Today I am proud to be able to review this some what unique product for a problem that many electronics users have, wireless networks that just do not cover the area you want them to. With the cAntenna from EtherDesigns, you can help solve that problem with a small tube like device that plugs into your wireless Router/AP or your client card. This type of antenna is made to pinpoint the signal in a certain direction so you can get much farther away from the Access Point than you normally can.

In searching on the internet you will probably find many guides to make "home made" versions of a cantenna, but the performance can greatly vary, plus it can be a pain to get everything lined up perfectly inside the can. That is where EtherDesigns comes in, they make the cAntenna in a 10" and 5" versions that are weatherproof, made from all metal cans and parts, plus are put together for best performance.

For review we received a 10" model of the cAntenna, this model is made for greater distance than the 5", but the beam (coverage) is a bit narrower than the 5" version. Both models look very similar and have the same finish, the only difference is the performance and length of the tube.

The setup of the cAntenna is very simple. If you buy the kit version for around $45.99, you will receive the cable needed to connect the cAntenna to your Access Point (called a pigtail). Depending on what Access Point you have, you will need to select the proper cable. You can usually find what type of connection your router uses by looking on the unit itself, or going on the internet. For me, I used a TNC type for my Linksys Wifi Router. Simply screw one end of the cable into the cAntenna, and the other end into the antenna jack on your Access Point (you will probably have to take of the antenna on the Access Point). Also included with the kit is a mini tripod that you can screw onto the cAntenna to use as a stand. The cAntenna has a standard camera tripod screw hole that you can screw a regular camera tripod into. This makes finding a suitable stand very easy (for my review I used a camera tripod that I had).

Once you have your cAntenna connected to your Access Point, you are ready to start using it. There is no software to install, settings to change, etc, you are ready to go once you plug it in. You then can aim the cAntenna in the general direction you want to extend the range to. Since the cAntenna directs the signals in one direction, you will definitely see a decrease in performance in other areas where the cAntenna is not pointed. If you are lucky enough to have a Access Point that has dual antennas (I was with my Linksys), you can leave one of the regular antennas turned on and hooked up to keep a normal range around your Access Point in directions where the cAntenna is not pointed. This will potentially decrease the range on the cAntenna for very long distance runs, so if you are doing a very long run, I would suggest getting a second router for close range, and then have the cAntenna on a router by itself.

For testing the cAntenna, I setup a test space and got together the items for testing. Here is how my test was setup:

Coming from a hub connected to the internet, two wired cable runs came to two separate Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless B Routers. These routers were setup identical except one was on channel 6 and one was on channel 11. I had seen that the cAntenna supposedly worked best on channel 6 (although still worked well on other channels) so I plugged the cAntenna into the router that was set to channel 6. I turned off the second antenna on the router that the cAntenna was attached to and then left the other router setup normally with the two stock antennas. I had these two routers about 3 feet apart in front of a window. Next I whipped out my laptop with NetStumbler on it and headed outside to see how far I could get and what the signal strengths were.

Near the routers, the signal strength was about the same and was very high. But once I started to get farther away, the cAntenna kept a strong signal where the normal router dropped off very quickly. About 100 ft away I could just get a connection with the normal router, and the cAntenna was still an excellent connection. Soon the regular router was out of sight or not able to connect to, and the cAntenna still was able to hold a connection. Through a window I got out to about 500 feet until it started getting to low to hold the connection. When I used the cAntenna not through a window but directly outside, the range increased dramatically. Also playing around with how you aim it, the rotation of it, and the angle all made differences in range. There is really no way I could come to a conclusion on how far it could go, but it could go very very far and with tweaking I kept being able to take it out farther and farther. I got probably to around 1000ft (I am guessing a bit) with tweaking and playing around with the cAntenna for a few hours.

To further test the cAntenna, I bought a cable that would let me connect the cAntenna to the mini-pci wifi card in my laptop. When I had the cAntenna connected to my laptop, I was able to pick up signals (not able to connect, but I saw the SSID) of my neighbors AP that is probably about 1500 ft away PLUS it is inside their house.

Another thing I should mention about the cAntenna is the great build quality. The cAntenna can itself is made of metal and painted with a weather proof black paint that has a bit of a grit to it. The connectors are also all metal and the connector has weather proof rings to keep the can sealed. The cap on the can is also glued in place to keep the can sealed and protected. I definitely would have no problem or worries mounting the cAntenna outside for use. It should have no problems withstanding the elements.

Overall this is a great product and definitely increases your wireless network range in a cost effective way. I can see with tweaking that you could get very very long runs setup and have no problem sharing internet between main buildings and areas. This also works great for client side usage where you can look for and conduct security surveys and detect other networks in your area.

Thanks to EtherDesigns for the review sample!