Wireless Antenna Booster - Freedom From Wires and Signal Limitations

 In our generation, a lot of things are made and enjoyed wireless. It's called "freedom from wires" for a reason. So nowadays, we're seeing a lot of people turning in their desktop computers for laptops. With a laptop, computing is made more mobile. So you can do your work in your office, living room, bedroom or even the neighborhood coffee shop.

But before, even laptops have to be wired in order to connect to the Internet. Of course, you have to do it because the Internet is an awesome tool and you have to take advantage of it in order to maximize your laptop's potential. However, it presented limitations. Even if you have a mobile computer, you can't really do anything online outside the 3 foot cable of your Internet connection.

Thankfully, Wi-Fi routers were HF groundwave propagation to take care of this concern. You can now achieve "freedom from wires" with the help of a router. All you need to do is hook up the router with your Internet connection and configure your laptop in order to detect its settings so you can connect to the Internet. With this, the 3 foot limitation became 50 meters or so. But still, there are limitations.

This situation is worse if you're inside a house or a building. Walls and roofs can easily prevent signals from passing through. So sometimes, you can't even connect to the router even inside your own house. This is where a wireless antenna booster can help you. It's a simple solution if you want to increase the range of your router or if you just want a more powerful signal.

So how does it work? It's very simple, really. All you need to do is un-screw the factory antenna of your router and replace it with the wireless antenna booster and you're done. You don't even have to direct it to your laptop. You now have a more powerful signal that has a farther range. It's also helpful that it's not going to be slowed down by walls and furniture. This means that you can finally get a connection when you're in your basement or garage.

All you need to do is check your router. First, it has to have an external antenna. Check the antenna port and you'll probably see that it's a ¼ inch port because that's the norm for routers. Since most boosters are plug and play, you don't have to worry about anything else.

If you live in a building or home that has a lot of walls, you should definitely consider buying a wireless antenna booster. This is also applicable if you want to expand the range to about 5 times its normal range. So obtain "freedom from wires" and signal limitations by buying one.

Various Antenna Types to Learn!

 Antenna is a device used to transmit radio or television signals. An Antenna basically converts electromagnetic radiation into electric current or the other way around Aerial has its origin from a Latin word that means "sail yard". There are many types of antennas and they are categorized in many different ways. It is also possible that a single aerial can both transmit and receive signals. Generally transmitting aerials handle a good amount of electrical energy than receiving antennas. Antennas are used widely in radio, HF groundwave propagation, radio detection and ranging systems. They transmit and receive a variety of frequencies and are classified accordingly. The basic types are:

• Isotropic radiator -This is concerned primarily with theories. It is a point in space and neither has a specific dimension nor mass. This antenna does not exist physically.
• Dipole antenna -As the name indicates it has two wires in opposite direction arranged vertically or horizontally.
• Yagi -Uda antenna - Invented by the Japanese scientists it is a directional variation of the dipole antenna.
• Random wire is simply a long wire with one end connected and the other end free on space.
• Parabolic antenna is used for high gain such as satellite dishes
• Horn is also used for high gain,but practically impossible for lower frequencies
• Patch antenna consist of a square conductor mounted on a plane.

Radio antennas are classified based on the type of modulation. If it is amplitude modulation AM, the frequency is 535kHz to 1605kHz and with frequency modulation FM, it is 88MHz to 108MHz. Television antennas are classified as very high frequency antennas, VHF or ultra high frequency antennas, UHF. Antennas are categorized in stores according to the customer needs. The range of an antenna can be short, medium or long.

When you buy a television antenna the selection depends on how close you reside to the transmitting station. Antennas can be installed indoors, outdoors or at the attic. Antennas are also classified based on their style. Style here means the design. It can also deal with the direction and collect signal from a key location or it is multidirectional, receiving signals from different towers broadcasting from varied locations.

Buying an Antenna Mast - What Should You Focus on?

 An antenna pole or mast, more popularly known as an aerial or an antenna, is meant for collecting TV signals. In fact, an antenna can also collect radio signals from formal broadcasting stations, as well as from a 'ham' or amateur radio. Usually, an antenna has a fairly long lifespan, making it worthwhile to spend time looking for a quality product that fulfills your requirements.

The gain of an antenna is among the most important factors needing your consideration. Gain is measured in terms of decibels. It determines the sensitivity of the antenna, meaning it tells you how good it is at picking up the broadcasts. The more distanced you are from the closest broadcasting tower, the more should be the gain of your antenna. Often, the gain is proportional with the antenna size, but that's not always valid.

Another feature needing your quad antenna is its power density, or directivity. The performance of any antenna is in direct proportion to its directivity. So, if you have tall hills or buildings in between the broadcasting tower and your antenna, you'll need high directivity. Directivity can be measured in terms of the receiving angle, and narrower angles are preferred. It is also measured in terms of front-to-back ratio. The greater this value, the more efficiently the antenna can gather signals from the correct direction with no interference from other directions.

