DIY modding WRT610N router with High Gain Antennas

haisaikat

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I was wondering if I should place this thread in the network streaming section but considering the DIY aspect placed it here.

It has been long that I was using my WRT610N v1 router as my home router, a 3 storeyed building with the router In 1st floor but unfortunately on one extereme side of the house. Recently I was able to shift the router to an approx middle point in my floor and that did improve the reception on the opposite corner of the building that otherwise either did not receive signal at all or suffered from frequent connection dropouts.

Now with new positioning of router the corener places received minimum connect speeds of 100 mbps. When I copied files over network the throughput was not that great may be max 5 mbps (the real copy speed) in front of the router over wifi N mixed mode and max 2mbps in the corners.

In order to increase the throughput I decided to install high gain antennas although the original router did not have provisions for installing antennas at all. Bought the following high gain antenna pair from ebay.com and got shipped via shopabroadonline.com total came around 1900 INR.

9dBi Antenna Mod Kit No Soldering Netgear WNDR3700 WNDR3800 D-Link DAP-1522 | eBay

Post shipment now was the time to install, for hours I though how to drill holes on the router where I did not have a drill then came another idea and posting pics below of the entire process

Prior to installation the router and the antennas
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The 4 screws at the back that needs to be removed
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After removing the 4 screws at the back the router needs to be separated from the top portion by a little force using screw driver or chisel, there are some internal locking grooves.
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Inner view of the router circuit, note that there are 3 (2G) + 3 (5G) antenna points on the circuit board, however in the router there are only 4 antennas, 4 connections (2 from 2G side and 2 from 5G side) go to the bigger antennas and the reminaing 2 connections go to the smaller antennas. I decided to go for the bigger ones on the 2G side since I do not much use the 5G and anyways 5G suggeres from range problem anyway.
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I passed the two wires of the high gain antennas from the wall mounting hole to inside the router
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One by one removed the connector on the 2G side to the stock internal antennas and connected the new connectors. No soldering required, works buy normal hand presuure, fits and locks
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Once done, put back on the screws and cover

Now took a thermocol from my HTPC cabinet packing and stuck the two antennas inside the thermocol and connected the wires, now the router is ready.
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Now the throughput in mixed mode have not improved in front if the router and remains 4 - 5 mbps (real speed) but the most important aspect being that the same throughput in the corners have now improved to 5 mbps which is almost double than what I had received earlier, also instead of 3 bars I get now consistent 4 bars in the corners. I will test the N-only mode throughput later on and re-post.
 
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Now the throughput in mixed mode have not improved in front if the router and remains 4 - 5 mbps (real speed) but the most important aspect being that the same throughput in the corners have not improved to 5 mbps which is almost double than what I had received earlier, also instead of 3 bars I get now consistent 4 bars in the corners. I will test the N-only mode throughput later on and re-post.

..."now"... or no improvement et all
 
@haisaikat

I am also facing a problem due to the limited range of my wi-fi router. I have 3 floors to cover, which includes one basement. I was planning to buy Netgear wireless range extenders as they will solve my problem pretty effectively. Will installing a 9 db antenna like you did be effective? If yes I would be able to save quite a lot of money I am planning to spend on the extenders....
 
@haisaikat

I am also facing a problem due to the limited range of my wi-fi router. I have 3 floors to cover, which includes one basement. I was planning to buy Netgear wireless range extenders as they will solve my problem pretty effectively. Will installing a 9 db antenna like you did be effective? If yes I would be able to save quite a lot of money I am planning to spend on the extenders....

Hi ak47, what is your existing router model?

Higher gain antennas will surely help you increase range but is your router centrally placed in the house?

Range extenders certainly help increase range but at extra cost. But some cheap netgear routers like WGR614, etc allow identical selfs to act as repeaters and costs max 1400 INR.

Also what is the extent of your problem? Poor range with no connectivity at places or less throughput?
 
Hi ak47, what is your existing router model?

Higher gain antennas will surely help you increase range but is your router centrally placed in the house?

Range extenders certainly help increase range but at extra cost. But some cheap netgear routers like WGR614, etc allow identical selfs to act as repeaters and costs max 1400 INR.

Also what is the extent of your problem? Poor range with no connectivity at places or less throughput?

