• From: Germany
  • Registered: 2009-12-30
  • Posts: 10

Topic: Improve wireless connection

My chumby one has a link quality between 45% and 60% near my bed. If the link quality drops below 50% sometimes the music stream stops or my chumby needs to reconnect to my wireless network.

I was looking for a way to improve the connection. My access point has no connector for an external antenna and changing the position of the AP is not an option. But I found a wireless USB module with an external antenna that has the same chip as the wireless module inside the chumby one (RT2571WF). And the USB-ID (0x148f,0x2573) is supported by the driver of the chumby (http://files.chumby.com/source/). This wireless module is sold as LogiLink WL0025 or BIGtec BIG106. The price in Germany is 17 Euro.

To replace the internal module I had to remove the black plastic cover of the new wireless adapter and to open the back cover of the chumby one (see this excellent site: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/chumby-o … down/1614/). The internal USB card can easily be removed and replaced by the new wireless card. And the external antenna that was included with the wireless module fits perfectly into the case of the chumby one! No soldering is necessary, and no hole needs to be drilled in the case.

With this modification my link quality is now between 55% and 65%. That is good enough for me. It is also possible to add a longer WIFI antenna (R-SMA) with a better gain. In this case you need a hole in the top of the chumby one, the antenna will then be in a vertical position.

I've uploaded some pictures of the mod:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/einfachpri … 87/detail/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/4298532980_a37008f8af.jpg

  • Registered: 2009-12-27
  • Posts: 65

Re: Improve wireless connection

Very nice clean mod.  Once you close it up, you'd have no idea you swapped the WiFi dongle.  Thanks for the photos!

  • Registered: 2009-11-14
  • Posts: 39

Re: Improve wireless connection

Looks like there might be a way to add an external antenna to the original chumby wifi adapter, it looks like the solder pads for the antenna connector are present in both of the adapters, can anyone confirm this?

  • Registered: 2009-12-08
  • Posts: 14

Re: Improve wireless connection

good find.  several people have been looking for something like this.  unfortunately, a quick search doesn't turn up those models in retailers west of the pond.

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2009-12-30
  • Posts: 10

Re: Improve wireless connection

Gompka wrote:

Looks like there might be a way to add an external antenna to the original chumby wifi adapter, it looks like the solder pads for the antenna connector are present in both of the adapters, can anyone confirm this?

User harmlessgryphon has made such a modification for the original wifi adapter. See the following thread: http://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=4400

6 Reply by kabatronix (edited by kabatronix 2010-02-08 04:31:54)

  • From: germany
  • Registered: 2010-01-06
  • Posts: 24

Re: Improve wireless connection

hi folks,
i did the above mod (via amazon: www.lets-sell.info, logilink wl0025, they actually sent the bigtec dongle!!!) and it improves linkquality round about +10% refered to 100%.

i will also do some testing on internal diversity antennas taken from proprietary wrecked hardware called ibook, imac etc. soldered to the original wlan dongle with shortened leads.

here actually a small circuitboard splits the common antenna cable to one main and one aux anntena as you might have seen on several internal wlan cards built into (non proprietary) notebooks.

this way one antenna can be orientated horizontally, the other vertically, and the common lead can be soldered to the wlan dongle.

this might add some more dB under certain circumstances, where turning the chumby several degrees already affects reception.

cu

kaba

kabatronix's Website

  • Registered: 2010-05-10
  • Posts: 4

Re: Improve wireless connection

Yes, it is a very good improvement and new innovations. You made perfect modification in it. It is very nice and clear mode.

r4i sdhc
  • Registered: 2010-05-26
  • Posts: 1

Re: Improve wireless connection

I just bought a Edimax EW-7318USG( uses RT2571WF) and put it in my Chumby One and it has been working well. Only issues I had were I had to cut a hole in the top for the antenna. Also when I first tried to boot up it froze. I turned off the power and then turned it back on, it booted normally. I also upgraded the antenna from the 3db supplied to a 5db I had laying in a box. Looks a little weird with antenna sticking out the top, but I prefer function over form. I went from an average of 40% to about 65% where it normally stays.