Reddit reviews 1000mW 1W 802.11g/n High Gain USB Wireless G / N Long-Rang WiFi Network Adapter – Also works with Viewsonic vmp75
We found 4 Reddit comments about 1000mW 1W 802.11g/n High Gain USB Wireless G / N Long-Rang WiFi Network Adapter – Also works with Viewsonic vmp75. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
802.11b/g and "N", 1000mW of power which is more powerful than ANY other WiFi Dongle on the marketIncludes a 4 inch 5 DdBi Screw-On Swivel Rubber Antenna that can be removed and upgrade up to 9dBiSupports driver for Windows 2000, XP 32/64, Vista 32/64, Windows 7 Linux (2.4.x/2.6.x), Mac (10.4.x/10.5.x) Power PC& PC.Compliant with FCC Part 15.247 for US, ETS 300 328 for EuropeSupports wireless data encryption with 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES
The onboard wifi isn't very good, especially if something is between the RPi and the AP. The signal quality drops off pretty sharply with any obstructions (even a metal case hurts it pretty badly).
We use RPis in a digital signage type thing, and tested a few USB dongles. We found this one to be the best for us: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035GWTKK/
The dongle is instantly recognized, so no configuration needed; plug it in and you will have a wlan1 interface.
It's not as small as some others, but not terribly large either. We used a 12" USb extension to move it to where it was best mounted, so the size kind of helped with that mounting.
The thing that sold us was the removable antenna. We have our RPis in small metal enclosures and that really killed our wifi. We weren't getting nearly the range we needed. So with the above you can buy an SMA cable and move the antenna elsewhere. We bought this cable since we only needed to mount the antenna on the outside of the enclosure and so didn't need to go far. But you can get longer cables if you have a need for one.
I don't have the numbers here, but just sitting on a desk with the cover open, the onboard wifi was giving us something like 45/70 signal quality and around -60 dbm signal strength. The numbers for the above dongle at that very same moment was 70/70 quality and around -25dbm strength.
The difference in speed is enormous. As in, you can ssh in to each IP and easily out-type what bash echos back on wlan0, whereas wlan1 is like being right there on localhost staring at a terminal via LXDE. We did some file transfer tests (not video) and although I don't have those exact numbers either, the results were about as you'd expect.
So long story short, we disabled the onboard wifi. It's nice that it's built in, great for hobbyists and home use and such, but unless you're practically in the same room with the AP it's not terribly useful for stuff like moving video around.
Aye, it's actually an external adapter.
ahh I misunderstood.
You need this https://www.amazon.com/802-11g-Wireless-Long-Rang-Network-Adapter/dp/B0035GWTKK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525896152&sr=8-3&keywords=alfa+usb+wifi&dpID=31B92fp1Z5L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
I have this one. It also supports external antennas and packet injection. You know, for... Reasons. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035GWTKK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jGpLybNY4VB0T