I can tell you my problem now but it will take up a lot of space on your thread. If you don't mind, I'll give you a detailed version of my problem here.. :)
 
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wifi routers work best with a birds eye placement unlike a cordless phone. so for a 3 floored house, the router should be placed centrally on the top floor away from any reflecting glass or iron structure for best result.

i have an Asus rt n16 placed similarly, covering all of three floors and the basement.

Tapatalk on my cdma S2 !!!
 
I can tell you my problem now but it will take up a lot of space on your thread. If you don't mind, I'll give you a detailed version of my problem here.. :)

Please go ahead, if I can provide any assistance then I will be glad.
 
Please go ahead, if I can provide any assistance then I will be glad.

Here goes:

I have 3 floors, i.e, basement, ground and first. Now, the lobby in my ground floor has a double height ceiling, so the signal from there to the first floor can go pretty easily. But, there is no such cut out between the basement and ground apart from the staircase. Now my internet modem is in a small room in the corner of the basement, which is attached to a lan switcher and I have lan cables running to almost every point in my house from there. I am currently using a D-Link DIR 600 150 N router. If I place this router at the centre of my lobby on the ground floor, all the rooms get a weak signal if their door is closed. But, when I place the router in one of my room (where it is currently placed), the lobby gets a full signal. So, I was planning to install a repeater at the centre of my lobby, and another repeater on the first floor, and the basement I guess can do without internet. However, I may install one repeater in my basement as well. What is your suggestion? Should I go for repeaters or should I install a better router first? Or should I use a 9db extender like you did with my current router?
 
wifi routers work best with a birds eye placement unlike a cordless phone. so for a 3 floored house, the router should be placed centrally on the top floor away from any reflecting glass or iron structure for best result.

i have an Asus rt n16 placed similarly, covering all of three floors and the basement.

Tapatalk on my cdma S2 !!!

Thanks dheeraj. This varies on a lot of things like house construction , antenna placement and alignment but I think if this has worked for you it is not 100% guaranteed to work for every other since every house is different.

Understanding 802.11 Antennas - An On-Line Tutorial
 
Here goes:

I have 3 floors, i.e, basement, ground and first. Now, the lobby in my ground floor has a double height ceiling, so the signal from there to the first floor can go pretty easily. But, there is no such cut out between the basement and ground apart from the staircase. Now my internet modem is in a small room in the corner of the basement, which is attached to a lan switcher and I have lan cables running to almost every point in my house from there. I am currently using a D-Link DIR 600 150 N router. If I place this router at the centre of my lobby on the ground floor, all the rooms get a weak signal if their door is closed. But, when I place the router in one of my room (where it is currently placed), the lobby gets a full signal. So, I was planning to install a repeater at the centre of my lobby, and another repeater on the first floor, and the basement I guess can do without internet. However, I may install one repeater in my basement as well. What is your suggestion? Should I go for repeaters or should I install a better router first? Or should I use a 9db extender like you did with my current router?

Hi ak, a few more questions
1. What is the signal intensity just above the router on 2nd floor / roof?
2. What is the signal intensity in the basement vertically below the router?
3. Do you need wifi throughput for video streaming etc in the remote / any location of your home?
4. Do you have cat5 /cat6 cables running?
5. How old is your existing router? Any upgrade plans of this router?
6. With doors open do you have higher / workable signal in your rooms?
 
Hi ak, a few more questions
1. What is the signal intensity just above the router on 2nd floor / roof?
2. What is the signal intensity in the basement vertically below the router?
3. Do you need wifi throughput for video streaming etc in the remote / any location of your home?
4. Do you have cat5 /cat6 cables running?
5. How old is your existing router? Any upgrade plans of this router?
6. With doors open do you have higher / workable signal in your rooms?

1. I have the router on ground floor. The signal intensity at the room just above the ground floor room is 3-4 bars.

2. Signal intensity in the basement vertically below the router is 1-2 bars.

3. I need wi-fi for internet as of now, but may use it for video streaming in future.

4. I have cat 5 cables running from my basement(room at the corner where my modem is) to 7-8 locations in my house.

5. My existing router is 2 years old. And I am confused about upgrading. The way I see it, I can buy repeaters, or buy a new router, or both, or can upgrade my existing router using the 9db antenna like you did in your thread.

