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Dru Labrado photo
Sweden, Stockholm
1 Level
713 Review
51 Karma

Review on Tupavco TP542 Dual-Band Outdoor Directional Panel Antenna: Boost WiFi πŸ“‘ Signal Strength with this Weatherproof High-Gain (13dBi) Long-Range Wireless Network Solution by Dru Labrado

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Excellent directional dual band WiFi antenna. Excellent build quality.

Bravo TUPAVKO! This antenna provides excellent directional gain for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi signals. I hold an FCC amateur and commercial amateur radio license and have purchased and built many antennas over the years. This is a beautifully built and working antenna. With WLAN frequencies, the exact tolerances of the antenna, connector and cable must be observed. I use it as part of a 5GHz wireless Wi-Fi bridge from my garage to my house. This antenna is outside in the garage as shown in the photos. My wireless bridge router also offers 2.4GHz Wi-Fi access through the bridge as well as Ethernet connection ports. The signal increase corresponded to the declared. On the 5GHz band (channel 153), my signal improved from -70dBm to -50dBm using the Android version of Netgear's WiFi Analytics app. In other words, the signal changed from bad to great. The stronger signal increased the network speed from 100 Mbit/s to 700 Mbit/s. This compares the signal to standard omnidirectional antennas and to a TUPAVCO directional antenna replacing one of the omnidirectional antennas on the bridge side of the network. While I didn't test for an actual bandwidth increase of 2.4, there was a significantly stronger signal on my WiFi cellphone over the wireless bridge. Given the 50 foot distance and the exterior wall with a sliding glass door between the host and bridge routers, I'm very happy with it. The included specs are impressive and are backed up by solid performance. The fairing and hull are robust and weatherproof. It should last for many years. Stainless steel hardware with nuts, washers, lock washers, U-clamp and bracket. The N connector on the back panel is permanently connected to the back panel. The connection cable is NOT included - only the antenna and mounting hardware are included, the price reflects the excellent build quality and performance. I needed a 10 foot cable with moderate signal loss. At 5 GHz, the coaxial cable must be as short as possible and of good quality, otherwise the antenna gain is lost in the cable. This is a dedicated antenna and is highly recommended for those who require a directional antenna.

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