mk802IV wifi mod = improved reception

[twjordo]

I had the issue of the device showing 4 bars in settings but would not connect to network and I have solved this issue with a slight case mod as seen in these pics
*mods took less than 10 minutes and when opening it is easiest to start at hdmi end of device and gently pry it apart one side at a time





this last pic and you can see almost full meter

[Gasp]

This has been here before, but as @wololo at rikomagic.co.uk/forum said

God, I wish we didn't have to butcher our hardware to make it work correctly...

I have personally modded my ug802 wifi with old small TV spiral antena and resulted in 30Mbit DL and 15 Mbit upload (6DL,1,5UP - before mod)

[poppillo]

My I use a dvb-t antenna?

Hello everybody, I would like to know if it's possible to use an old dvb-t antenna (from Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T usb dongle) as external antenna for my mk802iv (new wifi chip).Do you know if this kind of antenna works at the same frequency?Thanks in advance for your help and sorry for my English.

[rb1213]

yes

DVB-T is same frequency range , should work

Hello everybody, I would like to know if it's possible to use an old dvb-t antenna (from Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T usb dongle) as external antenna for my mk802iv (new wifi chip).Do you know if this kind of antenna works at the same frequency?Thanks in advance for your help and sorry for my English.

[poppillo]

Thanks for the info. I'll try it :-)

[Gasp]

I soldered old loop antenna instead of the original ridiculous one on my MK802III... I can see wifi hotspots approx 100m away through wall...
With iperf i got max speeds of 17Mbit/s DL, 42Mbit/s UP and 17ms latency.

[yerzu]

Hi,

I always have -45dBm 4bars wifi connection, because my mk802IV is 30cm far from router (wdr3600) but when I copy file from NAS (LAN connected 1Gbps to router) I have transfer about 5MBps! But.... it is only beginning, transfer can drop to 20KBps! It's like a sinus function reach 5MBps then lineary down to 20KBps and this is reason why mxplayer quits when I watching a movie via smb (yes I know I should stream it but I have a problem with subtitles!)! I bought strong big 2,4GHz antenna (12dBm 41cm with 3x spirals) is better but not to much (1,5h movie quits 3times, earlier quits 5-6times but this is random)! This realtek wifi chip is piece of crap

[ElHartoshke]

I soldered old loop antenna instead of the original ridiculous one on my MK802III... I can see wifi hotspots approx 100m away through wall...
With iperf i got max speeds of 17Mbit/s DL, 42Mbit/s UP and 17ms latency.

i got the same looper antenna, can you tell me where should I solder it to? I dont understand much in electronics... And would really like to improve my MK809III's reception.
I also got a Router Antenna spare that i would like to try, problem is i dont know where to solder it to.

I tried just touching the wires while case is open but no -db change is visable...

thanks!

EDIT:
This is my device now, as you can see, i took the antenna out.

[Gasp]

i got the same looper antenna, can you tell me where should I solder it to? I dont understand much in electronics... And would really like to improve my MK809III's reception.
I also got a Router Antenna spare that i would like to try, problem is i dont know where to solder it to.
I tried just touching the wires while case is open but no -db change is visable...
thanks!
EDIT:
This is my device now, as you can see, i took the antenna out.

I just cut a hole to the side of a case, unsoldered olf wifi antenna and resoldered the loop antenna - the process inclueding solder gun heat up took approx 5 minutes. I am not sure if it matters anyhow which cable goes where, but since it doesn't use any amplifier - i guess it doesn't matter... Recently i have read that small loop antennas are good for low frequency devices - So i guess using it for wifi might not be ideal, but sill - having a big nice sophisticated antenna turns out to be better than small piece of metal, right next to the motherboard.

Here is my old MK802III - running as headless linux server. Connected to the network via wifi, PSU plugged in UPS, operating through X11VNC remote desktop. Current uptime circa 7 days (in total, without restarts (intentional ones ), server has been up for 3 weeks)
http://symmtec.cz/img/mk802iii.jpg - my heatsink, FAN in USB and loop antenna
http://www.symmtec.cz/img/mk802iii-linux.jpg - and here is my linux interface, with core temps, core clocks and mumble latency.

