Alfa AWUS036NHV ?!

Well I just received my Alfa 051NH today brand new (28/04/2014), and the driver disc shows a mystery 036NHV shown below on the right from the auto run when installing the driver.

Curious, I then found and translated this scoop thread on a search for 036NHV, which says the adapter is due to launch in May, has a picture, and contains the RTL8188EUS chipset. Let's hope it's a better adapter/less problematic than the failure of the NHR.

More info about it in this thread:

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.crack-wifi.com/forum/topic-10424-la-nouvelle-carte-wifi-usb-awus036nhv-alfa-network.html&prev=/search?q=alfa+036NHV&biw=1440&bih=737

.........And just when I thought I had completed the ALFA set today with the gold one, the paper trail leads me to having to possibly further collect a blue one (I guess you can't beat subliminal advertising). I'll be doing a review on the 051NH to the ALFA review thead in a few days ( too early to comment ). Just thought I'd give you all a heads up on this new 036NHV since it's hardly mentioned anywhere atm...

EDIT : Preliminary 051NH review added to my ALFA review thread.

 

No, it's most certainly not looking like a typo...not in 3 different confirmed places anyway.

....The drivers for the 036NHV are already up at the "official" website !!

(Put up on the 24th April)

Check da official ALFA site if you don't believe it.

So I think we all now can definitely agree a real AWUS036NHV exists, and coming soon in May as suggested.

(The same drivers as what's on this new disc shipped with the 051NH, and linked to the auto run menu are the same ones at the ALFA site for the 036NHV)

I already knew about this one coming out :

http://store.rokland.com/blogs/feat...67-mbps-dual-antenna-long-range-wi-fi-adapter

It's not the same model as the 036NHV however.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out in a month or two...

If it does have 33dbm output as claimed, then I guess it's bye-bye my NHR's (and here's hoping the drivers actually work properly this time for the 8188EUS variant instead of killing the signal strength and output power like on the 8188RU).

Jeez buying all these adapters to test is leaving me a bit short of funds. I'm liking the MIMO qualities of the 051NH so far, but it's hopeless for G mode as I was warned, and nobody round here even seems to be on 5Ghz yet, oh well such is life...

 

...Along with less networks than the Windows counterpart drivers as well. I do feel your pain. ;-)

STRONG while something burns out and it dies randomly a few months into service, or just stops working for no apparent reason, and FAST, but not as fast as an NHA...

There are many oddities and disasters/pitfalls that can befall owning and using an NHR, that the bonus of power output is negated by all the other factors going against it to make it just not worth the ball ache coaxing it to play. There are too many grievances with it. It aint no Linux hack worthy adapter that's for sure, and it has it's fair share of issues on Windows as well. At least with same signal strengths in Linux it's consistent. In Windows the signal strengths are all over the place along with the amount of networks discovered...

And for some reason my new second NHR v2 came with a single usb cable by mistake or by design. Don't know, but the new tiny green pcb they are shipping them with now is disgustingly cheap.

Let's hope the 036NHV fares better...it certainly seems to match the NHR's output on paper. I wonder, if it is really blue adapter, then what colour will the LED be, hmmmm....my bet is on it being orange.

I don't figure what the "V" stands for though, since it obviously has a "Realtek" chip, but I guess they ran out of "R's" on the NHR already and couldn't use that again.

I believe it will be the last of the AWUS036 series of 1T1R adapters, before moving onto 2T2R range, like the fabled star trek looking 052NH which is long past overdue and is also listed on this new driver disc as well (see pic taken from disc above)

036NHV Available for pre-order in france, source :

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.multiboutik.fr/index.php?id_product=86&controller=product&prev=/search?q=alfa+036nhv&biw=1440&bih=737

Technical information:

Maximum dbm : 32dBm (20dbm driver EU)
Sensitivity 11b: -96dB;
11g: -91dB;​

11g:-91dB;

11n: -91dB@HT20;
-87dB @ HT40​

Standard Security: WEP 64/128 bit, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, Cisco CCX

Cable : Mini USB
​

Connector: RP-SMA female

Compatibility Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1, Mac 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, Linux

 

Slightly OT, but...

Hey Pascal I noticed you have an 051NH, do you know if the supplied 051NH's 5dbi antenna is 2.4 Ghz only, or dual band ? (I doubt it but aren't sure)

It seems the same as all the other standard 2.4ghz 5dbi ones, and if so this seems like an oversight because it is really a 2.4ghz/5ghz rp-sma connector on da 051NH.

I know the mimo pcb micro strip antenna inside is dual band already.

If so would you recommend replacing the 5dbi with a dual-band version to match the one printed inside ?

I just bought the 051NH but I can't test/use any 5ghz facilities yet, as no 5ghz AP's appear to exist. That or the card isn't working.

So I have no way of knowing whether it's 5dbi antenna is dual band or not atm...

 

I didn't understand your answer fully, but...

All my Alfa's are genuine 100%. Paid a high price for 051NH from a well known source.

The 5dbi antenna that came with the 051NH looks just like any other standard Alfa 5dbi. (2.4ghz variants no visual difference)

I understand that there is a strip antenna on PCB of 051NH that *is* dual band. Wasn't sure about the external 5dbi one, and whether
it needs to be replaced for 5Ghz MIMO or replaced for dual band. Can't test this setup at present.

Are you 100% saying that the 5dbi coming with the 051NH is dual band antenna and "can't be swapped" with other alfa's and then
won't work anymore on 5ghz ?

The drivers for 051NH are just the same as can be used for 036NH, nothing really special I found...

