Linksys Boosts Signal–Legally.
Linksys releases legal antenna add-ons for several of its Wi-Fi gateways:
Weve said it in this space before, and well say it again: in the
U.S., you cannot legally mix and match antennas with Wi-Fi gateways.
The FCCs Part 15 rules require that you only use antennas that were
certified with the gateway that they were designed for. In response to
a recent query made by a colleague of mine, the FCC wrote back a very
clear response:
When using Part 15 (2.4GHz) devices, mixing and matching
components is a violation of the rules. Only systems can be certified.
Please see http://wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/2004broadbandforum/comments/ YDI_externalamps.pdf.
There you go. Oddly, it is perfectly legal to sell antennas
separately from gateways without violating any laws. Its only
deploying them that is technically illegal. We havent heard of any
letters or prosecutions, however.
Linksys isnt getting around this, but has rather taken several
antennas and several gateways and paid the fees to get each of the
combinations certified in a matrix. This cost them at least a few
hundred thousand dollars in fees and associated expenses entirely
separate from the development costs of the antennas themselves.
Linksys has two kinds of antennas and matching stands for each. One
add-on, the TNC Connector Antenna, is designed for two-antenna systems:
WRT54GS, WRT54G, WAP54G, BEFW11S4, and WAP11. The one-antenna device,
the SMA Connector Antenna, works with more specialized equipment:
WRV54G, WMP54GS, WMP54G, and WET54G.
Both antenna types cost $60 each (suggested retail), while the
respective antenna stands are another $30. The stands allow mounting
the antennas to a wall or ceiling. [Wi-Fi Networking News]