Customer Reviews

Hawking HWU8DD Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Dish Adapter

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

(see my latest update at bottom)

We purchased this unit to try out on vacation at a beach house rental where typically we have to connect to neighborhood hot spots. At best we usually have to manipulate our laptop to just the right position to find a sporadic at best connection (you know-- we're ultimately standing on our head, wearing a foil helmet, and holding the laptop on edge etc-- that kind of thing).

I'll have to report back to you from the beach house next week but right now I just pulled it out of the box in our urban neighborhood setting at home. We typically have an abundance of signals here but only 1 or 2 have been connectable using my Netgear Rangemax 240 (which does better than my other standard b/g wireless adapter cards).

The Hi-Gain picks up a ton of signals in each direction I point it and is able to connect to nearly anything with a signal strength of 20% or better.

The Quick Start guide warns you all over the place to be gentle when moving the antenna on its axis or swivel, so comments from others on fragility seem to be correct. It looks like for travel purposes you'll need to keep it packaged in its box (6"x8"x4")

But I'd have to say-- so far so good. I have no immediate criticism or disappointment, other than the Wireless LAN Utility has a somewhat undersized window showing available network info--but this is a small issue.

I'll report back from the beach house next week to share what our final verdict is.

Oh the USB cord is no more than 6 feet long so you will need an extension or a longer USB cord (I ordered a 10' extension for $8). By the way, if you intend to replace the USB cord rather than use an extension, it uses a mini-USB connector (the type you see on cameras and camcorders-- your standard connector as you see on printer will not work.

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AUGUST 4TH BEACH HOUSE UPDATE
As promised, here is a bit more after a week of trying it out. The good news is it does consistently work. The ability to move the dish around to locate the best signal is a big plus when you are in some remote area. I am currently connected solidly to a site about 1/2 mile away across a Bay (I have a clear line of sight) with 2 of 5 signal strength bars illuminated.

We just repeated a download speed test and confirmed the wireless connection at 4861kbs down and about 420kbs up.

To be honest though, I'd say the HWU8DD appears only slightly more sensitive than my current pcmcia adapter, a Netgear Rangemax 240 (WPNT511). Again the advantage here is the ability to move the dish to the best reception spot rather than manipulate the computer itself.

Again, the short length of the USB cord (about 5') means in most cases you really need an extension, but with the 10' USB passive extension we also purchased from Amazon, I'm able to sit where I want to and let the antenna do its work. The bad news is I have a cord draped across the floor which may drive my wife a bit nuts at times.

We also discovered this is not compatible with my wife or daughter's Mac (also not compatible with Linux.) I just checked the Hawking website that tells me only Windows Vista 32, XP, 2000, Me, and 98Se are supported with drivers.

Finally, I also have to agree with those who note both size and fragility again. For traveling "road warriors", this is a relatively bulky, and somewhat cheaply made little plastic unit to be taking along on your flights or packed in a car somewhere unless you are desperate. I can see it being totally destroyed in my luggage at the airport, so we won't be taking it along flying to Chicago next week. (Isn't it possible to create a flatter, more compact and durable unit these days?)

Who is this perfect for?

I'd say the RV'er is going to love it. It's great even here at the beach house where we're not worrying about little people playing with or tripping over the cord. At home, I'd hate to be carrying this little thing everywhere my laptop goes, though with a stationary computer, it may be a good solution.

If you've tried everything else, I'd definitely give this a test-drive, but keep in mind the need for a good return policy if you don't like it or if it doesn't work for you.

I'm giving it 4 stars because it does work as promised.

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Sept 19, 2007 Update: STOPPED WORKING
As mentioned in my review, the dish is somewhat fragile. Yesterday we noticed it quit functioning. Perhaps the box was jostled a bit too much, or the dish popped off its stand once too often (the dish connector pops out of its base sometimes leaving the connecting wire exposed or potentially vulnerable to breaking its solders).

I looked on the Hawking website and am going to try to return it to the manufacturer if I can. I am past the 30 day Amazon return period.

No bitterness, but just a little bit of frustration. Drop my rating to 2 stars.

I just tried and am returning an HWU8DD. Seemed well built, software was very good, no installation problems, worked fine under XP SP2. Looked good, too. BUT the sensitivity was not nearly as good as my old D-Link DWL120+ with its small dipole antenna. And I pointed
the HWU8DD at known targets and rotated it through 360 degrees. The DWL120+ saw and associated with signals the HWU8DD never saw, and provided a much better (10dB or more) signal for those both could see. This is my second disappointing experience with a similar Hawking product (wasted time a bit ago with a
HWU36D); never again! It is awkward to store and use and does not provide higher performance than a simple dipole unit from other vendors. Don't waste your time or money!

