Entered CNET Catalog: 09/23/2004
SKU: 0603992505722
Manufacturer: Hawking Technologies, Inc.
Manufacturer description
The Hawking Technologies Wireless Signal Booster for 802.11b and 802.11g WiFi networks is a unique device that boosts the signal and performance of your wireless device. The average power output of standard wireless access points is under 100mW, While the Hawking HSB1 is capable of boosting power output to a staggering 500mW! The Hawking Wireless Signal Booster connects to the antenna connector (SMA default; connector adapters are available for multiple brand support) of your wireless access point or wireless adapter. The HSB1 is the perfect solution for covering large areas in multiple environments. Whether your application calls for extending your wireless signal to an extra loft in the house or an extra ballroom in a hotel, the Hawking Signal Booster has you covered. The unique Adjust Power Settings feature of the Signal Booster lets you control the range and power output (100mW to 500mW) of your wireless network for security purposes and specific applications where you wish to only cover a certain area. The Hawking Signal Booster is the only range boosting product on the market with support for all major wireless brands and networks.Product summary
The good: Easy to set up; increases range and throughput; compact design.
The bad: 802.11b/g only; expensive; weak support.
The bottom line: Hawking's HSB1 signal booster can help your wireless router cover more space at higher throughput, but it's expensive and can create interference problems for cordless phones and baby monitors because it operates in the shared 2.4GHz spectrum.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 11/05/2004
Based on a 500mW amplifier with filters, the HSB1 increases the strength of the antenna on your router to achieve greater range and bandwidth. Rated to boost a 2.4GHz router's broadcast signal by up to 20dB, it also uses filters to raise the signal-to-noise ratio at the receiving end for more reliable service. The HSB1 works with both 802.11b and 802.11g networks and is a snap to set up. It doesn't, however, work with 5GHz 802.11a equipment. Just plug the HSB1 into the router's antenna connector, power it up, and set the amplifier to either 100mW, 200mW, or 500mW. It took us less than a minute to set up. While it works with dual-antenna routers regardless of which antenna you choose, you will need a router or an access point with removable antennas.
In extensive tests using NetIQ's Chariot benchmark with and without the antenna booster, the HSB1 was able to extend the range of our router by 25 feet. Starting at about 75 feet, it started to improve data rates, and at 200 feet it boosted throughput from a measly 4Mbps to 14.5Mbps--better than some routers can muster at close range. At a range of 100 feet, the HSB1 raised the signal by 15dB in our informal tests, which is a bit short of the 20dB claim. It also increased the signal-to-noise ratio from a marginal 5dB to a strong 21dB and changed the indicated signal level from Low to Very Good. Using three wireless routers from Hawking, Linksys, and Compex along with a variety of clients, we ran the booster for a week without a problem.
For its benchmark, CNET Labs uses NetIQ's Chariot 4.3 software on a console system with clients running NetIQ's Performance End Points 4.4. Our throughput tests measure the transfer speed of a file that a user might send across the network. This is known as the payload throughput and does not include packet errors and other data that might be transferred over a network. Payload throughput can vary widely from the bandwidth speeds vendors advertise and is a much better gauge of what you're likely to experience with a standard file transfer. For more details on how we test networking devices, see the CNET Labs site.
The HSB1 package comes with everything you'll need to connect and use the Signal Booster, including its annoyingly bulky AC adapter, an 18-inch SMA antenna cable, and an adapter for access points with TNC connectors. With a two-year warranty, the HSB1 is covered for as long as many other networking products. Beyond a simple explanation of the device and a detailed data sheet, however, Hawking's Web site has disappointingly little to offer on the HSB1. Should you have a problem, Hawking's phone lines are open only on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, and you pay for the call.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12out of 12 user reviews
Fair to Poor
Pros: Good signal boost when working
Cons: Failed after being used for 4 months.
out of 12 user reviews
Strange Product, But Intriguing
Pros: Definitely Boosts output power on WiFi transmitting devices
Cons: Confusing/misleading/wrong user manual describing a difference usage topology, does it boost wifi reception as well?
It would appear to need some kind of FCC licensing, but it doesn't have any (which I like).
The enclosed manual describes a usage that is completely different than the description on the box/website/brochure and here; the manual directs the user to connect this device not to his router or WiFi access point, but rather directly to his computer's wifi network interface device.
Now, presuming that doesn't fry anything in the NID, this would result in a completely different usage scenario than range boosting your wifi network to all client computers - rather it would only boost WiFi router/access point signal range for that one computer. And then only maybe.
