How should the routing antenna be placed to achieve faster Internet speed?

Recently, there has been a lot of controversy online surrounding a technology science video on Bilibili.

In the video, in order to test the signal, a UP host straightened the antenna.

The UP host may think that after straightening the antenna, the antenna can produce a directional signal radiation effect.

So, is it really the right thing to do?

In addition, many people often ask: Our home Wi-Fi router has multiple antennas. How should these antennas be pointed to achieve better transmission effects?

Today, we will briefly tell you about this knowledge.

Antennas are something that everyone is familiar with. Antennas are basically found wherever there is wireless technology. Their purpose is to send and receive radio waves.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

To put it more professionally, an antenna is a "converter" - it converts the guided waves propagating on the transmission line into electromagnetic waves propagating in free space, or vice versa.

The role of the antenna

How does the antenna achieve the conversion between guided waves and space waves?

See the picture below:

We learned in high school physics that when two parallel wires have alternating current , electromagnetic wave radiation will be generated.

When the two wires are very close, the radiation is very weak (the currents in the wires are in opposite directions and the induced electromotive force generated is almost canceled).

When two wires are stretched apart, the radiation will be enhanced (the currents in the wires are in the same direction, and the induced electromotive forces generated are in the same direction).

When the length of the wire increases to 1/4 of the wavelength, a more significant radiation effect can be formed!

With an electric field, there is a magnetic field. With a magnetic field, there is an electric field. In this cycle, there is an electromagnetic field and electromagnetic waves...

Electricity generates magnetism, magnetism generates electricity

Here is another animated picture, let’s feel this beautiful process:

The change in the direction of the current in the wire produces a changing electric field

The two straight wires that generate the electric field are called oscillators .

What does a vibrator look like in the real world?

Duang! That's it——

It is just such a metal sheet...half-wave symmetrical oscillator (non-folded)

Well, the one above is just a traditional form of the vibrator. It has many other forms:

Weirdly shaped vibrator

You may ask: Don’t the antennas we see in real life look like this?

The reason is simple: to be precise, the vibrator is not a complete antenna. The vibrator is the core component of the antenna, and its shape will change with the shape of the antenna.

There are so many different forms of antennas...

All in all, hundreds and thousands of...

Sometimes there is a radome on the outside of the antenna that hides the actual oscillator inside. This can give you a misleading idea of ​​the actual shape of the antenna.

Antennas come in all shapes and sizes, but they can be roughly categorized into the following categories based on their similarity:

Whip Antenna

Parabolic antenna

Yagi Antenna

Note: The Yagi antenna is not eight pieces of wood. Although I am not good at math, I can still count to eight. The reason why it is called Yagi is that it was invented by Japanese people Yagi Hidetsugu and Uda Taro in the 1920s. It is called "Yagi-Uda Antenna", or "Yagi Antenna" for short.

The antenna in the video mentioned at the beginning of this article is the most common vertically polarized rubber rod antenna. Similar to the whip antenna, it is also an omnidirectional antenna.

So, how does the signal of this antenna propagate outward?

Take a look at its signal pattern and you will understand:

Yes, its signal is propagated in all directions perpendicular to the "stick". Technically speaking, it is " minimum in the axial direction and maximum in the normal direction ". (In fact, the previous animated picture has already spoiled it.)

As you can see, the signal propagation direction is perpendicular to the antenna. In other words, the signal is weakest in the direction where the top of the antenna points.

Therefore, if you want to maximize the effect of this antenna, you should place it like this:

Similarly, if you want to achieve better results for your home router, it is recommended to place the antenna vertically.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

The antenna is placed horizontally, and it will look like this:

Pointing it in the right direction is even more wrong, and the signal is the worst.

Of course, if your router is placed higher or lower, you can adjust the antenna angle appropriately.

There are some common sense points to note when placing antennas :

1. It is said online that putting a can on the antenna will enhance the signal. This is wrong and will not produce greater gain.

2. Do not place antennas too close to each other, otherwise there will be interference between them.

3. The more antennas a router has, the better. Different antennas have different purposes, such as 2.4GHz or 5GHz signals. The MIMO (multiple antennas for transmitting and receiving) supported by mobile phones is limited, usually 2X2 or 4X4. It does not mean that if your router has 100 antennas, a mobile phone can communicate with it. Many routers now have many antennas, which may just be to increase the number of mobile phones.

Okay, has everyone learned how to place the antenna?

Planning and production

Source: Fresh Date Classroom (ID: xzclasscom)

Author | Xiaozaojun

Editor: Wang Mengru