Customer Reviews

BlueProton GSKY Wireless G USB 2.0 BT3 1000mW 27dBm High-Power 802.11g Adapter

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have owned another WIFI model called the Alfa AWUS036H adapter for a while and wanted to get a second one for another computer, but then heard about this Gsky adapter which is also 1/2 watt. The maker Blue Proton says on their blog that it is (and I quote) "better than the Alfa AWUS036H", I should have asked them how they concluded that before I bought it, because it does not work nearly as well for me anyway. I have read it has the same chip as the Alfa, but at least the one I received does not, it is a different model of a Realtek chip (B version). The receive sensitivity at 54 mbps is -65 dbm vs -76 dbm of the Alfa (-76 is better). I also found out that the Gsky is only 15 dbm at 802.11g, which would be about 40 or 50 mW, so it isn't really high powered unless you are okay with a slow connection. There is a signal about a block away from me that is open, I get about 0-1 bars with my Buffalo PCMCIA card that is about 4 years old. With the Alfa I am able to get 3-4 bars. With the Gsky it is usually 1 bar, sometimes 2, so a slight improvement over my Buffalo card, but sometimes it is too weak to use the signal. With the Alfa I can use the signal all the time. For people trying to pick up weak signals I would suggest shelling out the extra cash for the Alfa or something else.

For those of you about to consider this purchase?
A number of folks on a [H]ardcore Overclocking and Hardware website review it at length.
Here's the gist:

When you look at the power, it is only:

11g : 15 2dBm@54Mbps, EVM<-24dB
11b : 25 2dBm, EVM <35%

Sensitivity - The most important!

Operating at 11Mbps:<-82dBm@8%PER,
54Mbps:<-65dBm@10%PER


So, it is a BIG/SPIN or marketing play on words the way they are advertising this product as an ERP of 500mW.

1) They are using this figure for 802.11b (wireless spec.,) which hardly anyone uses.
2) Only 15dBm on 11g.
3) The sensitivity of this device is terrible. (The ability to pick-up fringe signals)

Sensitivity is more important than power. If you can receive or (see) the remote clients... How are you going to connect to them? The LinkSys and Buffalo products offer higher sensitivity than this thing.

Let's not be mislead.

This item has to be internally cheap, as the price for what it offers is too good. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Let the buyer beware

Just got my BlueProton GSky model GS-27USB Wi-Fi adapter.
It works fine on Windows XP with SP3 on Dell Inspiron 1100.
Works better (picks up far more signals) than 3Com 3CRPAG175
card or Orinoco Gold Card I have.

If add 16-foot active USB extension cable (no brand name or
model number on it; appears as a USB hub to the OS),
the GSky works about 10% of the time, loses connectivity most
of the time, and once generated Blue Screen of Death
(WORKER_THREAD_RETURNED_ON_BAD_IRQL) on Windows XP with SP3.

Updated GSky driver to 10/24/2008 5.1149.1024.2008 (previous
may have been same version; don't know) and still had same
problems, including same BSOD.

[Later:]

After owning the GSky for almost 6 months, I dropped it and the connector broke off the circuit board; it's ruined. Turns out the connector was held on only by solder; no fastener. So that's a weak point; be very gentle plugging the cable on/off, and don't drop it !

I like the product, and I'm going to buy another one. Would be great if they improved the connector fastening.

[Later:]

Ordered three more GSky's (for myself and two friends). One of the three was DOA. Returned it, and heard nothing from the company. They ignored all of my emails about it. Finally found that they only react to the "problem with order" button in Amazon; a message sent that way got a quick reaction and a working replacement.

I purchased this unit and was simply amazed at how well it performed. Yes, I do WarDriving and I look for the best sensitivity possible in rooting out access points.

I had been using the standard Orinoco Gold PCMCIA card in my laptop with a 7 dbi mag mounted antenna for my hobbyist pursuits.

When I received the G-Sky I was surprised at how little it was, which is okay because I know all electronics are now almost on one chip when it comes to these devices. What was really great is the SMA connector that allows one to put different antennas on it that have the R-SMA connectors. This means I can use the supplied with the unit antenna or easily swap in my yagi or 7 foot high gain vertical by just attaching to it via a mating pigtail.

