As more and more devices choose to embrace the latest 802.11ac standard, there is a growing number of PCs and laptop devices where upgrading is not straightforward. A while back, we looked at a couple of different solutions to make your home or office computers faster – namely by using an internal card and antenna array for your desktop computer. Today, we look investigate a way to upgrade your laptop or notebook, this time using an USB-compatible device.
ASUS has been on the forefront of AC-enable networking devices and their router, so we are expecting great things out of the ASUS USB-AC53 Dual-band Wireless-AC1200 Adapter. The ASUS USB-AC53 adapter was designed to deliver the 802.11ac to any “legacy” device looking for a boost in speed. You can get the ASUS USB-AC53 for less than $50 right now from vendors like Amazon.com.
The AC53 works over an 802.11ac WiFi network so we expect to see a lot more speed out of it than we do our normal 802.11n devices. In fact, the speed rating for the 5GHz channel is 867Mbps, and 300Mbps for the 2.4GHz channel. Thus, the device is being marketed as a Wireless-AC1200 device (as opposed to our ASUS RT-AC66U Wireless AC1750 which gives a maximum of 1300Mbps on the 5GHz channel and 450 on the 2.4GHz).
The USB-AC53 is about half the size of a sharpie marker and comes with a USB extension cradle and cable so that you can easily attach it to your computer.
Featured Specifications:
Network StandardInterfaceAntennaOperating FrequencyProduct SegmentAC1200 ultimate AC performance; 300+867MbpsData Rate802.11ac : downlink up to 867Mbps, uplink up to 867Mbps (20/40MHz)UtilitiesWireless setting, Site survey, WPS WizardSecurity64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPS supportCertificatesCE, FCC, C-Tick, IC, IDA, NCC, PCTDimensionsWeightOS SupportWindows® 8 , 32bit/64bitWindows® 7 , 32bit/64bitWindows® Vista , 32bit/64bitWindows® XP , 32bit/64bitPackage Content Support CDUSB Extension cableWarranty cardLet’s take a look at what ASUS gives us in the box and configure the USB-AC53 for use!
We're in a day in age where battery powered electronics are just an annoyance to most of us. Charging, or even plug-in power is so much easier to use. Instructables user DIYHacksAndHowTos shows off how to convert those battery powered electronics to run on AC. Although the process sounds pretty complicated, it's not as difficult as you might think. It uses a voltage regulator circuit, , a switch, and a dummy battery system to take up space. The dummy battery also makes the whole thing removable in case you want to revert back to the batteries. As with any project where you're working with electricity, you'll want to be careful, but the process here is pretty straight-forward. Head over to Instructables for the full guide. Convert Battery Powered Electronics to Run on AC | Instructables via Hack a Day