Hawking HWU8DD Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Dish Adapter
by Hawking Technology
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Our Price: $174.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $54.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Hawking HWU8DD Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Dish Adapter
Customer Review: I'm impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
Holy Mackeral! I just did a comparison test of the HWU8DD versus a RadioLabs "Wave RV" system. Both are simple USB plug-in Wi-Fi transceivers. I am in a neighborhood (Tempe Arizona) with a LOT of WiFi Activity. The HWU8DD can see 28 networks. The "Wave RV" sees just 8 networks. I also tested the directionality. I was skeptical when I received the HWU8DD because the dish is much smaller and lighter than I had visualized. (That's not all bad!) It is however quite directive. (Not so directive that you can't find the signals that it is not pointed toward however and that is good. Otherwise you would have a terrible time orienting the antenna.) I just calculated the theoretical gain of a 10 cm dish antenna at 2.4 GHz and it is 8.01 dBi IF the efficiency of the antenna is 100%. Typical efficiencies are 50% to 60% so I wonder if they are achieving the 8 dBi gain they imply they are getting. The software seems to be stable and work well. I bought two of these to use in the motorhome when we travel so that both my wife and I can get on the internet with our laptops from WiFi-equipped campgrounds. I am happy with the HWU8DD...Customer Review: Not better than my laptop antenna
Summary: 2 Stars
This device pulled in a weak signal in my house better than a wireless adapter with a typical stick antenna, but it did no better than the internal adapter in my IBM X40 laptop. I don't know what kind of antenna is in the X40, but it's pretty good. The signal registered 0 bar on the USB adapter, and barely one bar on both the Hawking device and on the X40's internal adapter. Too weak to be a reliable internet connection. The dish on the Hawking device is too small to really give you much of a boost unless you have a relatively bad adapter/antenna system to start with. In order to get that signal up to two bars (high enough to provide reliable performance), I had to use a large 2' by 3' 2.4 GHz dish antenna. The big dish antenna cost about the same as the Hawking device so the only real disadvantage to using one is that it takes up a lot of space. I connected it to the wireless adapter instead of the puny antenna it came with. Big 2.4 GHz antennas are readily available on the net. Just make sure your wireless adapter has a removable antenna and that you order the big dish antenna with the right connector for your adapter.Customer Review: This thing actually works!
Summary: 5 Stars
So I was a little bit skeptical that this would improve signal receptivity (thought you could only boost range from the source of the wireless transmission), but thought I would give it a try before calling the local cable company to shell out $50 a month. Even the guy at the local Best Buy told me that these things don't work and it would be a waste of time, but I figured I would give it a shot (and see for myself), and that in the worst case I could always return it (so little downside risk). Well as others have mentioned, it surprisingly picked up lots of other signals that my internal laptop card could not previously see. Needless to say, I no longer need to call the cable company as this pays for itself in less than 2 months! Note: For Vista users, you have to download the drivers from their website (don't use the included CD)...for some reason the signal meter on the unit doesn't seem to work (it always shows full signal strength regardless if it's connected or not) but the unit still works. Very satisfied and recommend you to try it before paying for Internet service!Customer Review: patience is really required
Summary: 3 Stars
This did solve a problem with a wireless connection in a hard to reach part of the house (far away and behind a fireplace) - BUT installation required two long calls to tech support--who were pretty darn good. If you have X-P Pro as your operating system the installation CD is not going to work at all so just be prepared to make the calls to get help downloading the software drivers. And be sure to call the toll-free number on the printed insert not to the number in the booklet.
And also plan to get a longer USB cable with the small camera type fitting at one end to give you the flexibility to place the antenna where it will get the best reception. It is very sensitive to small adjustments and has a series of blue diodes that light up as the signal strength increases. Cute and quite fragile so be careful how you handle the antenna!
So yes, it takes some time and will require patience, but it sure does work well for me and perhaps for you. No more dropped sessions (so far)!
What a deal. Wish I had done this a year or two ago!
Customer Review: Not bad but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
This antenna is probably a shy better then a laptop wireless adapter I am waiting for a usb extension cable to see if that helps because i am using it for my desktop computer that is in my basement I did try this upstairs on another computer and i was able to see about 3 more networks than my laptop was able to detect in my neighborhood so that was good I would give this adapter a 4 star rating if it was weather proof so i could set it out side my basement window and see what kind of hotspots i could pick up. As far as the software goes it is not that bad it tells you what you need to know to adjust the dish and compensate the direction. I have found that you can get online with only a 15% signal anything below that will not work. Also the dish base is about the size of a cd and the dish itself is about half an inch wider than a gamecube game disk ie: mini disk. So its not to clunky to have around. All in all it serves my purposes fine for now. I would recommend buying this but make sure you get a usb extension cable just in case.