You may have come across ads for digital TV masts. You should know that, in fact, there are no especially designed masts for digital TVs, and these are no different from the usual mast. That term is used to convey that the antenna being advertised is of good quality and can collect digital signals. It is important to understand that, in case of digital reception, either you get the entire signal, or you get nothing at all, which is quite unlike analog reception, wherein you may get a blurred picture that can yet be seen.

The quality of cable used for connecting the antenna mast to your TV plays an important role. Even good antennas would give bad results if connected with cable of doubtful quality. It is recommended to use coaxial cable instead of the traditional cable containing two distinct wires. An inherent characteristic of the coaxial cable is its shielding, meaning it is significantly less vulnerable to any interference. Moreover, it is not easily damaged by rain. You'll realize that the quality difference between low-priced and average priced cables is substantial, whereas the difference in case of average priced and costly cable is not so noticeable.

The HAM Radio And Its Tinkerers

 There are tech-fanatics in every last corner of our green Earth. There are people tirelessly restoring and upgrading computers, there are people working on TV antennas high atop roofs, some even working on dangerous projects such as building and launching miniature, albeit powerful rockets. But none of those avocations come close to the dedicated hobby (or jobs, for some) that is the joy of operating an amateur radio.

For most, the first contact with the wide and wonderful world of radio frequencies comes at an early age, whilst tuning in to broadcasts and songs on conventional amplitude modulation (short: AM) or frequency modulation (FM) bandwidths. The vast majority of radios capable of receiving AM and FM waves, however, have no additional technology and equipment attached to them that would allow people to actually send messages through the ether. This is where the dedicated HAM radio comes into play.

In order for you to be able to use a HAM, you first need to pass a number of written and hands-on tests, which will in turn allow you to obtain a broadcasting license, which also comes with your own individual call sign. A call sign is basically like the phone number of amateur radios, with each sign being specifically allocated to a single radio set. Another popular thing to do once in the HAM-hobby, is seeking the assistance and wisdom of an Elmer.

An Elmer is basically the mentor of a newly appointed amateur broadcaster. They are women and men with years and years of experience in the intricate world of HAM radios, having gained a great deal of knowledge about every little detail there is to know when it comes to operating a set. Elmer's are able to help newcomers in all aspects of the quad antenna, from pointing out favorable equipment for their first radio to what channels broadcast what sorts of topics. They are also a great source of old and abandoned material and spare parts, which allow you to customize your existing radio station, or even provide the basis to building your own!

The widespread HAM community has long since gone global, and is made up of the most diverse hobbyists imaginable. Countless online blogs and newspapers have been written on everything there is to know about amateur radios, and the number is growing steadily. It is no wonder that this utterly fun and absorbing activity is taking such an amount of people worldwide by storm, as its potential uses are practically inexhaustible. As discussed in an earlier article, it not only helped save many innocent lives during times of natural catastrophes, but it also offers a myriad of other practical applications. Being so easy to get all sorted and started with this magnificent falco subbuteo, the question you should ask yourself is: Am I a ham yet?

Ham Radio Information

 Ham radio is a great hobby for people that are somewhat technically inclined. Ham radio requires a license in order to operate on the air. There are three different ham radio licenses the technician class, the general class and the extra class license. There are numerous study guides available for each license class. There is something for everyone in this hobby. Get some introductory ham radio information here.

Ham radio is a fun hobby, there are many ways to enjoy it including talking to people all over the world, from your home or in the car or portable as in out in the boonies. There is a niche for everyones interest whether it be phone operation, morse code, slow scan tv, moon bounce, satellite communications or quad antenna. You can even get software to help with logging your calls or plotting the best way to talk to a certain country from wherever to wherever, or to learn the morse code (no longer a requirement but fun just the same). Anytime there are emergencies anywhere in the world, ham radio is there to provide needed communications.

In the early days of telegraph operators, the very good operators were called 'hams', so the name stuck to amateur radio operators. The goal of the early 'hams' was to build their own equipment and tweek it to get the maximum distance they could. Building your own equipment is another facit of the hobby that requires some electronic knowledge as well as good circuit design. A lot of hams build and test antenna designs to increase their knowledge of radio wave propagation. It's fun to design and build your own radio equipment and antennas. There are some kits available also for those that want to build their equipment but don't have the required design knowledge.

Ham radio equipment is available for varying prices at your local store, on eBay and many places online, both new and used equipment. There is equipment that is affordable for the first time buyer. My first rig was a used one I purchased from a local store that took trade-ins. It worked very well and I talked to Japan, Australia, Antartica, Canada , and many countries in South America, all with very little power and an antenna I built myself from a length of wire a couple of insulators and a pole. Man was it fun. Ham radio is a wonderful hobby for children and adults. There is a lot of Ham Radio Information online, go to your favorite search engine and type in 'ham radio' and you will get a lot of information to get you started.

The How To Guide For Ham Radios

 If you've ever heard ham radios mentioned in movies, you may find yourself a tad confused. "Ham radios!? What do radios have to do with ham? The term "ham" is believed to come from the term "amateur". No-one truly knows where the true birth to the term came from though, as it's just one of those things that popped up and the other Amateur Radio users adopted the term.

