Actually from testing, I've just discovered there is something seriously messed up with my 036nhr v2's 5dbi antenna as shipped as new in the box from an official ALFA dealer from new only a couple of weeks ago... I can't explain what's happening with it or why, except to say that all the other adapters I have 036NHA, 036H, 036NH can connect to this certain AP at distance using all their respective bog standard 5dbi that comes in the box reliably, but the NHR v2 as shipped unopened as brand new with it's respective 5dbi could not. Not even by repositioning the adapter. The link quality was very poor, and I was getting lots of disconnects, to even not being able to connect at all. I use the 7dbi panels mostly, so it took some time for me to pick up on this and figure out what was going on. So I thought it was the drivers, but no it happens with all of them tried, from ALFA & the discs. So then I thought I would try something out.....and as soon as I swapped out the 5dbi antenna off of the 036NH and stuck it on the brand new NHR, voila ! I could connect with the NHR no problem @ 5dbi to this distant AP with a decent link quality. Put the original 5dbi as shipped with the NHR v2 back again.....still doesn't work. The available network scan didn't reveal anything wrong or even being in possession of a screwed up antenna. The fact of the matter was that it simply did not work and wouldn't connect to this AP, whereas all the 5dbi's on all the other adapters could cope with this distant AP no problem. So I guess it's still buyer beware on the NHR V2, and if your having problems connecting or trying to hit anything at a decent range, that your other adapters can handle but your NHR can't with it's 5dbi, then try a different Omni, because mine as shipped was broken although it's fine on inspection and even it reports ok, even appears to work mostly, except it doesn't. So it's quite obvious that not all 5dbi antenna's shipped in ALFA's boxes are created equal. My review of the NHR v2 still stands however.
Hey also, what do you mean by data rates e.g b/11 mbps, g/54 mbps, n/150 mbps. what i really want to ask is this >> Suppose I have 4 mb unlimited net service package from my ISP so does that mean I only neeb 802.11 b/11 mbps support with my Wifi adapter?
No, because whilst 802.11b will possibly slightly extend your range coverage over 11g, the practical throughput figures from using 802.11.b alone is less or equal to half than it's theoretical indicated connection figures of 11Mbps. 11Mbps is just the connect rate. Whilst your provision now at present is a 4mb unlimited service, it on the other hand leaves no room in the future for further upgrades or expansion to your service, since 11b only is capable of half of it's rated figures in throughput at best. You would then again say considering my service, what is the point therefore of upgrading to 11N over 11G which seems sufficient... The answer is 11N is better and designed for streaming media. As for an improvement of any range from 11N compared to 11G, I'm not completely convinced there is any. An 11G adapter such as the 036H isn't designed for media streaming because it runs hot, and is now very old. WiFi components used in a Streaming Video or Audio system work harder than ones carrying Data only. They are turned on for extended periods of time without the chance to cool off. Microwave devices are very sensitive to the heat generated from operating at high duty cycles. Most WiFi amplifiers, or for that matter many Radios, cannot pass Streaming Media content for extended periods of time without overheating. Some products were designed for Data only use and have no method of heatsinking. If you use them in a Streaming Media system, those products will self destruct or have their lifespan diminished. It would be the equivalent removing the Heatsink or Fans from your PC. So although your internet service is 4Mbps, if your going to be streaming video, it still makes sense to still upgrade to an 11N adapter for reasons above. I hope this answers your question.
Updated the main article adding a Version Differences information section for the different model variant's of the 036H v5 non v5, 036NHR v1/v2 and 036NHA original/036NHA 2012 new release respectively...
@kevsamiga I don't know if it's allowed, but I'll ask anyway ... Since you're from Europe, from where did you bought your ALFA 036NHA (New Release)? I asked a few sellers on eBay and they all said they have only the old model ... Thanks.
