Asiair plus or asiair mini WiFi range and transmission speed

[Elp]

I'm wondering whether the new asiair mini would be worth considering getting. I have a gen 1 and 2 already, the main reason for a new purchase is whether the built in antenna offers any benefit to WiFi range and image preview transmission speed. I find the gen 1 gives better WiFi range and speed than the gen 2 but both become limited once I'm indoors. The gen 2 I attach a quad antenna dual band WiFi extender to it which allows between 1.5 to 2MBps transfer speed which is fine, but the signal strength is sketchy and for some reason I have to place my phone in certain spots (ie away from me or on the floor of an upstairs room) in order to get those speeds. The distance from my setup outside to indoors is around 10-15M diagonal going through brick and a window. The other benefit I will get will be one less power bank to use which I can divert to dew heater powering.

Anyone got any actual real world feedback with these built in antenna asiairs?

Edited November 15, 2022 by Elp

[Carbon Brush]

Wifi connectivty issues are often masked from the user by the computer software, until things stop working.

Rather than trying new (expensive) boxes, I would be putting effort into looking at what is happening around me.
There are often simple remedies that are much cheaper.

Install a wifi scanner/monitor app onr your phone. Are you surrounded by a dozen competing signals?
You can also get an indication of signal strength from your mount, compared to the other signals.
The attached pic is a rough and ready image showing two sources fighting for the same channel.

An external antenna on a computer is always going to give better range than inbuilt.
The transmitter aerial can be away from the metal scope parts
The receiver doesn't have to fight the noise of the equipment that is millimetres away.

Radio signals don't like brick walls. Wifi radio frequencies don't like water - they get absorbed.
When I first installed wifi in my observatory, it had awful connectivity.
The big issue was absorbtion by the water in the timber walls.
Moving the antenna outside (in a plastic housing) was a huge improvemnt.
Another BIG increase in range came from fitting a directional antenna to point at the house router box.

If you try external aerials, think about the cable. It is tempting to use the stuff that is only a couple of mm diameter. However, it has awful losses.
Most of the signal goes after a metre.
The thicker cables have better performance. Look up the loss/metre before buying.

HTH,

David.

[Elp]

Thanks, guess I'll have to do some investigation. I had my doubts that the in built antenna can perform any better than the external one I'm already using as its technical blurb is that it's an industrial one.

[Carbon Brush]

The idea of an internal antenna appeals to appearance and practicality. There isn't a stick to get broken off or poke up your nose🤨
The product sells well.

Unfortunately converting between radio signals and electrical signals requires an aerial structure that is often strangely shaped and an awkward size.
Not only that, the aerial performance is influenced by things around. Remember an earlier iphone that didn't work unless you held it a certain way?

Siting the antenna a few millimetres away from a (noise generating) microprocessor, then nestling it among cables carrying noisy power & USB signals, and (hopefully) earth braids, is asking for bother.

The commercially available wifi components are geared around the average house on a street or small office.
Stretching to the end of the garden and through walls is often just too much.

If you have your scope in the garden, a few metres from the house. Then sit by a window looking at the scope, all is well.
Anything longer distance, or involving a wall, needs checking.

 

[Elp]

I eventually got the mini, the internal antenna works much better and at speed, same usage scenario.

I changed the channel of the WiFi extender on the pro to no avail, still patchy connection.

[jfrijhoff]

On 14/01/2023 at 20:41, Elp said:

I eventually got the mini, the internal antenna works much better and at speed, same usage scenario.

I changed the channel of the WiFi extender on the pro to no avail, still patchy connection.

Good to know, thanks!

[Celerondon]

On 14/01/2023 at 11:41, Elp said:

I eventually got the mini, the internal antenna works much better and at speed, same usage scenario.

I changed the channel of the WiFi extender on the pro to no avail, still patchy connection.

I have a terminology question about how you described the ASIAIR Mini.  
 

That looks like an external antenna on the ASIAIR Mini.  I don’t have a Mini but your terminology confused me.  Every time that I see a picture of the ASIAIR Mini there is a black antenna hanging off of it. Wouldn’t an internal antenna be invisible? 

[Elp]

To clarify, I meant it as it's built into the unit or comes as part of the unit, yes it is an external antenna which connects directly to the unit, the same as the plus. Both the gen 1 and gen 2 have proper internal antennas/chips as you interpret it, the gen 1 has a range of roughly 5-8 metres, the gen 2 is pretty much useless due to the metal casing and needs a usb powered ethernet connected external antenna which is separate from the unit connected by cables, hence my description.