Why is this cable more than twice the price of our Alfa 5m extension cable?
It may seem more economical to chain two of our Alfa 5m extension cables together. This is not recommended. Our 5m cable has CFD-200 shielding, which is a good shielding for cables up to 5m length. For a 10m cable, CFD-200 is not the recommended shielding because of the distance. For a distance of 10m, to limit loss, CFD-400 is recommended. CFD-400 shielding is much thicker than CFD-200, and has several layers of protection. Because of this, the cable is 5 times more expensive to manufacture than the 5m CFD-200 cable. It is much heavier as well. Cable prices normally coincide with length, so a 10m cable will normally be twice the price of a 5m. But when you add in the thicker shielding, the cost goes up more. This cable is also five times heavier than our 5m cable, so the shipping cost is higher too. Is it worth it?
It depends on your setup. If you spend a lot of money on a new home theater system, you would probably want the best audio cables to get the most out of your system. If you were setting up cheap speakers in your garage to hear AM radio broadcasts, then cheap cables would do. If you spent a lot of money on a very high gain outdoor antenna, you will lose a lot of performance by going with weaker shielding, or trying to chain multiple extension cables together (because there is also gain loss at connector points). But if you are just trying to go 10 feet to a low gain antenna, this will be overkill. Please contact us if you need assistance in picking out the best cable length and shielding for your needs.
Additional Features:
- Length: 10m
- Impedance: 50 OHM
- Frequency: 2400 - 2483 MHz / 5100 - 5900 MHz
- Compatible with 802.11g and 802.11b WiFi standards
- Compatible with many WiFi adapters (any Wi-Fi USB adapter or PCI card with external RP-SMA connector)
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. I see 9m cables on eBay for only a few dollars with free shipping from China. How can you charge so much for just about the same length?
An antenna extension cable is not like a power extension cable you would use with an electric lawn mower. In other words, all antenna cables are not basically the same. When you use a cable in between the antenna and the WiFi adapter, the gain of the antenna decreases markedly. This is a factor known as cable loss. The $3 and $4 RP-SMA extension cables that are in abundance on eBay have no low loss shielding. Using them will cause significant gain loss- so much so that you may find that your factory antenna connected directly to your adapter will begin to work better than your expensive high gain outdoor antenna. To limit gain loss, you need a thick shielded low loss cable, from a trusted manufacturer. It has special low loss shielding to limit your gain loss and simply works much better than cheap cables that have no low loss shielding.
2. I already have (or want to buy) an external antenna for my wireless adapter, and I want an extension cable so I can put my antenna further away from the adapter. How do I know if this is the right extension cable for me?
Check with the maker or seller of your antenna to find out what type of connector it has. As a rule of thumb, you want to get an RP-SMA male to RP-SMA female extension cable when the antenna you have can connect directly to the RP-SMA connector on your wireless adapter if you wanted it to. That would mean your antenna also has an RP-SMA connector, and this would be the right cable for you. If your antenna has another type of connector, meaning it is not possible for you to connect it directly to the RP-SMA connector on your wireless adapter, then please contact us so we can help you locate the right cable for your needs. Additionally, we always recommend to get as close to the length you need as possible. If you are only trying to go 10 feet, don't buy a 30 foot cable as you will have more gain loss than you need.
Shipping Options
Orders will generally be shipped the same or next day after payment is received. Periodically if we are experiencing unusually high order volume, your order may not be shipped until the second business day after payment is received, but this is not usual. We offer both UPS and US Postal methods of shipping as described below.
US 50 States + Puerto Rico: Priority Mail: price varies by zone, please use calculator up top. This includes delivery confirmation and insurance. According to the US Postal Service, Priority Mail takes an average of 2-3 delivery days to arrive. This is not a guaranteed transit time though, it is just an average delivery time.
US 48 States: UPS Ground Service: price varies by zone, please use calculator up top. This includes insurance and tracking. This rate is only for bidders in the Continental US. We do ship to Alaska/Hawaii and APO/FPO but it must go via the US Postal Service so please take a look at a US Postal option. If you need the item shipped via an expedited method like 2nd Day Air, please inquire with your zip code for rates before bidding. UPS Ground can take from 1-7 days or longer depending on your proximity to our shipping location which is in Florida. UPS can take longer than US Postal Service Priority Mail, but UPS tracking tends to be updated more often than Postal Service tracking, and UPS tracking typically posts an estimated delivery date online within 12 hours after shipping, where as US Postal Serivce tracking does not.
International Shipping Rates and Information: Due to prohibitive shipping costs outside of the USA for this item because of its weight, we are not shipping this item outside of the USA at this time.
This item comes with a 30-day return period. There is
no restocking fee for defective or not-as-described items, or items returned
for exchange. Otherwise we charge a minimal 10% restocking fee to help cover
original postage which is included in the item price. There are no other
warranties on this auction, expressed or implied. The exception to this is if
the description states there is a manufacturer's warranty.
INTERNATIONAL BUYER & SHIPPING TERMS
Due
to prohibitive shipping costs outside of the USA for this item because
of its weight, we are not shipping this item outside of the USA at this
time.