1

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but let's give it a shot.

My friend recently bought a used desktop build with Asus Gene V motherboard(link below) that comes with a mPCIe Combo Card that can be used as an adapter for mPCIe wifi cards, however it doesn't include antenna or antenna cable and my friend happens to have couple broken laptops lying around that should probably have working wifi cards and antenna inside.

enter image description here

So the question is the following, is it possible to salvage and use the laptop wifi card with the internal antenna and install it to the desktop build using the mPCIe Combo Card? (Assuming that the card is actually mPCIe.) Or at best case do we need to buy external antenna+cable? If that is the case, what does my friend, need to consider?

Also someone suggested it might be possible to use the wlan card without antenna if the transmitter is close enough, true or not true?

Motherboard: https://www.asus.com/us/ROG-Republic-Of-Gamers/MAXIMUS_V_GENE/

Ramhound
  • 41,734
  • 35
  • 103
  • 130
vitaenigma
  • 13
  • 1
  • 3
  • 1
    Yes you can, providing the antennas are not embedded on the laptop's main board. Also, if you extract the antennas from the laptop, you may want to find a way to expose them outside the desktop box. RF doesn't propagate from inside a metal case very well. – pythonian Jul 10 '18 at 22:02
  • @Ramhound I don't think it matters whether that's the *actual* expansion slot from the users motherboard or not. The question around it is plenty of information to go on. – Michael Frank Jul 10 '18 at 22:10
  • @MichaelFrank - I am going to delete my comment. I could have answered this question if I had that one bit of information. – Ramhound Jul 10 '18 at 22:19
  • If the internal antena does not work use one of these....https://www.amazon.com/CHAOHANG-Soldering-Wireless-Extension-Bulkhead/dp/B00MJU6X5U/ref=pd_sim_147_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00MJU6X5U&pd_rd_r=4c9469d3-8615-11e8-acf3-4d007e1e88bd&pd_rd_w=pP16p&pd_rd_wg=XYehe&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7967298517161621930&pf_rd_r=YDQCFP7AQFBAYYZVCTB0&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=YDQCFP7AQFBAYYZVCTB0 – Moab Jul 12 '18 at 20:51

1 Answers1

3

The mPCIe Combo Card from a broken or donor laptop should not be a problem, as long as it meets the physical requirements as it only takes a half-sized module (26.8mm x 30mm). You should also take into account the availability of appropriate drivers for your WiFi card.

From reading the manual, it looks like I/O Shield has two holes that you mount the antenna cable into:

Antenna connectors into I/O Shield

From there you connect the Antenna Connector cables to the mPCIe card:

Antenna connectors to mPCIe Combo Card

HOWEVER, it seems as if this cable will need to be purchased separately, as it is not listed on the Package Contents, and the manual specifically states this:

Antenna Cables purchased separately

Since these have a screw type fitting on one end (as shown in the screenshot above), you will more than likely need to purchase new antenna cables. I don't know enough about WiFi cables to say one way or another that using the existing cables from the laptop would work fine inside a metal box. I would guess that the PC case might interfere with the signal in some situations.

Michael Frank
  • 7,855
  • 2
  • 39
  • 52
  • So just for clarification what you're saying is that it's possible, but unlikely that we would be able to use the antenna/antenna cable from the laptop and have it functioning properly on the desktop PC? We will probably just buy usb wifi adapter then because we can get that for less than the price of new antenna and for my friends requirements the usb adapter will be plenty enough. – vitaenigma Jul 12 '18 at 04:00
  • @vitaenigma Yes, it is entirely possible to do. Laptop WiFi cards are normally not specially designed for the laptop they live in, so they need to have some flexibility with the systems they can work in. – Michael Frank Jul 12 '18 at 08:41
  • @michael frank. The cables you need for this are RP-SMA to U.FL. the antennas in laptops are usually zero gain (+0Dbi) but with the right cables going to the adapter (the ones you have an image of) +6 & +9 dbi antennas become trivial. https://www.data-alliance.net/rp-sma-to-u-fl/ +1 from me – Tim_Stewart Jul 12 '18 at 13:40
  • the antenna from within a laptop are small and should pass right though those holes and out of the case. Adding the screw fittings to the I/O shield provides a nice detachable connection though. – Baldrickk Jul 13 '18 at 11:57
  • @Baldrickk thx for clarification, that was useful information! – vitaenigma Jul 13 '18 at 12:46