Amazing Device: Hawking HWU54D WiFi Adapter

[Computer Generated Baby]

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314338&pfp=srch1

I bought one of these at ChompUSA last night.

Damn! This Hawking Technology HWU54D is pretty sensitive to say the least. I was able to lock onto and use a 802.11G Wi-Fi hotspot that I know for a fact that is nearly 1 km away, and actually use it at 11 Mb! My very decent Netgear Wi-Fi adapter can't detect this particular Wi-Fi hotspot until I'm about 100 meters or so from it. I was also able to detect some other Wi-Fi hotspots by slowly rotating the adapter horizontally.


http://www.hawkingtech.com/prodSpec.php?ProdID=208



There were a bunch of other interesting Hawking Technology products I saw last night -- exterior antennae, boosters, repeaters, antenna adapters, etc. One such Hawking Technology item that I saw, which I'm keen on picking up soon, is a little handheld Wi-Fi hotspot detector unit that looks similar to my HWU54D when the antenna is raises from the unit.

 

[sechs]

Wouldn't an AP with a high-gain antenna do the same for cheaper?

 

[Computer Generated Baby]

Wouldn't an AP with a high-gain antenna do the same for cheaper?

Maybe. However the WAP in question is not my WAP.

By the way, I just went back to CompUSA and picked up the device mentioned last -- the Hawking HWL1.

It works just as advertised. You can easily pinpoint the Wi-Fi hotspot's transmission spot via the blue LED readout indicator.

If you are familiar with using the excellent NetStumbler software tool, using the HWL1 not like using NetStumbler at all, instead, what you get is a simplified and effective way of locating and sensing the best direction to situate your directional antenna. It would be nice if it could perform network identification functions like NetStumber, since it's certainly possible to be stuck in between two or more WAPs.

 

[Fushigi]

No WPA? I'm disappointed. This Netgear router looks cool.

 

[Computer Generated Baby]

By the way, this is the Hawking HWL1 Wi-Fi Locator.


http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=316517&pfp=srch1

http://www.hawkingtech.com/prodSpec.php?ProdID=223





Also, there's someone offering a miniature "keychain" Wi-Fi locator. It's not as sensitive as the Hawking HWL1, but it does the job if you are in a building searching for a nearby Wi-Fi hotspot.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6072905/

 

[Computer Generated Baby]

This Netgear router looks cool.

Yes! I've been seeing these in the major stores (Fry's, Microcenter, ChimpUSA, WurstBuy).

I am hoping that one can *manually* override the "smartness" of the automatic antenna selection and simply select one of the directional antennae (and maybe even reduce RF power) so that you can avoid becoming a neighbourhood Wi-Fi broadcast station. If you only use your notebook / tablet / PDA one area of the house you can confine the coverage and avoid being the aformentioned radio station.

If you needed to move around a bit more, you could then select a different coverage pattern from the NetGear box. This would all be without dealing with aftermarket antennae; everything in one neat box with a weird blue electronic eyeball staring at you in the dark. :lol:

 

[Computer Generated Baby]

Well, I did a couple of tests driving around in my van (a 2004 Mazda MPV, by the way) comparing my effective and sensitive NetGear WG121 omnidirectional against the Hawking HWU54D. Yes, it is confirmed that the Hawking HWU54D is most definitely an over-achieving Wi-Fi adapter. WAPs that just became out of range with the NetGear WG121 omni were easily detectable and usable with the Hawking HWU54D.


Using microphone tech-speak: Its pickup pattern is not like a hypercardioid microphone (a.k.a. -- "shotgun" microphone), but much more like what you would expect from a more-common cardioid microphone. If you are fairly close, you could probably get by with the antenna pointed 180° from the WAP source. Otherwise, don't expect much if the antenna is aimed more than 45° off-axis at a distance of approximately 50 meters clean-line-of-sight from the WAP. Optimum seems to be no more than 30° off-axis from the WAP at an appreciable distance.