Not sure why the performance of this great little antenna has been rated poorly in some of the other reviews. Works great for me. I'm in a friend's guesthouse at the moment (and no, I'm not Kato Kaelin). I was previously lucky to even pick up a signal from the main house and I only received the weakest signals from two of the neighbors. Not only am I online at lightning speed from my friend's router, but I'm also picking up 11 other signals from around the neighborhood. As others have mentioned, the device is a little bulky and takes up about 4"x4"x4" when folded down, so it's a bit awkward to carry about in a notebook case, but I'll just have to find room in my suitcase for this electronic marvel. I own a motorhome and this should be great in RV Parks which typically have terrible wifi set-ups.

O.K., so it took several hours of constant adjustments to get the right aim, but when it did it gets a very good signal which is at least 3 times better than my super G wireless card. It is highly sensitive to position and aim, so have some patience with it. It has made the difference between getting no signal and getting a very good signal.

I was recently in a situation where I needed to reach a signal that was just barely out of range. After struggling with several different adapters that I own I went and acquired the Dish Adapter. The software installed easily with no problem. I tried it with two different computers. I was able to attach to signals that previously I could see but not reach or previously not even see.

From now on this device is going with me when I travel, particularly when camping. A lot of RV parks offer a wireless link, but many times it is very hard to connect to. I think this device will be just the solution I am looking for.

It worked better than my internal adapter, and better than an external adapter that I had. The software gives you a good reading on the strength of nearby signals.

I wonder whether the reviewers who were negative were using the same device.

This antenna clearly boosts WiFi signals more than the built in antenna on my new Lenovo laptop. It is rather fragile, not very transportable, and definitely an indoor device. It's best application would be for a location within a building where a WiFi signal is a little weak. I was looking for something a little more powerful and durable.

Holy Mackeral! I just did a comparison test of the HWU8DD versus a RadioLabs "Wave RV" system. Both are simple USB plug-in Wi-Fi transceivers. I am in a neighborhood (Tempe Arizona) with a LOT of WiFi Activity. The HWU8DD can see 28 networks. The "Wave RV" sees just 8 networks. I also tested the directionality. I was skeptical when I received the HWU8DD because the dish is much smaller and lighter than I had visualized. (That's not all bad!) It is however quite directive. (Not so directive that you can't find the signals that it is not pointed toward however and that is good. Otherwise you would have a terrible time orienting the antenna.) I just calculated the theoretical gain of a 10 cm dish antenna at 2.4 GHz and it is 8.01 dBi IF the efficiency of the antenna is 100%. Typical efficiencies are 50% to 60% so I wonder if they are achieving the 8 dBi gain they imply they are getting. The software seems to be stable and work well. I bought two of these to use in the motorhome when we travel so that both my wife and I can get on the internet with our laptops from WiFi-equipped campgrounds. I am happy with the HWU8DD...

At first I couldn't get the dish to co-operate...it just wouldn't recognize my wireless router even though it was sitting next to it. Finally I turned on the 'broadcast SSID' option of the router and the little dish sprang to life.

I took it with me on my way to work in a small town hoping to find an open network (hotspot). I wasn't disappointed and soon located a network 'Angeline'. However with the directional antennae I soon found out that it wasn't a business broadcasting an open network, it was the private residence next door! 'Angeline' turned out to be the sister-in-law of a colleague of mine (I told you it was a small town)who hadn't enabled her wireless network security options.

All up? A great product that works as advertised (if you turn on the SSID...a detail not mentioned in the instructions)

Have been running this unit for a couple of months. Direct line of sight is through a outside wall (at ground level to the house) a closet, the washer and dryer, another wall, pots and pans drawers to the sending unit 25 feet away. Runs 3 bars 48 to 54 Mbps depending on ?? for the day. Works really well.

A much better buy is the Hawking WIRELESS G USB NETWORK ADAPTER w. Hi Gain 6db Antenna( HWU54D ) which is listed on Amazon, but no longer available. If you can find it, buy it. I have both the 54D and this device. The 54D has 6db of gain and does fold for transport. This one is cheaply made and would appear to break if stressed too much. The 54D is much more sturdy. I've owned it a couple of years and it's perking along in the living room right now doing duty on my son-in-laws desktop. I've had the 54D on the roof of my Airstream, on the roof thru a ceiling vent, inside a ziploc bag nearly 600' from the WAP and it worked well. I would be afraid to take this one on the road. The units only put out 300 mw which is less than the old walkie-talkies we played with as kids. Those put out 500 mw. The antennae are faily directional but I would have to question the gain advertised. Is this received or transmitted gain. The gain is a relative measurement anyway and can just about mean anything you want it to when referring to an antenna. We are not talking about a 60 foot satellite dish. Any true gain is going to be next to nothing because of the size of the little dish itself.

I only played with the software once. If you are running Win2k or XP you don't need the software. The OS will detect it and there is an integrated program in windows that works just fine. The Hawking software is clumsy and there are no instructions on how to use it. Amazon says the 54D is not available, but a search of the web shows plenty still out there. If you plan on transport the 54D is the one to buy. If you are not traveling the U8DD will work fine.