Adding an External Antenna To Your Wii
The Nintendo Wii is the latest in a series of console systems to hit the market. While the graphics and processing power do not match the PS3 or Xbox 360, the Wii has attracted the interest of gamers due to its revolutionary controller design. By combining Bluetooth, infrared, and motion detection technology into a compact handheld remote, the Wii has complete changed the ways that gamers interact with their systems. Ironically, this paradigm shift in controllers was not for the hardcore gamer, but instead was meant to bring in the new user who traditionally has found the multi-button two-handed controller a bit overwhelming. In fact, my five year old daughter learned how to use the controller in only a few minutes and was soon happily, if not ecstatically, beating the computer in a boxing match. The Wii may finally bring console system gaming into the family oriented mainstream.
While the controller design is one of the key selling points for the Wii, there are other aspects and features that make it popular for neophyte gamers. For example, you can create a Mii and then have Mii parades with your friends online. Other online activities include updated news and weather services, as well as messaging, web surfing, image sharing and more. In addition to this, users of the Wii can download legacy games from the Wii store, as well as obtain updates that are promised to include DVD players and more. The point is that the Wii is an internet appliance as much as it is a console, which means it needs an internet connection to fully realize it's potential.
However, what if your Wii is nowhere near your network drop? Or your wireless network is on the other side of the house? Granted, the Wii does try to maximize its wireless connectivity via the integration of two antennas in its design, but even this won't overcome all obstacles. This is why we decided to provide an online tutorial to illustrate how you can upgrade your wireless presence via the use of a bigger and more powerful antenna. With this design, the question shifts from "How close to I have to be?" to "How far can I really go?"
The Wireless Network Card
The Wii comes with an embedded wireless network card from Broadcom. This card is an 802.11b/g card that can connect to most of the 802.11 wireless access points on the market. In addition to supporting the higher speed 802.11g speeds, the wireless card supports the most current encryption options, including WPA2 Personal with AES encryption. For those who are not versed in all the acronyms of the wireless world, WPA2 Personal is the best protection available for the home user. And thanks to an intelligent wireless configuration setup, most users will simply click a few buttons, enter the passphrase, and be online.
One of the most interesting aspects of the card is that it hosts two antenna connectors. As we discuss in the next section, the inclusion of the extra connector helps to reduce wireless reception problems that could cause users problems if the Wii was too far from the access point. Figure 1 provides a shot of the backside of the wireless card, and Figure 2 provides a close up of the U.FL connectors.
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One interesting specification about this card is that it only uses 2402-2.473 of the possible 2.402-2.485GHz of 802.11 2.4GHz range. The reason for this is that the card must meet the FCC's guidelines in order for it to be permitted in the US. We are curious what model of card other countries will have in their Wiis. Please email us if you find out!
For those who want to get into the gory details of the wireless hardware, there is lots of information on this card at the FCC.
The Antennas
If you look at a typical wireless access point, you will see one or two antennas sticking straight up out of the back of the device. While many people don't realize this, the position of the antenna is no mistake. For example, take a look at Figure 3.
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In the above graphic, you can see that the radio footprint created by an Omni-directional antenna resemble a donut shape. The RF energy is emitted from the antenna and moves outward until it eventually "attenuates," or loses its power. Now, imagine what would happen if the antenna was placed in a horizontal position? Instead of moving outward as in Figure 3, the radio footprint would move vertically.
The makers of the Nintendo Wii had two choices when implementing wireless connectivity in their device. They could either go the cheap route and use a single antenna, or they could spend a few more cents and increase the capabilities of the Wii's wireless networking hardware. Thankfully they went the extra mile and installed two antennas to help ensure the strongest possible signal. Figures 4-6 provide a few shots of these antennas.
