The main difference between a pigtail (from English - “pig tail”) and a patch cord is that the terminated connector is located only on one side of the cable. The other side is attached to the equipment. In practice, pigtails on sale are most often double-sided: on both ends of the cable there are either male, female connectors of the same type, or different types connectors().

For RF cables, the following types of pigtails are distinguished, used in network equipment and wireless devices:

• N-Type;
• MMCX;

The connection occurs using two paired connectors of the opposite type - a plug and a socket. Therefore, pigtails of any type are divided into pin ( "dad", male, plug) and nesting ( "mother", female, jack). Male connectors have an internal thread, female connectors have an external thread, the plug is screwed onto the socket.

N-Type pigtails

Most common connector type. Invented back in the mid-twentieth century, it is used for networks with frequencies up to 20 MHz. For wireless devices, 50 Ohm pigtails are used.

Basically, the nut on the N-Type connector is round (for hand tightening), but there are also options with a hex nut. Air acts as a dielectric.

N-Type male: N-Type female:

High frequency SMA and RP-SMA connectors

More durable and reliable than N-Type. Designed to operate in the range up to 18 GHz (some types - up to 26.5 GHz), resistance characteristic - 50 Ohms.

The hex nut can withstand 500 disconnections and connections (if tightened correctly). Teflon is used as a dielectric in the connector.

While SMA is a standard plug and socket configuration, pigtails type RP-SMA- reverse:

• Fork. Male thread, pin contact;

Socket. Internal thread, socket contact.

SMA (male), SMA (female)	RP-SMA (male), RP-SMA (female)

And again, for better remembering

Male-Female differences:

MMCX pigtails

These small connectors were specially designed for use with printed circuit boards - their rotation angle, thanks to the snap fastening mechanism, is 360°. Resistance - 50 ohms, range - up to 6 GHz. The connection is made by soldering or crimping.

MMCX connectors are also called MicroMate™ and C2.5.

MMCX male MMCX fe male

The smallest connectors - UFL

The UFL RF connector is a truly miniature connector, mainly used for Wi-Fi connections antennas in embedded systems and for connecting to mini-PCI on boards and cards. Operating frequency - up to 6 GHz, resistance 50 ohm.

The UFL plug (center pin, male) is mounted directly on the board. Pigtail of this type- it is always female with the socket part at an angle of 90° to the cable.

Note that all pigtails of types N, RP-SMA, SMA, MMCX are also available in “angular” modifications - the connector is rotated relative to the cable at a right angle. In nomenclature designations this is indicated by the abbreviation RA.

SMA Male RA: MMCX male RA (right)

website

Wireless technologies are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. Until recently, the optimal way to connect a personal computer to local network and the Internet, a twisted pair connection was considered, which provides a speed of 100 Mbit/s (and even higher) and excellent stability. However, progress does not stand still and there are already quite a lot of wireless devices on the market that can provide fairly fast and reliable communications.

If you already have a wireless router installed in your home or office (aka router), which allows you to organize wireless network, then to connect to it personal computer or smart TV  you will need a wi-fi adapter . This will be a good alternative to a wired connection, which requires labor-intensive cabling.

There are hundreds of models of wi-fi adapters on the market. How to choose the right model?

Wi-Fi standards

First of all, you need to decide on the supported standards. wireless communication. Modern devices can support the following standards (in order from slow to fast): 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac.

The 802.11n and 802.11ac standards are the most modern and fastest. At the same time, the 802.11n standard was adopted in 2009 and this moment Nowadays, most wireless devices support it. The 802.11ac standard was adopted in 2014. Devices that support this standard, are produced in smaller quantities and are usually more expensive. The remaining standards are considered obsolete, but all modern devices they are also supported for compatibility.

Below is a summary table reflecting the main differences between the different standards.

Wireless connection speed

The speed of the wireless connection depends on the supported standard, as well as the number of transmitting and receiving antennas. In the 802.11n standard, the maximum data transfer rate per antenna is 150 Mbit/s, in the 802.11ac standard - 433 Mbit/s.

It should be noted that the theoretical data transfer rate in all standards differs significantly from the real one. Firstly, wi-fi devices Half the time is spent transmitting data, and the other half is spent receiving. Therefore, the theoretical speed must be immediately divided by 2 (which is reflected in the table). Secondly, together with useful information Quite a lot of service traffic is transmitted, including that necessary to ensure noise immunity.

That is why, even under ideal conditions, the data transfer speed from one device to another will be 2-3 times lower than the theoretical one (the one indicated on the box), depending on the class of the device. Budget models, as a rule, show noticeably more modest results than top-end adapters. If there is interference from walls or household appliances the speed may drop several times more.

Frequency range

Wireless devices can currently operate in two frequency bands - 2.4 and 5 GHz.