[ElHartoshke]

I just cut a hole to the side of a case, unsoldered olf wifi antenna and resoldered the loop antenna - the process inclueding solder gun heat up took approx 5 minutes. I am not sure if it matters anyhow which cable goes where, but since it doesn't use any amplifier - i guess it doesn't matter... Recently i have read that small loop antennas are good for low frequency devices - So i guess using it for wifi might not be ideal, but sill - having a big nice sophisticated antenna turns out to be better than small piece of metal, right next to the motherboard.

Here is my old MK802III - running as headless linux server. Connected to the network via wifi, PSU plugged in UPS, operating through X11VNC remote desktop. Current uptime circa 7 days (in total, without restarts (intentional ones ), server has been up for 3 weeks)
http://symmtec.cz/img/mk802iii.jpg - my heatsink, FAN in USB and loop antenna
http://www.symmtec.cz/img/mk802iii-linux.jpg - and here is my linux interface, with core temps, core clocks and mumble latency.

I have the square looper antenna thingy, and also have an old router antenna:
this one is from google images but its kind of similar to mine


which one would do better for WiFi?
And if its the router's one, how the hell can i solder it to the MK809?

thanks!

[Gasp]

I have the square looper antenna thingy, and also have an old router antenna:
this one is from google images but its kind of similar to mine

which one would do better for WiFi?
And if its the router's one, how the hell can i solder it to the MK809?

thanks!

Well, i guess going for the router antenna would be better, but you need a screw attached to the case with cables that you solder to wifi chip (since the case is really small, i guess there would be no place for the screw to be attached) trying to attach just the antenna without screw could be possible, but also senseless... Talking for myself, i can't really complain about loop antenna

[ElHartoshke]

Well, i guess going for the router antenna would be better, but you need a screw attached to the case with cables that you solder to wifi chip (since the case is really small, i guess there would be no place for the screw to be attached) trying to attach just the antenna without screw could be possible, but also senseless... Talking for myself, i can't really complain about loop antenna

thanks!
by 'screw' you mean the connector from inside the router? the one the antenna used to attach to?
and if so, does it need any other parts from the router? parts of the circuit etc... or just take the piece of metal and solder it's cables to the MK809.

thanks!

[Gasp]

thanks!
by 'screw' you mean the connector from inside the router? the one the antenna used to attach to?
and if so, does it need any other parts from the router? parts of the circuit etc... or just take the piece of metal and solder it's cables to the MK809.

thanks!

That is what i meant.
Antenna is just a piece of passive hardware - you don't need anything else from router. Usage of electricity (Amps) also greatly affects the wifi performance. With lots of USB accessories without own power source, there will be less left for wifi - performance usually drops to 30%. Just be careful with soldering not to solder anything alse together - also some resin/isolation tape can help after process. Reasson why my server is up just 7 days is because i had to resolder the wifi... wires were moving and antena shortened the circuit so it ended up useless and eventually they even detached - now they are fixed so they shouldn't move)

PS
Caution - don't take me as some kind of expert, i am just an enthusiast and some of my knowledge can be inaccurate or even wrong

[ElHartoshke]

That is what i meant.
Antenna is just a piece of passive hardware - you don't need anything else from router. Usage of electricity (Amps) also greatly affects the wifi performance. With lots of USB accessories without own power source, there will be less left for wifi - performance usually drops to 30%. Just be careful with soldering not to solder anything alse together - also some resin/isolation tape can help after process. Reasson why my server is up just 7 days is because i had to resolder the wifi... wires were moving and antena shortened the circuit so it ended up useless and eventually they even detached - now they are fixed so they shouldn't move)

PS
Caution - don't take me as some kind of expert, i am just an enthusiast and some of my knowledge can be inaccurate or even wrong

thanks for the info.
Connecting the router connector could eventually prove better (for portability - you can plug\unplug the antenna).. but also seems more complicated, i might try to stick to the looper for now :B.

No mod can be done with the existing antenna? like soldering the cables into part of it? instaed of ripping it off completely...

[Gasp]

thanks for the info.
Connecting the router connector could eventually prove better (for portability - you can plug\unplug the antenna).. but also seems more complicated, i might try to stick to the looper for now :B.

No mod can be done with the existing antenna? like soldering the cables into part of it? instaed of ripping it off completely...

It can be done, but since two wires are in one tube, it can be niggly job (loop has two, each for its own)... This really depends on you.