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Note the orientation of the antennas. It is no mistake that one antenna is positioned vertically and the other is horizontal. There are several technical reasons for this, but it basically all comes down to the simple fact that two antennas in the same orientation generally get the best signal. Since Nintendo has given the end user the option as to how they will place their Wii (laying down or standing up), it makes sense to include one antenna that is oriented horizontally (Figure 5) and a second that is oriented vertically (Figure 6). Due to this thoughtful design, the Wii will be able to dynamically select the antenna with the strongest signal and thus take advantage of its placement.
What antenna to use?
Last year we performed a similar modification to our PSP. As a result, we already had the part and pieces that we needed for this particular "upgrade." In short, we needed two parts — a pigtail and an antenna. The pigtail must have a U.FL connector on the one end, but could have any number of connectors on the opposite end. They key is to ensure your antenna and the pigtail have a matching female/male connector. By separating the components, you can easily upgrade from a 5dBi Omni-direction antenna to a satellite dish, just incase you wanted to connect to an access point on the other side of town. Check out http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=u.fl%20pigtail for a list of possible solutions (thanks to Drew from alamedawireless.org for this link).
Installing the External Antenna
While we appreciate what Nintendo did to help Wii owners get the strongest wireless connection possible, we wanted to see if adding an external 5.5dBi antenna would increase the signal strength. Given that the internal cards are rated to increase the signal a mere 1.8dBi, adding an external antenna should boost the signal significantly.
To do this, we had to first take the Wii apart. Fortunately, we documented and video recorded the whole process, which you can read about (and watch) in the article titled Wii Exposed: Wiinternals, Wii-motes, and a Teardown Wiideo.
Once you have taken apart the Wii, you will be able to remove the WNIC by simply lifting it off the motherboard. Watch the heat transfer goop on the card, as it will easily come off and get on your fingers, clothes, etc. Once the card is removed, flip it over and remove the external antennas. These will pop off the U.FL connectors with a bit of pressure. Be careful when removing the antennas because there is a pin in the connector that can be easily damaged. Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 for a visual shot of the card and U.FL connectors.
Now that the card is removed, it is time to install the antenna. Due to the tight design of the Wii, there are only a few places that the antenna components and pigtail can fit. So, we whipped out our handy dremel tool and drilled a small hole at our selected location, which is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.
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In our case, the pigtail connector fit perfectly through the hole and into the antenna. However, there was a slight gap between the nut on the connector and the body of the Wii, which caused the antenna to slip around in circles. To correct this problem, we purchased a small nylon washer and used it to fill the gap. The end result was an antenna that fit snugly onto the body of the Wii. Figure 9 provides a shot of the washer.
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Once we had the antenna in place, we seated the U.FL connector and replaced the wireless card back onto the motherboard. We then carefully placed the excess pigtail wire inside the body of the Wii and reassembled the console unit. Figures 10 and 11 provide a shot of the final product. Note that this modification means your Wii has to remain in its horizontal position.
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The Performance Results
With the new antenna in place, we wanted to test our modification to see how much of a difference it made. To do this, we performed two tests using Airmagnet's wireless analyzer program on our laptop. The first was a local 5 foot comparison of the RF signal strength between the original hardware and the new antenna. The second test involved moving the RF analyzer 30 feet and two walls away from the Wii. We were quite shocked at the findings.
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Summary
Visually, the upgraded Nintendo looks impressive — at least if you are a wireless geek. Seeing the external antenna mounted on the Wii just brings a smile to our faces. However, we were shocked by the apparent lack of increase in signal strength. We suspect that the loss associated with the length of the pigtail and the additional connectors nullified any increase offered by the 5dBi antenna. However, a more powerful signal could be obtained by simply using a more powerful 8dBi, 12dBi or even 15dBi antenna. So, if this modification is something you wish to perform, be sure to consider this in your component selection. Regardless, the overall outcome of the modification was a positive in our opinion. Without significantly changing the signal quality, our Wii now sports an external antenna that looks like it just might belong there!
See how to disassemble your Wii, including a teardown video, with Seth's article Wii Exposed: Wiinternals, Wii-motes, and a Teardown Wiideo.
