Modified case for TP-Link TL-WA850RE WiFi Repeater

thingiverse

Here's a pretty rough, but functional case I threw together to house a modified TP-Link TL-WA850RE WiFi repeater. The WA850RE is an inexpensive 2x2 MIMO wall-wart-style N300 WiFi repeater that suffers from having tiny PCB antennas. It's range and usefulness can be dramatically improved by adding external antennas, however the factory case is sonic welded closed, and even if you managed to get the case open without totally destroying it (highly unlikely) there is no good place to mount external antennas. Enter this Thing! I left off screw closures in my design, and chose to just tape it closed with Gorilla Tape for simplicity's sake, but this will hold the circuit board safely, provide mounting holes for high-gain RPSMA antennas, and an entry point for an A/C power cord. This isn't a project for someone who isn't prepared to solder surface-mount size connections and deal with naked A/C power (the built-in power supply in the WA850RE is hard-lined into the case and the A/C leads must be cut and re-engineered to fit in the modified case) but the results are a cheap N300 repeater with truly excellent range. https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-TL-WA850RE/dp/B00E98O7GC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=WA850RE&qid=1550593771&s=gateway&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CPQM5MV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 There are pads on the WA850RE's board that could accommodate U.FL Mini PCI connectors, but I just cut the pigtails and soldered the naked wires from the micro coax directly to the board. Range is very impressive with the above linked antennas.