High-power wireless network adapter?

Question

I'm looking for a high-power wireless network adapter like Alfa products but more powerful. The Alfa AWUS036H is said to be the most powerful one, though its TX power is a little less than Alfa's latest wireless network adapters.

I need a wireless network adapter that has a TX power output of 3W or more and uses USB ports for connection. I'm going to use it on an omni-directional 10W antenna, and to offset the signal loss due to the length of the cable I need a powerful adapter. I don't want to use wireless amplifiers, so the adapter itself should generate the 3W or more.

I've found some 3 or 4 Watt wireless access points from brands like MikroTik but they use Ethernet cables instead of USB. They also operate as a totally different network device and they can't be controlled directly using a computer, so they have many limitations.

Answer 1

I need a wireless network adapter that has a TX power output of 3W or more and uses USB ports for connection.

maximum output power from USB is 2.5 watts (at 5v). You can look that up.

FCC reference: https://www.air802.com/fcc-rules-and-regulations.html

max you are going to find commercially is +36dBm or at most 4 watts or EIRP, and I doubt anyone is going to make this as a USB connected device which would then need supplemental power derived from a 120VAC transformer. And I doubt you will find anything that is plug in via PCI or PCIe and having a power rating over 1 watt from the pci card from within the computer. You are looking at some connection from your computer to a wifi router that then has capability to transmit into the 1-4 watt range with various antenna types.

you also didn't mention if you are doing 2.4ghz or 5 ghz, which is important.

Licensed amateurs in the US can use up to 1,500W ....

down in the VHF band and lower, for amateur radio. Saying that like you said it is way out of context.

Answer 2

Here's a 79W power amp available commercially to interface with any WiFi adapter, so you can pick the best available feature set without respect for power, and let the power amp provide the gain.

Licensed amateurs in the US can use up to 1,500 W PEP per Part 97 in non-spread-spectrum digital modes, so finding equipment to get more power will not be difficult if you need more than 79 W before antenna gain;; constant, of course, with the legal requirements of your non-US location. Note I am not recommending this for use in the United States, and mention this just to assure you higher power amplifiers are available if needed.

When you add a gain antenna, you can increase signal strength ('Effective Radiated Power') for any WiFi adapter.

If the WiFi connection will be point-to-point, both the router and PC could use an horizontally polarized antenna for further boost to signal strength. Since most signals in the background will be vertically polarized, using horizontal polarization for point-to-point will reduce your background noise floor, giving you an even better S/N ratio.

Those antennas need not be expensive; I've seen them made with tongue depressors and paper clips.