cancer and RF burns or other health issues?

Are they safe to operate in the same room as you?

Mine has arrived and now I am afraid to turn it on because I just thought about that.

[redxine]

The way I see it, everything causes cancer these days. My high school has three cell phone towers each less than 100 yards from each other right outside of the football field (In fact, one of them doubled for the light tower). Each is complete with a nice yellow sign.

(Well, actually it was yellow and said that "Radio emissions at this site exceed FCC rules for human exposure" - but you get the idea.)

[moonlit]

What, like this one?

[bowler]

The way I see it, everything causes cancer these days.

That made me laugh, because it's true. Hmmm I think what i will do is put it very high in a cupboard above me and away from me attach to a long usb cable. Just in case...or send it thru the window and let it be outside attach to the wall.

[redxine]

@Moonlit: precisely.

I think what i will do is put it very high in a cupboard above me and away from me attach to a long usb cable. Just in case...or send it thru the window and let it be outside attach to the wall.

You could make a tin foil hat. It does wonders, and protects you from the radiation that Heliosat3 was really made for. [/consipracy]

[metatron]

I own all three versions of the card and there not bad but sensitivity is not great when compared to some cheap Linksys WUSB54G (the version with a Atheros chipset) which on testing picks up 15-20% more AP's when using the same antenna setups.

The main plus that 1Watt gives you is if you run the card in AP/master mode