You may also be wondering, what in the heck are the differences between ham radios and just the typical AM/FM radios that you see at retail stores. The answer to that question is simple. In regards to the basic fundamentals of the Radio Frequency aspect, there is basically no difference! Both types are just pieces of technology that, in essence, receive and transmit signals from one party to another. So in that respect, ham radios and other radios are of the same basic concept fundamentally. There are, however, many differences when it comes to operating procedures and the amount of work you have to do in order to operate an amateur radio. Here are the five major differences:

1. Ham radios require a license. Licenses are required because ham radios operate in frequencies that are capable of talking much further than any regular old radio could. Licenses are also required because ham radios have been used in emergency situations many times. If you, as an inexperienced user, interfere with emergency communications you may be endangering people's lives. Because of this, the feds have made laws regarding these radios and one of the laws states that you need a license to legally operate a ham radio.

2. Ham Radios are more of a true "two-way" radio communication; in the aspect you are more interactive with the other party. With a cubical quad antenna in your vehicle, you receive the signal, and the broadcast station "transmits" the signal. These procedural responsibilities are fixated between you and the other user, whereas with a Ham Radio, you and the party at the other end can transmit and receive equally. This creates a more interactive means of communication.

3. Ham radios "talk" in different frequencies/bands than regular AM/FM radios. These bands make it so ham radios can talk much further than you may think. You certainly won't reach Tokyo from the U.S. on the 2 meter band, but you may be able to do just that if you are operating on, say, the 160 meter band.

4. They are much more expensive than regular radios. Granted, you may be able to find used ham radios that are cheap, but generally they tend to cost more. Ham radio equipment adds up because you have to buy many different types of equipment to make them work properly and to maintain their functions. Regular radios usually come in an all in one, ready to use package. Ham radios are different! You'll find yourself buying a transceiver, a power supply, a SWR (Standing-Wave-Ratio reading) wattmeter, and cables. The price adds up!

5. You generally have to do extra antenna work. You can either build one from scratch, or install one that comes commercially made. Most "real" amateur radio operators prefer to build their own from scratch. This is cheaper, but there also comes a sense of pride of designing, building, and installing your own radio antenna!

San Diego Ham Antenna Ordinance

 We're back for the moment in the world of Amateur radio.  And we are located in the City of San Diego, California, which is home to about 3,700 ARS licensees.  Its enlightened city government has, essentially on its own initiative, written a draft zoning ordinance that would forbid the construction of all new ARS (only) antennas taller than a height of 30 feet AGL.  Well, almost.  An enterprising ham would still have the right to file an application for a property development permit for a proposed new, 30 foot, non-conforming antenna structure; it's the same permit issued for construction of shopping malls and golf courses.  And it requires an $8,000 application fee.

Hams, of course, are the traditional telecommunications "first responders," on the air with ad-hoc equipment lash-ups and with both prior-established and spontaneous nets operating during and after natural or man-made disasters.  This is just when everyone else is trying to assess the damage to communications systems, to make repairs, and to re-start service.  The hams were there after Katrina, and they are on duty today after the Haitian earthquake.  No one doubts their sincerity or their usefulness.  Local governments in the San Diego area have even included established Amateur communications systems into their disaster planning.  And well they should: the region lies in an earthquake zone, is prone to spectacular back country brush fires, and is even open to large storms and the subsequent flooding and mudslides during recurrent El Nino weather events.

Note also that this proposed ordinance applies specifically and solely to ARS licensees.  It does not mention commercial two-way radio, cellular base stations, broadcasters, short-wave radio listeners, over-the-air TV viewers, CBers, or even owners of home weather stations.  These other folks can build as tall as they want, contingent only on filing for and receiving structural building permits.

So what has caused San Diego city cubical quad antenna to go after ham operators?  A local ham, fueled with far more money and ambition than common sense, proposed, somehow was issued building permits for, and built a huge antenna installation at his home.  Unfortunately, that home is located in about the most "exclusive" (read: expensive) neighborhood in the city, and the installation is grossly oversized for the lot on which it resides and for the neighborhood in which it is located.  It does damage to the aesthetics of the neighborhood.  A structure that size should generally be built in a rural area, not in the city.

While hams do need tall antenna structures, prudence and common sense would dictate some voluntary limits as to sizes and heights for those in primarily residential areas.  (For non-ham readers, the taller the tower is, the more radiation-efficient are high-frequency ["short wave"] antennas mounted atop it, and also the greater the line-of-sight to the horizon for VHF/UHF antennas.)  Very tall towers do not belong in city residential neighborhoods.  But ARS towers of lesser height, properly constructed, do.  And so also says the FCC, both houses of the U.S. Congress, and the State of California.  The city of San Diego seems to disagree with these authorities.

Meanwhile, "back in the hood" the local ham steadfastly refused to admit that he had created a problem, and his neighbors launched into orbit when "the monster" began climbing toward the stars.  Unfortunately the neighbors, being members of the higher economic classes, had little difficulty gaining the ears of city governmental officials or of obtaining skilled legal counsel to press their points.  And city government responded to their outcry by drafting the proposed ordinance.