UK store... MacBook, Phone and Tablet Cases, Covers and Gadgets - Clever Gadgets UK Under > Gadgets > Alfa Networking. My 2012 model comes in a white (not black) box (I think this is how you differentiate the two). And has "New Release" stamped on the end of the box with a yellow trim around the edges of the box. Infact either 036NHA model is quite hard to get hold of anywhere around this place most of the time, it's always out of stock @ Crucialwifi as well. Never had a problem with either of these sellers also btw. If you order from Clevergadgets, it's a given you'll get the newer version of the NHA, same as you can't specifically find an NHR v1 anywhere anymore either, it's all V2 all around everywhere now. I'd never dream of playing Russian roulette, ordering an adapter on Flea bay personally instead of a "bona fide" site because of all the bait and switch tactics, where they send you a replacement instead of what you did order claiming out of stock issues etc...and foisting you off with a total piece of crap instead. Hope this answers your question.. Alfa adapter Addendum update to main article - my range experiments on the 4 adapters. Concerning usable connection ability, without disconnecting and/or failing to connect at extreme distances. (Disregarding any verified power output figures, or any of the claimed specifications plastered on the box, just pure real world practical testing.) Unbelievably I tested the old 036H to have the most range at connecting to distant AP's, followed in a close equal second by the 036NH (but only when operating in 11b mode (of which I'm using self modified drivers) due to it's poor sensitivity figures for 11G), Next out in 3rd place came the 036NHR v2 (the sensitivity figures are a complete and utter lie), and unsurprisingly in last place came the 036NHA. All tests were made using the same APA-M04 7dbi panel hitting far targets with a mix of 11G and 11N. This confirms one thing in my mind... The newest adapters from ALFA when it comes to usable range and pushing the envelope on distance are totally crap compared to their much older counterparts at doing so... This opinion and test is also completely unbiased, because I own all 4 adapters with no favouritism or preference for any particular model. So they didn't better or improve upon the 036H or 036NH's already decent range with the NHR or NHA after all...so....in conclusion...waste of time (and waste of money). Shocker ! So there you have it from an owner of all 4 adapters, so to speak... The 036H still wins when it comes to range...and still deserves it's reputation and credit (if you can put up with it's many quirks). I didn't include the Kasens G9000 RTL8187L I have in these tests because I already know the power amplifier inside is orders of magnitude down compared to an official ALFA 036H Skyworks 2576L PA that the 036H has, even though it has the same 8187L chip, it just doesn't have the same power output so it has to be a bona fide 036H you buy, and not just any RTL8187L chipped adapter ala, Kasens, Wifly-City, SignalKing, and many other generic Chinese RTL8187L knockoff crap since it won't get the same range, why ? because the PA inside is inferior junk despite the same 8187L chip. They will connect at 54mbps, then after some minutes speed drops off like a stone. If you can't put up with the 036H's quirks, then an 036NH is a very close second in range... See...2000mw vs 1000mw means nothing at all in the real world ! The NHR and NHA ranges compared are worse than the older adapters (which I expected for the NHA anyway, but not for the new NHR v2 (this model's a complete farce at detecting networks, and complete and utter pants compared to the other 3 except for power output, but this doesn't mean it has the best range because the receiver is totally messed up. Maybe mine is broken in some way, but I don't want to order another one just to find out that that one too is also complete poop at catching networks, the RSSI being as it is all over the place.) Nothing wrong with the 036NHA as an adapter, but it doesn't quite have the grunt to make it as far as the 036H or 036NH did on my tests, although if it can "reach" the particular network your interested in, you'll get more speed and connection stability over the connection than with either of those older 2 adapters. This concludes my huge article on all 4 2.4Ghz ALFA adapters, hope you all enjoyed reading it.
I don't yet own this adapter and at the moment it's not really a priority for me. Apparently it just offers up standard range working in G mode, which kind of puts me off buying it. I might still get it, but... The price puts me off, it's more expensive to buy than the other 4 are. The price would have to come down quite a lot first. I'll probably wait till the 052NH is released for real instead of just concept art, then opt for testing that one instead skipping the 051 altogether... 052NH : http://www.alfanetwork.no/media/cat...-453f-8341-8c71328d6791_34_201300010615_l.jpg
Hi! I'm not into testing, but I can tell my personal experience with the 051NH. I bought it (from an authorized Alfa dealer - Rokland LLC) tried it [BCOLOR=#ffffff]and two days later I sent it back. Into a dense networking area, it didn't managed to "see" not even half of the networks I can "see" with my laptop's network card (Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG) and for those that it was able to "see", the signal bar was weaker than the one showed with the [BCOLOR=#ffffff]2200BG[/BCOLOR]. [BCOLOR=#ffffff]However[/BCOLOR], my mainly concern was that I didn't managed to get it connected to none of my APs, not in 2,4 GHz nor in 5 GHz. And not to say that on the 5 GHz band it saw only 3 from 14 networks I can see with my ASUS RT-AC68U router (when scanning for networks under Repeater Mode) The only connection I was able to pull was to a public hotspot, but with no traffic [/BCOLOR]afterwards[BCOLOR=#ffffff]. I tried it under Kali Linux 1.0.6, Ubuntu 13.10 and Windows 7 pack 1 (with the default Windows drivers, then with the ones I found on the Alfa website and eventually, to find a newer version on the MediaTek website (ex. Ralink Tech) ... but with no change in results. I even switched the antenna with one of my ASUS RT-AC68U router, thinking that maybe it was defective, but no.[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#ffffff]The dealer was nice, he said he will issue a refund (not received yet) and based on my notes, he thinks the card has no issue. [/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#ffffff]Is it so? ... I don't know. [/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#ffffff]For me it was definitely a bad experience, as I lost time and money[/BCOLOR] with it.
