

So, chances are the cars will use directional antennas. In telecommunication, we often want to talk to a party in a specific direction.įor example, if you’re off-roading in a caravan, the first car generally wants to talk via radio to those behind it, and the last car wants to talk only to those in front of it.Īnd in this case, it makes sense to focus the antennas in two specific directions, behind and front, respectively. All radio-based applications require these little poles to broadcast and receive signals. High-gain antennas: It’s about directional focusĪntennas are not exclusive to Wi-Fi. That’s because, in our case, the object is a Wi-Fi antenna, and the property is the radio signals it pushes out. Theoretically, the moment you increase the dBi to higher than zero, the signal sphere starts to change its shape - it’s no longer a perfect orb. It goes out equally in all directions or omnidirectionally. Since we can’t see radio waves, you can imagine 0 dBi as how lights are emitted from a single source, like the sun or a light bulb. That’s like a sphere with the emitter right in the center. Specifically, 0 dBi means the object emits radio waves equally in all directions. It’s a logarithmic way to convey an object’s physical property measured in different directions.

In the US, each Wi-Fi band, per regulations, has a max power level of 30 dBm (or 1 watt).ĭBm: The power and strength of Wi-Fi signals.dBm (decimal milliwatt) is an example where dB is used to measure power level or signal sensitivity.Other than the level of sound, dB is a logarithmic way to convey other material properties.It doesn’t increase or decrease consistently but spirally. Again, I detailed it in this post on dBm and Wi-Fi signal strength, but here’s the gist: To understand dBi, we first need to understand dB or decibel. How do I angle the antennas for best performance?.My home is sprawling, is it wise to use third-party or directional antennas on my router?.Do more antennas mean better Wi-Fi speeds?.Common questions relating to Wi-Fi antennas.Common dBi values of home routers: It’s kinda meaningless.FEM: Antennas, dBi, and the max Wi-Fi broadcasting power.

High-gain antennas: It’s about directional focus.
