Antenna Basics
An antenna is a device that propagates radio frequency (RF) signals through the air. The transmitter (the Wi-Fi card or access point) sends an RF signal to the antenna, which propagates the signal and sends it along through the medium of air.
To some degree, if you want to use your access point with an antenna, you can just go out and buy an antenna (see “Where to Buy Your Wi-Fi Antenna” later in this chapter) and find out how it works. But if you are curious about antennas, here are some things you might want to know about how they work.
When you are thinking about antennas, you need to think about the following characteristics:
Frequency
Power
Radiation pattern
Gain
Frequency
Antennas used with Wi-Fi need to be tuned to 2.4GHz (802.11b ...
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