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FCC Allows Mix-and-Match Wi-Fi Antennas
Glenn Fleishman writes "We just filed a story at Wi-Fi Networking News about how the FCC recently and quietly approved rules that will allow the legal use of the Pringles can and other antennas. Currently, it's clearly illegal--even though it's incredibly easy--to swap out a manufacturers' antennas from a Wi-Fi access point with an antenna of your choosing. It's legal to sell antennas; not legal to deploy them. Call it the switchblade kit rule: legal to sell, but don't assemble. The FCC's new rule provides a middle ground: a manufacturer can certify their hardware with the highest gain legal antennas of each type (yagi, omni, etc.) and then end-users can swap in antennas of equal or lesser signal characteristics. It's an important move because it removes the potential for community wireless and individual users to be prosecuted for illegal antennas once new certifications are in place."
How is it clearly illegal? I didn't know it was illegal to use your own attenas?
Yes, because license-exempt transmitters ("Part 15" devices) are approved based on a specifc design including the antenna.
Once you modify a Part 15 device, such as by using a non-approved antenna you modify its RF characteristics which change important details such as how much Effective Radiated Power (ERP) which is limited to 4W in the US (many European contries limit WiFi to 1W ERP I believe).