![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/hfield_wifire.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAuthor: Joe Moran
\nReview Date: 10\/6\/2009<\/i><\/p>\n
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Price:<\/b>\u00a0$59.00<\/p>\n
Pros:<\/b>\u00a0makes useable connections from Wi-Fi signals too weak for internal adapters to connect to or detect<\/p>\n
Cons:<\/b>\u00a0lacks 802.11n support; not available from popular retailers<\/p>\n
Sometimes you come to the realization that the equipment you have isn’t quite up to the task at hand. A good example (albeit fictional) is in “Jaws,” when Chief Brody tells shark-hunting fisherman Quint, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Similarly, when you want to access a distant Wi-Fi network or one with an otherwise feeble footprint, you can’t always count on a notebook’s internal wireless adapter and antenna to find it or pull in enough of a signal to make for a usable connection.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Wi-Fire Wi-Fi adapter<\/a>\u00a0from hField Technologies can greatly improve the ability of a notebook–or a desktop, for that matter–to find and make use of evanescent Wi-Fi signals. We first\u00a0reviewed<\/a>\u00a0the Wi-Fire over a year ago, but there’s now a new iteration (the third generation, model HFWFG200)–a more refined version of the previous design, which it replaces. Considerably more compact than its slab-sided predecessor–hField says the new model is 40% smaller and 30% lighter–at $59, the new Wi-Fire also rings up $20 less expensive.<\/p>\n The Wi-Fire is a USB-based 802.11b\/g adapter (alas, the Wi-Fire’s Atheros AR5007UG chipset doesn’t do 802.11n) paired with a high-gain directional antenna and compatible with Windows, Mac, or Linux systems. (Windows and Mac OS X drivers are included in the box, while Linux software can be downloaded\u00a0here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The Wi-Fire adapter and antenna are housed within a single trapezoidal plastic package which connects to an available USB port via a three-foot cable (the kludgy retractable cable of the previous model has thankfully been jettisoned). The Wi-Fire’s built-in plastic base has been redesigned and provides a very stable platform from which to aim the antenna on a flat surface. The Wi-Fire can rotate 360 degrees on its base, but positioning the device becomes a two-handed operation once the USB cable connector, which protrudes from the bottom of the unit collides with the adapter base (beyond about 150 degrees). The Wi-Fire base’s “feet” rotate downward allowing you to perch the device atop a laptop display for a bit of extra altitude, but it’s not a snug fit and can be somewhat precarious, especially if you tend to position the screen at a steeper-than-normal angle to the keyboard.<\/p>\nOut of thin air<\/h3>\n