WiFi Dongle Recommendations?

[GreyAreaUK]

Morning all - my apologies if this is the wrong forum!

I'm after recommendations for WiFi USB dongles - preferably ones with external aerials. My current USB WiFi dongle works, but as it doesn't have external antenna the range is rather poor - it's fine in the room with the basestation, not so fine a few walls away.

As I'm doing the whole 'store most stuff on a NAS' bit, I could do with improving the WiFi speed. So: any recommendations in this line? Bonus points for one that's a combined WiFi/Bluetooth dongle (although that's not essential).

Many thanks.

[neogeo81]

i have this one with different setups and works great since day one. fast and reliable:

https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/mister ... i-adapter/

[GreyAreaUK]

i have this one with different setups and works great since day one. fast and reliable:

https://misterfpga.co.uk/product/mister ... i-adapter/

Actually, looking at it I think that's the one I've got!

And yes, by-and-large it's fine, but I find that if I move my MiSTer from the den (where the WiFi basestation is) to the front room (down and across a level) then it's performance drops quite a bit - not unexpected for a USB dongle, I'd have thought.

[rhester72]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDFZWT8

has treated me fine from day 1.

[pac]

If you don't mind the extra device - at one point I was fed up with the reliability back then of the USB wifi adapters I had, so using a cheap ASUS router (e.g. 66u) in media bridge mode, Mister hooked up via ethernet to it. Fastest speed I've ever seen, extra antennas probably help the reception too. Easy to find cheap used models.

[Squaresoft74]

My current USB WiFi dongle works, but as it doesn't have external antenna the range is rather poor - it's fine in the room with the basestation, not so fine a few walls away.

I had the same issue and recently upgraded my dongle with this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08D72GSMS/
Might not be the most discret solution but it solved my problem.

[edr]

Lots of options listed/tested here:
https://misteraddons.com/blogs/news/mis ... d-shootout

I've used a few different ones, and for the ones that work quick summary: they're all as slow as sht when used with the MiSTer. Fine for updates and copying over occasional games, no problem. If you want to put on an entire large game set (GBs+), take the SD card out and copy to it directly from some PC, or use the Ethernet on the MiSTer.

[blacklistedcard]

I use an old Asus RT-AC66U router in media mode then ethernet cable to the mister.

[Malor]

Using a second router as a WiFi bridge is a great solution for a NAS-based Mister, because the Ethernet port has dedicated bandwidth, and can handle up to a gigabit. You'll get the best possible speed that way. Any WiFi adapter will be limited by the USB2 port it has to plug into... only 480 hypothetical MBit (more like 250 in real life), and then that bandwidth has to be shared across all your USB devices.

The Ethernet port is way better, and setting up bridge mode on most routers isn't too difficult. Just make sure it *has* one, not every router offers bridging as a feature.

BTW, this is not the same as 'wireless bridging'. What you want is "client bridge mode". This is where the new router looks like a laptop or something, a regular client, and then just hauls all the traffic it sees back and forth between the WiFi and its internal Ethernet ports.

You should not need to do any configuration whatsoever on the main router for client bridge mode. If you're having to tell the main router about a secondary router, that's wrong, and it will halve the speed of your wireless network. The new router should look like any other client. The main router should have no idea it's any different than your laptops and phones.

If you see the keyword "WDS", that's the wrong kind of bridging. That cuts your wireless speed to 1/X, where X is the total number of routers. 2 routers is half speed, 3 is a third speed, and so on. That's because WDS bridging has all routers repeat all wireless traffic they see, trying to extend your network's range.

Client bridge mode doesn't repeat traffic. It won't extend your range, and will use up only the bandwidth needed to serve the machines plugged into it. Again, it mostly looks like a laptop to the main AP, just one that sends traffic for multiple devices.

[GreyAreaUK]

Many thanks for all the input, and my apologies for not getting back sooner - it's been one of those weeks.

I'd prefer to go the USB dongle route if possible - a wired connection isn't possible [easily] in the rooms in which it's used. However, it occurs to me that I've got a couple of old Airport Express units (hockey puck sized WiFi routers/extenders) and I might just give that a go. It's an extra power socket used, which is sub-optimal, but I used to use one as a wireless bridge and it worked far better than it had any right to!

[blacklistedcard]

Using a second router as a WiFi bridge is a great solution for a NAS-based Mister, because the Ethernet port has dedicated bandwidth, and can handle up to a gigabit. You'll get the best possible speed that way. Any WiFi adapter will be limited by the USB2 port it has to plug into... only 480 hypothetical MBit (more like 250 in real life), and then that bandwidth has to be shared across all your USB devices.

The Ethernet port is way better, and setting up bridge mode on most routers isn't too difficult. Just make sure it *has* one, not every router offers bridging as a feature.

BTW, this is not the same as 'wireless bridging'. What you want is "client bridge mode". This is where the new router looks like a laptop or something, a regular client, and then just hauls all the traffic it sees back and forth between the WiFi and its internal Ethernet ports.

You should not need to do any configuration whatsoever on the main router for client bridge mode. If you're having to tell the main router about a secondary router, that's wrong, and it will halve the speed of your wireless network. The new router should look like any other client. The main router should have no idea it's any different than your laptops and phones.

If you see the keyword "WDS", that's the wrong kind of bridging. That cuts your wireless speed to 1/X, where X is the total number of routers. 2 routers is half speed, 3 is a third speed, and so on. That's because WDS bridging has all routers repeat all wireless traffic they see, trying to extend your network's range.