6. Yes, the rooms have a higher signal with the doors open.
 
Hi ak47, thanks for annwering the questions, here are a few recommendations before you shell out any money

1. At present if the antenna of your router is pointing upwards then try cheking the signal intensity across all locations with
a. the antenna tilted horizontally paraller to the router box (lying down)
b. the antenna tilted vertically down (so that it points down at the basement)

2. If there is no improvement then get the custom dd-wrt firmware from this link http://www.dd-wrt.com/routerdb/de/d... / B2/dlink-dir600b-factory-webflash.bin/3586 and flash it in your router. I am myself running this on my WRT610N. This will give you the capability to increase the transmit power of router manually and then check the intensity in the weaker areas with normal antenna position (vertically up) and also as mentioned in point 1.

Let me know the outcome of 1 first.
 
Hi ak47, thanks for annwering the questions, here are a few recommendations before you shell out any money

1. At present if the antenna of your router is pointing upwards then try cheking the signal intensity across all locations with
a. the antenna tilted horizontally paraller to the router box (lying down)
b. the antenna tilted vertically down (so that it points down at the basement)

2. If there is no improvement then get the custom dd-wrt firmware from this link http://www.dd-wrt.com/routerdb/de/d... / B2/dlink-dir600b-factory-webflash.bin/3586 and flash it in your router. I am myself running this on my WRT610N. This will give you the capability to increase the transmit power of router manually and then check the intensity in the weaker areas with normal antenna position (vertically up) and also as mentioned in point 1.

Let me know the outcome of 1 first.

1. Outcome still the same. I tried all different antenna directions but there is little/negligible difference in the signal.

2. I have downloaded the file, but cannot open access it. I could do with a little guidance here...
 
1. Outcome still the same. I tried all different antenna directions but there is little/negligible difference in the signal.

2. I have downloaded the file, but cannot open access it. I could do with a little guidance here...

Okay that means with your default router power the signal is not able to penetrate the walls / floors.

Before you install DD-WRT please read the following thread carefully Installation - DD-WRT Wiki

If you have any difficulty understanding any point let me know.

Btw I see that there are 3 hardware revisions of this router namely B1, B2 and C, you should check which is ur specific hardware version, typically written at the bottom of the router like DIR-600 v C / DIR-600 rev C / DIR-600 C / H/W: C / etc, also visible on the web interface.
 
Hi Haisaikat,

I have an ASUS RT N12 Router and installed DD-WRT firmware, it works but if i change the output power to 20 mW from default 17 mW, the output signal becomes zero. No signal even if i bring the wifi device near to the router. No change even after changing it back to 17 mW. I had to flash it's original firmware and then again the DD-WRT firmware, then it works. Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong.

Thanks.
 
Hi Haisaikat,

I have an ASUS RT N12 Router and installed DD-WRT firmware, it works but if i change the output power to 20 mW from default 17 mW, the output signal becomes zero. No signal even if i bring the wifi device near to the router. No change even after changing it back to 17 mW. I had to flash it's original firmware and then again the DD-WRT firmware, then it works. Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong.

Thanks.

Did you use the special firmware for initial flashing and then the mini edition? After increasing power when you hit Applet Settings the router may reboot leaving it unusable for some time, did you wait for some time and when there is no wireless, does the LAN work? And if the LAN works then you may try a 30/30/30 reset and check if the router is transmitting again.
 
Thanks dheeraj. This varies on a lot of things like house construction , antenna placement and alignment but I think if this has worked for you it is not 100% guaranteed to work for every other since every house is different.

Understanding 802.11 Antennas - An On-Line Tutorial

i have found it to work accross homes and offices. and this is with my home having thick 9" thick partition walls. it was after reading online a couple of years ago, that i came across this setup. earlier i had it placed on the middle floor with the reasoning that if a cordless works well like this, wifi should too. but connectivity suffered on the top floor.



Tapatalk on my cdma S2 !!!
 
Did you use the special firmware for initial flashing and then the mini edition? After increasing power when you hit Applet Settings the router may reboot leaving it unusable for some time, did you wait for some time and when there is no wireless, does the LAN work? And if the LAN works then you may try a 30/30/30 reset and check if the router is transmitting again.

Hi,

I used "dd-wrt.v24-16785_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini_RT-N12B1.trx" and No any mini edition. After increasing the power i did gave some time to reboot, i did not checked the LAN. what is 30/30/30 reset?

Thanks.
 
Hi,

I used "dd-wrt.v24-16785_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini_RT-N12B1.trx" and No any mini edition. After increasing the power i did gave some time to reboot, i did not checked the LAN. what is 30/30/30 reset?

Thanks.

Does you wifi-card have the support of TX power at 20mW, which chip it is ?

Regards
 
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