Hello,

Can someone tell me what type of electical length does 802.11 antennas
(lambda/2, lambda/4, etc) have? The 2.4GHz has 12.5cm wavelength but
none of the rubber duck antennas that come with the wirless router have
a length of 12.5cm, 6.25cm, or 3.125cm, etc.

I recently purchased a 9dBi antenna to replace the 2.2dBi stock rubber
ducks. It also does not appear to measure in any n*lambda/4 lengths.
What puzzles me is that an outdoor $200 antenna of 3 foot long and a
$60 antenna of slightly less than 1 ft both have about the same gain.

And before the purchase I have tried to make a few higher gain antennas
out of a wire coat hanger in n*lambda/4 lengths but they don't have
much of an impact in signal strength. Why?

I did an antenna course years ago and remember the gain of a monopole
is related to its radiation resistance, which is proportional to
n*lambda/4 from what I can recall.

Thanks!