Client bridge mode doesn't repeat traffic. It won't extend your range, and will use up only the bandwidth needed to serve the machines plugged into it. Again, it mostly looks like a laptop to the main AP, just one that sends traffic for multiple devices.

I had the router sitting there unused because I went to AX router. So I used it and could use the ethernet on the Mister. The connection is about 1.2gig. Also I'm tight for USB ports because the mister is installed in an Arcade 1up cabinet. So I did not want to use up an USB port for network connectivity.

I recommend to anyone if you have an old router that is not being used you can use it in bridge mode or mesh and use the mister ethernet port.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Another option that I sometimes use when signal is bad is a pair of powerline adapters. This requires you to have a free ethernet port on your router and can be a lot slower than the router-into-bridge method, but where I live there are literally hundreds of wifi networks around me and interference can be pretty bad at times. I prefer a stable connection over a quick but intermittent one.

[Malor]

Wifi 6E routers are getting cheaper (down to about $180 for a TP-Link one), so while it's still very expensive to buy two, you can then use the 6E frequencies (most of the 6GHz range) as a backbone. There's a ton of channels, and the signals don't propagate as far as 5GHz ones, so even when everyone else has 6E routers, years from now, you will still see much less interference. The signal will be a little weaker in your house or apartment, but in a house, you should barely see neighboring signals at all. Apartments aren't as good for damping other APs, but there are enough channels that you can probably avoid most neighboring signals.

The main downside is that if you have a big house, 6GHz frequencies may not go far enough.

[GreyAreaUK]

Quick (and probably final) update: I went the AirPort Express route and, unsurprisingly, it worked like a charm. The unit itself is now firmly velcro'd to the back of the monitor, the ethernet cable is tied down in a fairly tidy way, and performance is excellent.

I suspect I'll revisit this next year and get a new USB dongle as I'm not thrilled at having to use an extra power socket, but for now it's working like a charm.

Many thanks for all the input

[GreyAreaUK]

Just a quick afterword:

Here's the rear view. As you can see, quite messy with cables:

iMM61eJ.jpg (4.15 MiB) Viewed 4211 times

Whereas the front is a lot tidier:

biIbnmb.jpg (3.19 MiB) Viewed 4211 times

So, upsides: WiFi range and throughput is superb. Was able to do this without spending any more cash.

Downsides: The AirPort Express is a full router, so it takes it a while to boot. Not terribly long (about a minute) but it does remove one of the MiSTer's benefits of 'switch on and go' to some extent.

Conclusion: I'll leave this as is for now, but I suspect I'll revisit it next year. I'd like fewer cables/power leads, but it's not a huge issue.

[Longtime4321]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDFZWT8

has treated me fine from day 1.

ditto

[neogeo81]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDFZWT8

has treated me fine from day 1.

that one had so long to start the bluetooth connection that i sold it and bought the separate dongles again.

[Malor]

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

[neogeo81]

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

How do i do that on a Multisystem?

[GreyAreaUK]

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

True, but it's more of a theoretical downside than an actual problem for me. I've got the MiSTer, the monitor and the Airport all plugged into a strip with a single power switch, so it's a 'switch everything on/off' affair.

I can wait a minute though

[blacklistedcard]

Another option that I sometimes use when signal is bad is a pair of powerline adapters. This requires you to have a free ethernet port on your router and can be a lot slower than the router-into-bridge method, but where I live there are literally hundreds of wifi networks around me and interference can be pretty bad at times. I prefer a stable connection over a quick but intermittent one.

I hear your pain. I live in a house, but I thought many of times what would I do if I lived in a condo? I can hear people powerline setups when I jump on 20m ham band with my radio.

Also all those cheap IKEA LED lights that just blast interference in every direction.

[Malor]

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

How do i do that on a Multisystem?

If you're using an AC power switch to power on and off multiple devices at once, bypass that device and plug the Airport straight into the wall, so it's always on.

If you're using the Multisystem's power switch, it shouldn't affect the Airport.

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

True, but it's more of a theoretical downside than an actual problem for me. I've got the MiSTer, the monitor and the Airport all plugged into a strip with a single power switch, so it's a 'switch everything on/off' affair.

I can wait a minute though

If the delay doesn't bother you, then you'll save just a wee bit of money by leaving the Airport off.

[GreyAreaUK]

If the delay doesn't bother you, then you'll save just a wee bit of money by leaving the Airport off.

Can't - I'm storing all the media on a NAS.

[Malor]

Oh, I meant off when the Mister was off, not off all the time.

Leaving it on all the time, for instant Mister boots, would cost a tiny bit.

[GreyAreaUK]

Oh, I meant off when the Mister was off, not off all the time.

Leaving it on all the time, for instant Mister boots, would cost a tiny bit.

Oh gotcha. Yes, but in my case the availability of free power sockets that aren't on this switch is zero

[neogeo81]

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

But i was talking the bluetooth dongle. the 2 in 1 Wifi/BT dongle takes way to long to start up and get a connection to my controller. so i went back and bought the separate dongles again.

[Malor]

The Airports are really meant to be on all the time, and don't suck down much power, so you could bypass the power switch with that one device if you want fast booting back.

But i was talking the bluetooth dongle. the 2 in 1 Wifi/BT dongle takes way to long to start up and get a connection to my controller. so i went back and bought the separate dongles again.

I'm sorry, I confused you with GreyAreaUK. He's got his Airport on the back of the monitor, and his Mister connects with Ethernet. I was assuming that you were trying to do the same thing with the Multisystem.

If not, then you'd probably prefer that setup. A client bridge AP is almost always better than a dongle, especially if you can leave it on. The onboard Ethernet is much faster on the Mister than any USB network connection, WiFi or otherwise.