Number of antennas

Wireless communication standards 802.11n and 802.11ac provide the ability to use multiple antennas (MIMO, from the English Multiple Input Multiple Output), which increases the connection speed by a multiple. The 802.11n standard allows the use of up to 4 antennas, 802.11ac - up to eight.

To achieve maximum speeds and a stable connection, it is advisable to choose wireless equipment with multiple antennas. As a rule, adapters and routers with multiple antennas are more expensive.

Supported OS and other hardware

Manufacturers of wi-fi adapters, as a rule, release drivers for their devices for most operating systems. However, older versions of operating systems (such as Windows XP) may not be supported. There may also be problems with device support on new operating systems.

Therefore, when choosing an adapter, you must definitely pay attention to the list of supported operating systems.

If you purchase an adapter to connect to a TV network, it would be a good idea to read the list of supported adapters on the manufacturer’s website (if available).

Conditional price ranges wi-fi adapters(please note that the pricing policies of manufacturers may vary greatly):

adapters costing up to 1200 rubles. As a rule, these are inexpensive 802.11n adapters that have either an internal antenna or 1-2 external antennas. Claimed data transfer rates range from 150 to 300 Mbit/s. Provide acceptable communication quality at an affordable price.

Everything that cannot be programmed
in assembler - you have to solder.
Folk wisdom.

Background

There is a wireless network card D-Link DWL-AG530 and everything is fine with it, except for one thing: I got a modification with a non-removable antenna. For comparison, below in Figures 1 and 2 are images of modifications with a fixed and removable antenna, respectively. The cards are identical, and differ only in the way the antenna is connected. In the first case antenna cable soldered directly to the board, in the second - a connector is soldered on the board to which the antenna cable is connected. This is what prompted the idea that the card could be slightly improved by soldering the connector onto the board and installing the mating part on the cable. It was possible to go by connecting the pigtail to uFL- a connector already on the board. But these are additional connections that do not have the best effect on the signal quality and the task would become too simple.

Fig 1. Modification DWL-AG530 with fixed antenna Fig 2. Modification DWL-AG530 with removable antenna

The board already has holes for installing an L-shaped RF connector. All that remained was to decide on its type. To get a solution compatible with others WiFi- it was decided to install antennas RP-SMA connector At the end of the article there is more detailed description this connector and the reasons for its use.

Lyrical digression.
Having gone to the nearest radio parts store, I unexpectedly discovered that RP-SMA- connectors are not so easy to buy. But after rummaging around the net a little, I still found the XXX store, where I was able to buy the necessary connectors manufactured by YYY.

1. Analysis

Before installing the new connector, the card had to be disassembled a little. First you need to remove the fastening bar. A map without a strip and with a marked location for attaching the antenna cable is shown in Figure 3.

Fig 3.

Now it was necessary to unsolder the antenna cable. Oddly enough, it was soldered to perfection (and you say D-Link...).

Fig 4. Sealed antenna cable (1 - place for RF connector, 2 - "jumper")

2. Magic jumper

As you can see from Figure 4, the board already has holes for installing the connector, but before that you need to resolder one part. In Figure 4 it is indicated by number 2. An enlarged view is shown in Figure 5. This is most likely a capacitor that acts as a separating capacitor, but it performs another important function - it selects which antenna output will be used by the card.

It must be re-soldered so that it connects the card output (the track coming out from under the screen) with the track leading to the RF connector. The result of the operation is shown in Figure 6.

Fig 6.

3. Installing the connector on the card

Now you need to solder the connector itself, first removing the solder from the holes.

Figure 8.

The result is something like the one shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Figure 10.

To check the quality of installation, I used a 7 dBi detachable whip antenna. The signal quality has noticeably improved compared to what was previously measured on a standard antenna, which indicates normal installation, as well as the fact that a 7 dBi antenna works better than a standard one, which gives only 3-4 dBi. The most tricky procedure remained - installing the mating part on the antenna cable.

Figure 11.

4. Installing the connector on the cable

Installing the connector is a fairly simple task; I wanted to describe it to the minimum, but I unexpectedly discovered that there is very little information on this topic on the Internet. All I could find in an hour in a search engine was this video.

Figure 12. Cable connector (1 - connector, 2 - central contact, 3 - shielding sleeve, 4 - antenna cable, 5 - heat-shrinkable tube)

To install, you will need the connector itself, consisting of three parts (all sold together in one set): 1 - the connector itself, 2 - the central (signal) contact, 3 - the shielding coupling. The figure shows a so-called crimp connector. It is not necessary to use heat shrink, but, firstly, it is more reliable, and, secondly, it is more beautiful (taking into account the fact that only a green tube was found with a suitable diameter). I did not replace the cable itself, I left it as is.

Figure 14.

Despite the fact that the connector is designed for crimping, I soldered the central contact. First, we remove 3-5 mm of the outer screen insulation and the central core insulation from the cable. Next, you need to tin the central core of the cable for more convenient soldering. After this, we cut off the central core, leaving 2 mm. After that, we put the central contact of the connector on it and solder it. If you look closely at this contact (see Figure 13), then a cut is made on one side of it and it converges like a cone - we solder it on this side.

