Alfa AWUS036H Cycling on & off and/or dropped connections: Power problem & solutions | Realtek RTL8187L chipset

Jan 232011
 

High power requirements of Realtek RTL8187L chipset, found in the ALFA AWUS036H USB wireless adapter, can cause “on and off cycling” and/or dropping of connections and performance issues (see details below).  We have two solutions:

1. POWERED 4-port USB 2.0 hub with an AC adapter

2. USB cable with two A-male connectors: This resolves some power issues for Alfa AWUS036H

3. USB Cable Extender over CAT5/6 cable (up to 60-meters) with power supply (sold separately)

DETAIL:  The Realtek RTL8187L chipset, found in the ALFA AWUS036H USB wireless adapter, is quite power hungry.  That is, it draws much more than 500ma when operating.  USB controllers are rated for 500ma per port and most will shut down the port when the load exceeds ~550ma.  This causes a constant “on and off” cycling of the device in some cases.  The fix is simple… Purchase a POWERED 4-port USB 2.0 hub… one with an AC adapter to provide external power.  The AC adapter is rated to provide 2000ma of power to drive 4 ports @ 500ma each, but will supply a single port with up to 2000ma…. more than enough power to satisfy the Realtek chipset.  This has resolved the problems of performance and signal dropping for our customers.

 Posted by at 1:34 am Alfa AWUS036H, Troubleshooting Tagged with: ,  3 Responses »

RealTek chipsets RTL8187B, RTL8187L – observations

Jan 202011
 

Customer sent us these observations:

Having purchased and used the Realtek 8187B, 8187L, and now the new high-power (1000 milliwatt) 8187L wifi adapters from you I offer some comments from my experience.

1. On the same signal and under the same circumstances, the 8187B might offer 3-bars, the 8187L might offer 4-bars, and the new high-power 8187L might offer 5-bars on the received signal.  But that is misleading. I do not have a lab full of equipment, but after playing around with a dozen or so of these the past two years it appears Realtek is jacking up the bars without jacking up the performance.

2. The 8187B might show 1-bar on a signal but that signal is usable. The new high-power 8187L adapters I have are useless on anything under 3-bars.

 Posted by at 6:39 pm Chipsets Tagged with:  Comments Off on RealTek chipsets RTL8187B, RTL8187L – observations
Copyright © 2004 - 2024 Data Alliance lnc. All Rights Reserved