Cable loss calculator even using a 30cm RG316 cable I could see a noticeable loss so I don't use cables any more.
Which kind of replicates my experiences with the "new and improved" 036NHR v2... Anyway, the 051 is only 500mw is it not ? One of the reasons I didn't bother buying it, that and the fact that no one around here seems to even be using 5Ghz AP's so I don't really see the need or point. Not yet...the range of 5ghz isn't supposed to penetrate as well as 2.4ghz does so I would have expected less range on 5ghz in any instance whether less sensitive, less power or a faulty adapter over 2.4Ghz. It seems to me that the original ALFA adapters can't be improved upon by any of the newer stuff being turfed out since the original H and NH... On another note, has anybody tried or have any experience with these compared to ALFA ones ? Amazon.com : EnGenius Network Device EUB9603H USB Adapter 150Mbps 600mW 802.11b/g/n Retail : Electronics 600mw, Seems to have decent reviews with 5 star reviews plastered all over the place... I want to buy myself an 18dbi panel, but anything over 14dbi panels the prices get sort of ridiculous on 16 & 18dbi, and a parabolic grid is just too large for indoors without attracting attention putting it outside. I suppose there's always a loft mount, but it would make my legs ache having to keep going up and down the ladder poking around to move the antenna, whereas a big enough panel can be just chucked around where you want. Haven't had much luck with using Yagi's vs panels...waste o' time.
I am completely agree with kevsamiga's thoughts abou Alfa adapter sensitivity. But yesterday I managed to test AWUS036NHA throughput, and was really amazed. Yep, I have read that this adapter is the fastest of all Alfas (single band), but nobody mentioned such speeds. Connecting to Asus RT-N56U (about 10 meters and 2 brick walls between, 67-70dbi RSSI) it easily reached 98mbps in speedtest and 12,2MB in utorrent. And I am not sure that it is NHA's best result, because 100mbps is my ISP limit.
Yes, I tested the NHA out to be the fastest because I think it offloads more functions on chip hardware instead of just being emulated in software drivers instead. The 036NHA also has a sensitivity of -96dbm working in 11b mode. That sensitivity figure is higher than all the other adapters, even the 036NHR. But it doesn't help much with any adapter if your noise floor is already -90dbm. I have already unlocked forcing of 802.11b mode in the Atheros drivers as well as 036NH Ralinks, but the TransmitRateSet command doesn't seem implemented for the AR9271 (to choose forced rates in these modes despite being able to change wireless mode). I think sensitivity is more important than power is. Power will cut you through trees and obstacles, but receiving sensitivity is more important to make use of the signals there actually are without intermittent break up and disconnections. Although adding bigger antenna's doesn't seem to help the 036NHA much, I think this is more due to it's lack of output power over the others instead of making any significant inroads to lowering the RSSI figures, as it can already work with weak signals anyhow because the RSSI ranges from 0 to -127, whereas the other adapters don't range the RSSI indicators that high. I also have a feeling Atheros uses a more complex method to calculate the RSSI, taking into account some other factors, and not signal strength received alone in it's calculation because a 1 bar connection on others wouldn't behave this good right ? 1 bar on the others would constantly dropout. So having 1 bar using it, while maybe off putting to some of those already spoiled with an 036H and used to seeing 5 bars for everything, is still no problem for maintaining the connection (or xfer speeds) for the 036NHA, and is therefore still a good solid choice of adapter, and decent all rounder (if maximising range isn't a concern over speed). If your connecting exclusively to G networks, you shouldn't be even using an N adapter for that anyway, as the 036H is still king for G mode. And the NHA seems to also be the best one for reavering without so many timeout errors amongst other things... The airodump list seems to get garbled sometimes on Linux, and it can suffer random shutdowns from time to time needing a replug, but it's tolerable on the whole.
