Failed Antenna Design 101
I just got some more Bluetooth dongles in from DealExtreme. This one advertises extended range and EDR support, for $5. The package looks convincing enough, nevermind the engrish:
So I cracked it open, naturally. (Hey, I was planning on using it for that crazy project.) And I was shocked to find this:
Such an awesome fail on the designer’s part.
Man, I would call that company (you will probably spend five hours on the phone trying to get to customer service), but it would be interesting to find out what the **** their response would be to try to justify their ignorance and stupidity.
SRT
It’s not a fail, it’s like that on purpose. It is more expensive to have a ‘real’ antenna (i.e. not a PCB one) so they don’t include one. But they’ll get more customers if they put that on there. That’s what happened to me. I bought a BT adapter a while ago, and I SPECIFICALLY chose one (actually it looked EXACTLY like the above posted one) that had an antenna over one that didn’t thinking it would get better range. However I was mistaken upon receiving it and opening it, if you want a really good one spend 20 bucks or so on NewEgg or something and get something quality
For $5 I would not be too shocked!
Well… technically it could be a resonant antenna.
Take a look and see if the antenna has a coil of wire inside it.
If it’s solid plastic, it’s fake, all right.
But just having a tuned coil of wire in the right orientation would boost the RF signal received by the on-chip antenna.
The coil would pick up the signal, and re-radiate it. There’s not much amplification of course, but there are a few advantages, like signal polarization.
It’s like ricing up a car. Look my bluetooth doogle has wings. Hahahahaha
Lolz. I’m pretty impressed.
I bought this exact same one before. I am glad someone has experienced the awesomeness of this besides me! haha makes my night
I’m an EE actively involved in designing Bluetooth interfaces, and it is very common to implement a BT antenna as a (specially-designed) trace on a PCB. The dimensions of the trace on the righthand side of the PCB in the photo are about right (~ 3/4 inch) for a BT antenna, and it probably works pretty well. The plastic thing is most likely just for show, as someone else has suggested.
The ‘Antenna’ is there to differentiate this product from other products. The dimensions of your base housing alone make my Rocketfish MRBTAD look positively wimpy, and the manufacturer adding an ‘antenna’ just makes this rig look all too special compared to other BT devices. But for your $5, you still got your money’s worth, even if the antenna is fake – my MRBTAD cost me $20 and is basically a USB connector with an LED (MRBTAD is a REAL BT transciever, but my visual representation is what I described).
On a side note, I wonder if you throw away the plastic case and antenna, would the signal get better?
one of the other reasons product designers will put a fake antenna on a product, is that consumers have an expectation that wireless products require one.
Consumers may have an expectation hat wireless products require one but the on board pcd trace IS an antenna.
This plastic thing is disingenuous, it implies that the antenna is a gain antenna which increases performance which clearly isn’t the case here.
What do you expect? It’s a Chinese grey market product. Have you ever known the Chinese to ever be honest…about anything?
technically it could be a resonant antenna.
Take a look and see if the antenna has a coil of wire inside it.
If it’s solid plastic, it’s fake, all right.led light
But just having a tuned coil of wire in the right orientation would boost the RF signal received by the on-chip antenna.
Hilarious.
dude use your imagination!
Nice, you throw away the bulky plastic enclosure with the fake appendage posing as antenna, shrink tube the PCb and the back end of the usb plug and you’ve got a really tiny usb radio.
No, no… this case actually provides a nice mounting point for installing a real antenna. But of course, that’s not what was intended by the manufacturer… or I should say marketer, as obviously the marketing group was in control of this product.
YES…another Chinese FAKE and garbage technology…on sudamerica invation of: Smartphones,Famiclones (Nintendo clones) and other FAKE and NON durable CHINESE devices.i hate this. X(
You stupid hirrbirry round-eye, you not know quarity when you see it?
LMAO
You come to my restaurant and comprain that da chicken chow mien not taste as good as rast week. That cuz all da cats on my way home all getting wise and run too fast, – I had to buy some chicken! Maybe I put a sandbox out front, you know, for the kids to pray in…
LOL
But who said thats an ANTENNA? I’d say it is just the handle to carry the dongle (or throw it) away….