Out of the box comparisons between the Orinoco card with a 7dbi antenna and the G-Sky with its, what appears to be about a 5dbi antenna, were startingly different. For one, with the Orinoco card from my desktop I can detect 5 local access points within a 300 foot radius of my property. With the G-Sky, using its simple attached antenna, I was able to detect 9 access points right from my desktop. Now that is really a big difference.

Of note, when I compared the received signal strengths of the 5 Orinoco detects to the same ones on the G-Sky, there was an across the board difference of over 20 db, which translates into the difference of a whisper when compared to a normally speaking voice (I'll spare the mathematics on this comparison). The G-Sky shouts!!!

I confess that I did not test the output power of the G-Sky but did note that it became slightly warm to the touch, which means that it is consuming power. The heat probably, and this is a guess, is probably wasted heat in the circuitry and the rest of the power is radiated in the transmit mode. My guess is there is probably a 50% efficiency working here. That means if the unit is pulling down 1 watt of energy and is radiating 50%, that becomes 1/2 watt of output. I feel the unit is producing that amount of power when necessary.

This unit also uses the 8187 Reatek chipset which is the one you want to have.

For the price and features and adaptability this is a REALLY GREAT DEAL. I have no experience with the Alfas but have not heard anything bad about them. I think this unit is on par with them based upon anectdotal evidence and the Realtek chipset.

I have a desk top computer and a laptop, and I live in a trailer that needs a wifi card that can pick up the signal from a house on the property. I was using a Wi-fire USB wifi with its directional antenna on my desk-top that cost far more than the GSKY (which I bought for my laptop). I also use the free version of Inssider software, that displays pertinent data on the wifi signals your system is picking up (excellent program and I recommend it highly)....so I have a good gauge as to my wifi performance.

The GSKY with it little omni-directional antenna picks up the house wifi far better than the Wi-fire; plus, the number of wifi signals the GSKY picks up is far more than the other. So, needless to say...I'm very happy with this product.

Also it works great with both Vista and Linux-Mint (another piece of free software I highly recommend).

I installed the driver on my Windows XP PC but was not able to connect to the internet with the GSky adapter. When I clicked the GSky icon in my tray it said "acquiring network address". But it never acquired the address to connect to my Netgear wireless router. The seller, Blue Proton, was slow to respond to my emails but eventually gave me a $19.99 refund for the product after I returned it according to their requirements (UPC intact, RMA form filled out, etc). However, they did not refund the shipping or return shipping costs so I lost $9. I won't buy from Blue Proton again.

the G-Sky works just as good as alfa i have both and in some cases the G-Sky beat by alaf and it cost half the price its a great bye don't be fooled by bad reviews and son't run more than ten feet of usb corde with them or it will kill your speed

Very easy to load and use. I would recommend this item to anyone looking to enhance their wi-fi signal,

I installed the driver and wireless utility onto my laptop.
I wasn't expecting as good of a turnout as I got...
The closest/strongest signal without this device came in at 20% or less, but after I hooked it up, that same signal shot up to 90+%.
I think this device works fantastic...
I am giving it a 5 star rating, for its easy setup/installation, and its outstanding performance...

I have a Desktop computer with a router (linksys - g) connected to it in my house and a laptop in my office building located a little over 300 feet away. I thought that I would give this adapter a try before I went to more expense and I'm glad I did. The computer, in the house, is in the middle of the house (single story house) and not near any windows. The laptop, in my office 300 ft away, is about 3 ft from a window on a desk and that window is facing the house. I inserted the driver cd into my office laptop and was up and running in about 10 minutes. I have a signal strength of 4 out of 5 bars and receiving at 48 to 54 mbps! I am impressed! To be fair, I have a clear line of sight between the house and the office building. There is an electrical company's overhead power line that the signal must pass under, but I still get 4 strong bars of signal. At my house and my office, I have the usual electronics and office equipment. This worked very well for me and I give this a 5 star rating based on my experience, ease of use and lightning fast shipping. I found that some folks that have these type of adapters have different experiences which vary depending on environmental conditions, computer issues or just not understanding how to use the adapter to its full capacity. Those experiences and situations may lead one to write a bad review. I read the reviews before I bought and considered each person's situation and experience as best as I could. Having said that, I would recommend this adapter to those with a similar situation like mine. I love it!