I currently own an Alfa 036H which connects to my router under G mode 54Mbps with RSSI signal -45. I find sometimes i need to renew ip because connection drops with the original drivers. With the modified drivers you provided i can get better connectivity without dropouts so i suspect maybe TX Power was not maximum. I think that sensitivity numbers make a difference in how many APs are found and Output Power in how many of them we can connect right? Now, we know that 036H works under all OSes without problems and we can use it under Kali/backtrack plug and play. At least I have done it. Does the same happen for NH and NHA? From NH and NHA, the first one has better output power but how this does play a role? Maybe NH is better when connecting antennas bigger than 9dbi? What happens in the classic 5dbi antenna? If we try to change the power amplifier which gives output power to NHA could we achieve better results? And finally if i am seeking the successor of Alfa 036H for N networks with plug and play mode and packet injection and better stability which card should i check?
I think most problems with dropout are from power cycles, if you put a power monitor to your usb port you will see it powers out quite often. A fix is use a powered usb hub or a usb cable with 2 males usb. Depends on your situation when you use a amplifier you also amplify the noise also, there good for point to point, omni in a built up area not good.
I'm sorry, I didn't find a way to send you as PM, so I'll post it here ... Are you sure, because I wrote (to make sure before I place an order) to those from Clevergadget and this is what they said. ---------------------------------------------------------//-------- Hi, Thanks for your inquiry. Yes this version is newly released in white box with yellow trim, but the chip is AR9271-AL3A NOT AR9271L-AL3A If you have any question, please feel free to contact us. Regards, Billy Customer Service ---------------------------------------------------------//--------
A picture tells a thousand words... https://wikidevi.com/w/images/c/cd/ALFA_Network_AWUS036NHA_newRevision_(AR9271L)_board_top.jpg (don't forget to zoom in on the pic). And no, I don't feel like cracking my new one open just to find out...coz it will void the warranty. But you should definitely recieve the white box with "yellow trim" and "new release" 2012 version ordering from C.G. just like I suggested, whatever that means... I'm not convinced about the "non L" version being inside though...It's plausable, but unlikely. Although the AL3A chip does indeed exist in a non L variant form out in the wild. *EDIT 03/03/2014 New information has come to light after doing some extensive web crawling, and I suspect the white box with orange trim, and the AR9271-AL3A they *claim* to be selling there which I have already got, and you wanted to order may have given rise to a "new" quietly introduced (but unannounced) 036NHA v3 model since I have found references to a v3 listed 036NHA elsewhere which has the same box, so lucky us I guess.... For me, my 036NHA turns out the best RXQ of all my adapters and de authenticates AP's like a bitch, and injects better than a heroin addict in a poppy field, with the 7.7.0.105 drivers I'm using for XP installed on Win7 x86 (because the real Vista and 7 ones suck) I get more connectivity distance and range as well, even down to 1 bar of signal, so check out the AR9271 driver thread on here about this little "discovery". You would be surprised actually how far 1% tx power control gets you under ideal conditions. I did all the tweaks under a V5 036H, and Kasens G9000 RTL8187L. But the non power control drivers (where you can't see the bar) always setup operations @ 82% power level, so it's not 100% all the time, but 82%. I think this is why the 036NHR's burn out and die an early death, they're constantly kicking out 100% power full time, and no one bothers to use the power control drivers for it to tone the output down so the device will last longer.
Hmm, I do not think this is the case. Because I do not have always the TX power to 100%(actually I am having it 70%) and still with your drivers I have a better connectivity than the original drivers. Also what's the purpose of TX power in CCX tab?
CCX ? In practically, virtually nothing.... As almost nobody uses Cisco Compatible eXtensions. What might be helping connectivity is that I tamed all roaming parameters, TCP keepalive packets, & power saving functions to behave themselves properly on AC power, amongst other tweaks which were either a) not implemented or b) implemented wrongly or c) inconsistently set to begin with across WinXP vs Windows Vista/7. Infact in truth, I don't really know the answer for why the better connectivity over the originals, save for being able to now force specific data rates in b&g mode, but since I chanced upon the right "medicine" or "combination" of parameters unlocked/or changed then my motto is don't try to fix anymore what isn't broke, so no more updates for them because they work. Can't do anything for Windows 8 though because new driver signing model in Windows 8 (which sucks) means you're not even allowed to modify the .inf files to make changes without breaking the install unlike Vista/7.