Didn't realise the adapter is from 2009 and was discontinued in 2012 until now, which is why the remaining stock prices are high probably.

 

Yeah it's one of those annoying undocumented questions you can never readily find an answer
for on the internet for the things I keep finding mistakes in...

Not much is written at all about the 051NH floating around apart from saying it's a 2.4/5ghz capable SMA socket, it just doesn't mention what the provided antenna is. But overall I'm satisfied with the adapter even if I can only see 2.4ghz networks at present.

I guess I will have to buy a spare 5ghz Omni, or dual band antenna just to be sure I'm picking up 5ghz on the external SMA antenna socket too, or mimo @5ghz isn't going to work very well on a mixture of different internal and external antenna's when on 5ghz modes specifically...

Like I say, the antenna capability is not specified on the 051NH for the external antenna, only internal antenna which we know already is dual band, but external just looks like a standard 2.4Ghz one they plonk on all ALFA's to me, and you *may* have to buy your own external 5ghz/dual band Omni separately for 5Ghz, as although the internal antenna is dual band it is relatively much weaker than the external ones potential that could be tapped into @5ghz if the provided one as I'm suggesting is handicapped out of box restricted to 2.4ghz use only.

 

<SNIP>

Now the bad news :

With the imminent release of the 036NHV and the 036AC coming soon, it's looking increasingly likely that the 052NH will never see the light of day, as the tech will have been obviously surpassed by the 036AC. Pity, as I prefer Ralink over Realtek when push comes to shove.

All my Realtek's are prone to random dropouts unlike Ralink or (Atheros using XP drivers as a fix)

--- Double Post Merged, 6 May 2014 ---

*EDIT

Gah it's really a 2.4ghz antenna on 051NH after all to save money.

Explanation :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVWzS7dW_BE


The one included will still work, but isn't properly tuned as well as a correct one would be. Ok I need to buy a separate external 5.8 or dual band antenna for this 051NH, bloody cheapskates...

--- Double Post Merged, 7 May 2014 ---

ALFA AWUS036NHV

Here you go peeps, it's the official .pdf spec sheet I found online.

http://www.wifi-online.es/AWUS036NHV.pdf

"The new AWUS036NHV is the most powerful IEEE802.11n wireless USB adapter in
the market" hmmm, where have we heard that claim before ? oh yes on the 036NHR of course, and since the output power is equivalent to 33dbm on these two the NHV isn't the most powerful in fact but instead it's a tie-break. No doubt the 8188EUS will be less obscure a chip for adapter implementations than 8188RU was though.

...And on WikiDevi:

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/ALFA_Network_AWUS036NHV

Kinda looking a bit real now eh ?

But....in any case a whopping £44 for pre-order (without delivery charges) from crucial wifi in the UK for what is essentially still a SISO adapter akin to the 036NHR.

And as we all know, the ALFA power claims never live up to the hype due to ETSI 20dbm handicapping for most of us...

I guess the "V" stands for "Very Expensive"...lol.

---

In the meantime I managed to get hold of a proper bona fide dual band 5dbi antenna for ye old 051NH...

This one exactly from here (didn't want to waste money on anything too exotic) :

http://www.msdist.co.uk/pcantsmadb_doc.pdf

(you can tell the difference between dual and non -dual band Omni's by the cable inside from the sma socket feeding the antenna being black cable inside the pivot for dual band) for my 051NH to feel "correct" to match the dual band antenna also printed on the pcb of the 051NH.

Now both internal and external 051NH antenna's are properly dual band with 5dbi gain on 5Ghz networks, instead of using the 2.4Ghz 051NH provided one mismatched for 5Ghz that would have cost you some significant RSSI factor (along with less networks discovered) instead of an antenna correctly designed/tuned for the 5ghz band or for both 2.4 & 5.8.

Still not any 5Ghz networks detected in range...(bangs head against wall). I'm assuming using the latest drivers 5Ghz does infact work though. It just looks like people are well behind the tech curve where I live...sadly. I'll just have to take the 051NH mobile and "experiment".

--- Double Post Merged, 20 May 2014 ---

Now it's officially up !

http://www.alfa.com.tw/products_show.php?pc=34&ps=201

 

I plan to order one... (at least when they are available to buy in the UK that is)

I expect it to be at least equal to the 036NHR performance wise, but without (hoping) any of the similar bugs and annoyances.

Although the improved sensitivity figures over the NHR in Wireless N mode of the NHV in both 20/40 modes I will take as a bonus.

It's also highly likely the power will be able to be tweaked being realtek, and finally gives me a good opportunity to dump the horrible 036NHR drivers along with an obscure chip, and it should be a better NIC being the latest design, but only time will tell I guess.

I'll keep you posted once I have it in my hands...

 

I know I can see that, but I want to order it through Amazon, as crucial wifi shop accepts pay-pal only (it's complicated why I can't use this method).

Now the thing is CW have an Amazon shop front, but they don't currently stock it (the NHV) on there (probably because the amazon prices are usually cheaper).

Also I had a bad experience with CW with one of my NHR's having a broken antenna on arrival. Never had a problem with CG.

I asked clever gadgets whether they will be stocking them, but the reply I got is it's up to the purchasing team, not sales team sort of thing.

I guess I can wait and let someone else play guinea pig for a change on the NHV...

I have 5 other adapters, and there is a world cup to watch after all...

 

Maybe, but as long as you pay in dollars and are an American. I'm from UK.

A 27dbm specced FCC device would never get past UK customs lol, so I could lose the device
and the money.

I'll just wait till it pops up on Amazon (won't be too long).