Figure 15.

Next, we remove about 10 mm of the top insulation and put the connector on the cable so that the shielding braid remains outside. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the central contact of the connector is at the same level as the insulator (does not protrude or is not recessed too deeply).

Figure 17.Figure 18.

Since I didn’t have a crimper on hand, I had to crimp it with pliers.

Figure 20.

5. After assembly, file

Since the strip was not designed for installing a connector, it had to be slightly modified with a file.

Figure 22.

results

The result is shown in Figures 23 and 24. If we talk about the signal level, it has improved by 1-2 dB, which may mean a real improvement in the signal path or a simple measurement error. But in any case, the expected deterioration of 0.5-1 dB due to the installation of the connector did not occur.

Figure 23.Figure 24.

For reference

SMA (SubMiniature version A) Microwave connector for connecting a cable with a characteristic impedance of 50 Ohms. By different sources, designed to operate with frequencies up to 12-18 GHz. It is characterized by increased strength and reliability.

RP-SMA (Reverse Polarity SMA) variety SMA- connector, characterized in that the central (signal) protruding contact is located not on the cable, but on the equipment connector. "Reverse Polarity" refers solely to the location this contact and has nothing to do with any polarity (eg signal). This "reverse polarity" contact arrangement has created confusion regarding the correct use of the terms "male"/"female".

Figure 25.

The widespread use of this incorrect connector is caused by the application of the norm introduced by the FCC (the American regulator in the field of radio and everything connected with it). The regulatory documents of which do not directly require the use of an RP-SMA connector, but prohibit the use of standard connectors. This standard was introduced to ensure that ordinary users would not be able to connect to their home equipment something not intended by the manufacturer. For example, connect a 10 W amplifier to a WiFi card and fry something for yourself (a 10 W amplifier gives up to 100 W at peak, and this is a lot). So you have to dodge when upgrading equipment so that it remains compatible with incompatible antennas (that’s the pun).

posted: 2011-11-20, Last update: 2011-11-23,

Router is network device, intended for distributing the Internet to several computers or laptops connected to it by cable or via wireless connection WiFi

Before using the router, you need to install it correctly

With setup prices network equipment you can find it in the "" section

You can get additional instructions and solutions to problems associated with poor working Internet in the section

USB

This port, depending on the router model, is used to connect:

Data storage medium (flash drive or network storage NAS)

3G/4G modem for Internet distribution

Printer

POWER Power supply port

Details about ports and setting up routers for the largest providers in Moscow and the Moscow region are described in our materials

Please note that the router can only have one of two types of ports for the ISP cable - WAN(Ethernet cable with connector) or DSL(telephone cable with connector). A router with a DSL connector is suitable for use only with a provider that provides Internet via. Routers with a connector are suitable for providers who offer Internet services over a dedicated line (Ethernet)

Don't confuse it with a telephone cable

The RJ-45 connector is 2 millimeters wider in width than the RJ-12

One of the main criteria when choosing a router is the type of cable that carries the Internet to your apartment or office. It is this cable that needs to be connected to the WAN/Internet (or DSL) port of the router. There are two most common types of wired Internet connections: via a two-wire telephone cable and via a leased line (twisted pair cable category 5e or 6)

On a computer or laptop with operating system Windows press Win+R, in the "Open" field enter the command " ping 8.8.8.8 -t" without quotes (this is the Google DNS server address), then click OK. If you have an Internet connection, you will see lines with in the console window. Readings are measured and displayed every second

If there is no Internet connection yet, you can ping the router itself with the command " ping 192.168.1.1 -t". Your router's address can be downloaded to the other two octets: 192.168. 0.1 ... 192.168.10.1 ... 192.168.100.1 ... 192.168.1.254

You can find out the router address in the settings network card- this is discussed in

As you move away from the Wi-Fi signal source or when the interference pattern between the laptop and router changes, the ping will change

When you are far from the router console command PING will produce lines with errors “Interval exceeded...”, “Transmission failed”, “General Failure” and others

Connecting to access points and integrated routers external antennas provide high frequency WIFI connectors. Traditionally, such RF connectors are RTP-TNC, RP-SMA, N-type. Any RF connector for a WIFI antenna has 2 elements in its design - traditionally they are called a plug and a socket. In simple colloquial speech, specialists often use dad and mom, or male female in English terminology.

TNC

50 Ohm coaxial RF connector operating up to 11 GHz. The RF connector replaced the BNC, which was noisy due to vibrations. TNC is an advanced threaded type that is used in most RF components to attach external antennas.

RP-TNC

SMA

Miniature 50 Ohm RF connector designed as a minimal RF connector for connecting coaxial cable. The connector provides up to 500 connection/disconnection cycles and is not intended for outdoor use.