What is unclear in this CNET review is where the boosting occurs, since WiFi devices are all transceivers. Does this device only boost the output power, and provide no amplification for incoming signals? If so, then I would be hard pressed to explain how much farther it extend a WiFi network, as the two-way communications would still be limited by the distance the weaker transmitting device could reach on its own. I suspect that perhaps the amplification this device provides might be two-way.
Also it might be noted that repeaters, of which this device is not, although strengthening the local signal and noise ratio, inherently also slow down the theoretical limit of BPS for device communicating through one.
In sum, I think this is a device that slipped past the FCC regulating censors, which means it may not be on the market long in this form, it may also be why the manual differs greatly in use of the product from everywhere else it is described.
out of 12 user reviews
Good for specific situations
Pros: 500mW is NUTS! A router is only 40-100mW
Cons: Doesn't help you send traffic back to the booster
out of 12 user reviews
Thats really harsh....
Pros: Extended Range much more than cNet testing shows
Cons: It TAKES TIME to reach full STRENGTH.
When i first installed this device, I saw almost no improvement, not even a bar out of 5(in Windows), and the signal became incredibly unstable and almost unusable. I was almost ready to return the product.
But later i saw a major improvement in signal strength from far away clients, from 0 of 5 bars, and less than 1MB/s, to a jump to 4 bars and 48MB/s average (as claimed by Windows).
It also brought stability back to the network. I used have to live with my wireless disconnecting when a plane flew by, or if a cloud came over. The signal is now strong and stable at all times.
PS. I am sending the signal between two houses, approx 100m (328 feet) away, and the signal is bouncing off of a neighbours wall.
You MUST be patient with this product! Give it several days (I would say seven), before making up your mind.
I forgot to mention this earlier, but according to the manufacturer HSB1 and HSB2 are identical in every way, except the number. Why I don't know? Hawking added a note into my box explaining with the box said HSB2 but the product says HSB1.
out of 12 user reviews
Give it some credit.
Pros: The first consumer based 2.4ghz amplifier that actually is comparable to anything in the commercial world.
Cons: Ability for any joe to plug this into their linksys router and reak havok on the normally already oversaturated channel 6 in residential areas.
I would say it is well worth the cost as commercial amplifiers typically available to service providers through wholesalers and other such vendors start at around $150 for a 500mW amp, and swell to $250 for one watt, and it should be noted that these amplifiers are typically only licensed to work with one or two wireless cards as well.
I would also like to note the authors ignorance in stating the fact that the amplifier ONLY works with 802.11b/g as a con. The only other wifi standard out to the masses right now is 802.11a, and unlike the oversaturated 2.4ghz, the 5 Ghz band is highly regulated, meaning no antennas, no amplifiers, nothing other than what you can get out of a retail box. (unless your licensed)
out of 12 user reviews
It's as legal as printing your own money.
Pros: Works Great and boost range.
Cons: There is no way to legally import this product since it does not have FCC certification. It has a label with FCC on it, but there is no license number. The stores selling them are open to some BIG FCC fines. If the FCC cares that is.
out of 12 user reviews
Only +8db recieve gain (spec +12db)
Pros: Definately boosts signal strength. If you get the early white box, you get an RP-TNC adaptor, but no FCC Part15 certification. Best have a Part97 HAM licence. The later silver box has a token Part15 certification, but for only one specific Hawking router
Cons: WA5VJB (North Texas Microwave Society) measured my HSB1 at only +8.4db recieve gain and -0.4db more lost in the patch cable, this was -4db less than Hawking's spec. Also the input side is rated at only 100mw max. 200mw did not burn mine up, but output mi
out of 12 user reviews
Good idea poorly implemented
Pros:
Cons: Tried two and both were DOA (dead on arrival). Hawking tech support said "we've been having quite a lot of that."
out of 12 user reviews
Great range increase, signal quality boosted.
Pros: Dramatically increased wireless range of my Linksys WRT54G. Plug-and-play operation.
Cons: Price, perhaps, but it is well worth the cost if you have a wireless laptop, or use your Xbox wirelessly.
out of 12 user reviews
Did not do anything
Pros: Ease of setup, small footprint, high quality contruction.
Cons: Might as well connected my wireless router to a brick. In my home it had not improved signal strenght at any range. I was hoepful though, really wanted it to work.
out of 12 user reviews
This device really works!
Pros: Increases signal strength significantly. Easy to set up. Small size
Cons: Expensive
out of 12 user reviews
Incredible boost in range works great.
Pros: Increased range and throughput.
Cons: None that I have experienced so far.
