Superhub Shub 2: How do AC dongles fare with this?

AndyCalling · 30-03-2015, 22:36

Hi Cable Chums, not been here in a while but still a cable man. So, I have an older Shub 2 these days, but she's an N-class router (Captain...) so I'm faced with a dilemma that needs a WiFi boffin to help me out.

The Shub 2 will do 450meg with an N900 dongle I believe. That's 3 spatial streams. Now, what happens if I connect an AC WiFi device to it? What speed AC WiFi stick would also connect to my N900 Shub 2 at 5GHz with the full 450meg connection speed? Could I just buy a Netgear AC1200 stick from Maplins tomorrow and have at it or do I need to pick the right one?

I'm lost with AC and how it acts for N routers, but it's pointless buying an N adapter when I may find AC routers in the field I can take advantage of. But I want my full 450 at home.

Can I have my cake and eat it too? Please advise, wise ones.

Stephen · 30-03-2015, 22:54

If its only a SH2 then you will only be able to connect with b/g/n. An AC dongle or wifi device will only connect with AC if its a SH2AC.

qasdfdsaq · 31-03-2015, 00:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyCalling

The Shub 2 will do 450meg with an N900 dongle I believe. That's 3 spatial streams. Now, what happens if I connect an AC WiFi device to it? What speed AC WiFi stick would also connect to my N900 Shub 2 at 5GHz with the full 450meg connection speed?

It will connect at 450 if it's a 3-stream AC dongle.

Quote:

Could I just buy a Netgear AC1200 stick from Maplins tomorrow and have at it or do I need to pick the right one?

If only these AC123456 marketing buzzwords actually told us anything useful about the product...

Quote:

I'm lost with AC and how it acts for N routers, but it's pointless buying an N adapter when I may find AC routers in the field I can take advantage of. But I want my full 450 at home.

Can I have my cake and eat it too? Please advise, wise ones.

An AC dongle will just connect at the maximum N speeds it's capable of, which in general is determined by its stream count.

---------- Post added at 01:14 ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen

If its only a SH2 then you will only be able to connect with b/g/n.

a/b/g/n

AndyCalling · 31-03-2015, 11:38

Stephen, I know that an AC dongle will not connect to my Shub 2 at AC speeds. I want to know which AC dongles will connect at N level at 450meg as I don't want to waste money on an old N900 dongle that won't give me the best speeds when connecting to AC routers I may find out in the wild and will need replacing if I get a router upgrade at any point.

Qas, you understand my position. Thing is, I cannot find out what speed of AC dongle would support 3 streams and I have tried to find out. If anyone knows what speed AC dongle I need to buy (ideally from a high street store, but via Amazon if I must) then I can make this happen. It is just a lack of good info that's holding me back.

So, to summarise, I need an AC dongle that supports at least 3 spatial streams (ideally sourced from a high street store) and so will connect to a 3 spatial stream N class router at 450meg (the Shub 2).

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/netgear-a6...-adapter-a96tb

I love the look of this new Netgear dongle, with a nice fold out aerial, but will it do what I want? As usual, the product description helps very little.

Can any of you gurus guide me?

qasdfdsaq · 31-03-2015, 13:22

There are very few AC dongles that support 3 streams. Even with proper internal PCI cards it's very hard to find a 3-stream card, and Intel doesn't make any.

The AC dongle you refer to says in the specifications 300/867Mbps which indicates two streams. If you mainly plan on using it with a non-AC router at home then you'd be better off getting a "N900" dongle. It'll be cheaper and faster, although the benefits of 3 streams in a dongle format are very small.

The base rate for a standard 3-stream AC link is 1300Mbps, but manufacturers like to add on either their N figures or inflated 2.4Ghz figures on top giving ludicrous marketing names like AC1750 or AC1900 or AC2400, that AC1200 dongle is a perfect example.

AndyCalling · 31-03-2015, 16:14

Hmm. Well, another reason to get a modern dongle is that the VM dongles I have (circa Shub 1) are not suitable for Miracast (I have a suitable vid card, so all I need is a wifi adapter that supports the modern NDIS standard and I ought to be golden). Not sure the N900 dongle chipsets are recent enough that I can be sure they will support Miracast. Perhaps I'd be better off with 2 stream AC dongle. I'll think it over.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

telfordcable · 31-03-2015, 18:06

Rubbish Router!

Stephen · 31-03-2015, 20:14

Nothing to see here, move along now....

General Maximus · 01-04-2015, 09:45

why do you keep letting him come back?

qasdfdsaq · 01-04-2015, 11:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyCalling

the VM dongles I have (circa Shub 1) are not suitable for Miracast (I have a suitable vid card, so all I need is a wifi adapter that supports the modern NDIS standard and I ought to be golden). Not sure the N900 dongle chipsets are recent enough that I can be sure they will support Miracast. Perhaps I'd be better off with 2 stream AC dongle. I'll think it over.

I assume you mean NDIS 6. NDIS has been around since MS-DOS.

Pretty much all wireless dongles, cards, chipsets, and phones use hardware made by one of three or four companies, and therefore are tied to the same drivers as all other cards by anyone else using that company's chips.

Sephiroth · 04-04-2015, 08:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyCalling

Stephen, I know that an AC dongle will not connect to my Shub 2 at AC speeds. I want to know which AC dongles will connect at N level at 450meg as I don't want to waste money on an old N900 dongle that won't give me the best speeds when connecting to AC routers I may find out in the wild and will need replacing if I get a router upgrade at any point.

Qas, you understand my position. Thing is, I cannot find out what speed of AC dongle would support 3 streams and I have tried to find out. If anyone knows what speed AC dongle I need to buy (ideally from a high street store, but via Amazon if I must) then I can make this happen. It is just a lack of good info that's holding me back.

So, to summarise, I need an AC dongle that supports at least 3 spatial streams (ideally sourced from a high street store) and so will connect to a 3 spatial stream N class router at 450meg (the Shub 2).

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/netgear-a6...-adapter-a96tb

I love the look of this new Netgear dongle, with a nice fold out aerial, but will it do what I want? As usual, the product description helps very little.

Can any of you gurus guide me?

I couldn't find a 3 spatial stream AC dongle so I settled for the 2 stream ASUS USB-AC56 which comes with a .9m cradle if you want to position it away from the PC and a directional detachable antenna.

http://www.asus.com/uk/Networking/USBAC56/

jb66 · 12-05-2015, 21:33

Bit off topic, but look at this thing!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NPRW6W...rd_p=610454927

4x4 AC1733!

General Maximus · 12-05-2015, 21:43

looks flipping beefy and like it means business. You just need all your devices to be ac to make sure you use it to it's full potential.

alanbjames · 12-05-2015, 22:28

Why are u looking at a modem\router for Virgin?

jb66 · 13-05-2015, 06:36

It just came up on amazon deal of the day and looked pretty mean, not that I need one, when I move house I'll be using a sky hub "yuk" but for 7Meg, it will do