Internal wireless antenna

[Honda CRV]

Hey all, I'm wanting to get a sorta niche item and I'm not sure where to look for it (or if such a thing even exists). My PC has a wireless card in it that uses the 8260, and the one thing that always worries me is the external antennas, since I'm always afraid of bonking them and ruining the cable (and I broke one of the antenna-style ones beforehand). I'd love to get something I can plug directly into the 8260 and run up behind the front panel of my case, with like a 4-6 inch actual anntenna-y bit and a ~18 inch cable leading to it.

Ultimately this is something a lot like what some laptops use but I'd just want something that'd do very well in my application, since I ultimately plan on upgrading to the AX200 and getting a WiFi 6 router, and want to go as fast as possible. Is there anything like this on the market?

[Duckson McQuack]

You can buy more antennas on amazon if you somehow break them.

 

 Basically you're looking for an antennae with a wire connected to extent? 

[svmlegacy]

15 minutes ago, Honda CRV said:

Hey all, I'm wanting to get a sorta niche item and I'm not sure where to look for it (or if such a thing even exists). My PC has a wireless card in it that uses the 8260, and the one thing that always worries me is the external antennas, since I'm always afraid of bonking them and ruining the cable (and I broke one of the antenna-style ones beforehand). I'd love to get something I can plug directly into the 8260 and run up behind the front panel of my case, with like a 4-6 inch actual anntenna-y bit and a ~18 inch cable leading to it.

Ultimately this is something a lot like what some laptops use but I'd just want something that'd do very well in my application, since I ultimately plan on upgrading to the AX200 and getting a WiFi 6 router, and want to go as fast as possible. Is there anything like this on the market?

Like this:

https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/antenna/tl-ant2405c/

?

[Donut417]

28 minutes ago, Honda CRV said:

Hey all, I'm wanting to get a sorta niche item and I'm not sure where to look for it (or if such a thing even exists). My PC has a wireless card in it that uses the 8260, and the one thing that always worries me is the external antennas, since I'm always afraid of bonking them and ruining the cable (and I broke one of the antenna-style ones beforehand). I'd love to get something I can plug directly into the 8260 and run up behind the front panel of my case, with like a 4-6 inch actual anntenna-y bit and a ~18 inch cable leading to it.

Ultimately this is something a lot like what some laptops use but I'd just want something that'd do very well in my application, since I ultimately plan on upgrading to the AX200 and getting a WiFi 6 router, and want to go as fast as possible. Is there anything like this on the market?

keep in mind most computer cases are metal, which will block the wifi signal. As far an internal antennas go, your option would be an M.2 wifi adapter and Laptop antennas. These would normally be ran to the screen but you could run them to your front panel I would guess. 

[Honda CRV]

53 minutes ago, Duckson McQuack said:

You can buy more antennas on amazon if you somehow break them.

 

 Basically you're looking for an antennae with a wire connected to extent? 

The whole point of this idea is to avoid spending money on more antennas whenever I forget them and break them.

 

47 minutes ago, svmlegacy said:

Like this:

https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/antenna/tl-ant2405c/

?

Not really. I'd be looking for something a lot closer to what OEMs use in laptops and desktops. Something that would ultimately look a lot like this, just with ~16-18 inch cables going to the actual antenna bits. 

 

36 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

keep in mind most computer cases are metal, which will block the wifi signal.

I'm plenty well aware of cases being metal. That's why I said I'd be plopping them the front panel, which is plastic. It's really no different than what basically every prebuilt from someone like HP does.

 

Quote

As far an internal antennas go, your option would be an M.2 wifi adapter and Laptop antennas. These would normally be ran to the screen but you could run them to your front panel I would guess. 

...And this was the entirety of what my OP was about, stating about going from a wireless card with an NGFF NIC and glorified laptop antennas, but with long cables, all going to the front panel.

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, Honda CRV said:

And this was the entirety of what my OP was about, stating about going from a wireless card with an NGFF NIC and glorified laptop antennas, but with long cables, all going to the front panel.

The length of the cable is likely going to be an issue for you. See if you can find antennas for what would be use for a larger laptop, OR maybe see if you can find an antenna that would have been used on a prebuilt like an HP that uses the required connectors as well as the length you need. 

[Falcon1986]

On 9/5/2020 at 3:59 PM, Honda CRV said:

I'm plenty well aware of cases being metal. That's why I said I'd be plopping them the front panel, which is plastic. It's really no different than what basically every prebuilt from someone like HP does.

I'm interested in seeing how this project turns out. I've had similar ideas for my SFF PC, but I haven't had any problems accidentally breaking the external antennae!

 

Keep in mind that the antennae on laptops are usually positioned at locations where there is a minimum of metal surrounding them. This can be around the screen bezel where there might only be plastic all around. On a desktop case where the front panel is plastic, you might be limiting wireless reception to the front of the case only. Of course, you won't know until you test it.

[eece_ret]

https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-RP-SMA-2-4Ghz-Extension-Notebook/dp/B07QKF18KM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=m.2+wifi+antenna&qid=1599504795&sr=8-3

 

Use an old Slot cover...  Drill holes and use a nut to hold teh SMA's captive to said Drilled Slot Sover.  (you should cover teh slot cover in electrical tape so as to isolate teh SMA's when you nut them down)

 

[Donut417]

3 minutes ago, eece_ret said:

https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-RP-SMA-2-4Ghz-Extension-Notebook/dp/B07QKF18KM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=m.2+wifi+antenna&qid=1599504795&sr=8-3

 

Use an old Slot cover...  Drill holes and use a nut to hold teh SMA's captive to said Drilled Slot Sover.  (you should cover teh slot cover in electrical tape so as to isolate teh SMA's when you nut them down)

 

You totally missed the point of what the OP is trying to do. They have damaged external antennas before. The OP is looking at solutions like used in Laptops to run internal antennas to the front panel of the case. 

[Donut417]

https://www.amazon.com/Female-Antenna-Cable-Extension-Pieces/dp/B00YM0HN0O

 

@Honda CRV, I was looking on Amazon and found extension cables. They are pretty cheap as well. So theoretically this could work. At the length given on Amazon, plus the length you will get from a laptop antenna, I think that should be plenty depending on the size of your case.