News
New Linux drivers for ALFA AWUS036ACH, AWUS036AC, & AWUS036ACS
This fall, new driver packages were released for Debian based Linux distributions such as Kali for the ALFA AWUS036ACH, AWUS036AC, and AWUS036ACS.
PSA: Take care of your Helium miner coaxial cable!
Tightly coiled coax cable may already be damaged or could become damaged soon. It is important to coil 400 grade coax in a circular fashion that does not put stress on the internal copper coated aluminum conductor.
Stay on top of Helium Network & Miner Specific Issues with our New Alert System
Visit our new Helium Network and Miner Status page for the latest on issues with the Helium network. You can always visit https://status.helium.com for the latest on Helium network issues and the blockchain. However, with tens of thousands of Rokland antennas deployed across the country, our phone and chat support staff are in a unique position to identify and post about other types of issues not on the Helium status page.
Understanding Helium Antennas
How does antenna size correlate to gain?
Antenna gain does have a correlation to size to some degree, but gain is not a unit of measurement. Therefore, antennas that have the same gain do not have to be the same height, and a higher gain antenna can be larger than a lower gain antenna.
Understanding Coaxial Cable Terms: LMR. RFC, CFD, Oh My!
Coaxial cable terms like LMR-400 and RFC-400 can be easily understood by knowing what the letters and numbers mean. The letters indicate the cable manufacturer, whereas the numbers refer to the shielding grade. From the numbers, we can determine how much dB loss a cable has.
August Updates: ALFA WiFi Camp Pro 3, Helium Antenna backorders, and our SyncroB.it giveaway...
The great Adam Duritz said it's been a long December, well it's been a long summer, and there's reason to believe, that this fall is going to be better than the last! We have a lot going on here at Rokland Technologies and it's past time for some updates...
How to get the MAC address/MAC ID for your RAK 2 Helium Miner
Need the MAC address/MAC ID of your RAK 2 Helium miner for port forwarding purposes? It is as easy as pairing to the miner in the Helium app and going to Diagnostics. See our instructional graphic.
The Helium Halving is coming: what it means, and what you can do to maximize your mining
The "Helium Halving" is only days away at the time of video launch. We explain WHAT it is, WHY it is, and what YOU can do to keep on maximizing your HNT earnings going forward.
Introducing MPD-400 Super Flex Coaxial Cables
Need coax cable with more flexibility? We have you covered with MPD-400 Super Flex cables. Similar to Times Microwave LMR-400 Ultra Flex cables, MPD-400 Super Flex cables have the same thick shielding and gain loss rating as our popular RFC-400 and Times Microwave LMR-400 options, but are made with special materials and inner conductor that allow more flexibility.
Now accepting Coinbase Commerce at checkout!
You can now pay for your Rokland.com purchases using Coinbase Commerce. We currently accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, or USD Coin. Payment with Helium token is not yet supported by Coinbase Commerce. We accept all traditional payment methods as well, including credit card, PayPal, and Amazon Pay.
Phony antenna gain inflation is real: "honesty" from an online marketplace seller
We encountered a situation of possible gain inflation in an eBay listing last week and reach out to the seller. We were surprised with their shockingly honest answer about why they inflated the gain spec in their advertisement.
Win a SyncroB.it Helium HNT Miner! Don't miss out on this $650 value with three easy ways to win…
We decided to give away one of our SyncroB.it miner preorders! This is for the September production batch, currently a $650 value!! No purchase necessary to win, but there are some easy things you can do to join:
Maximize your Mining & earn money from Rokland with our Helium Affiliate Program
You know Rokland is one of the leading sources for both indoor and outdoor high quality Helium Hotspots compatible mining antennas, as well as low-loss shielded coaxial extension cables. These products help you extend the range of your RAK, Nebra, or Bobcat miner, and continue to boost your Helium (HNT) earnings.
We're just mad about Proton- ProtonVPN that is...
Rokland Technologies recommends ProtonVPN, a secure VPN that sends your internet traffic through an encrypted VPN tunnel, so your passwords and confidential data stay safe, even over public or untrusted Internet connections. This is a must for online banking or accessing medical web sites.
The easy way to install Kali 2021 on VMware so you can install AWUS036ACH on Kali
As the leading authorized ALFA Network distributor and brand partner, we know many of our customers are using their products in Kali Linux. Our newest Rokland Super Tech YouTube video shows you the easy way to get Kali 2021 up and running on VMware, and we also show you how to install and connect the ALFA AWUS036ACH to your virtual machine.
Boost the WiFi reception of your indoor or outdoor security camera with these ALFA Network solutions
Wi-Fi based security cameras are a necessity these days to protect homes and businesses. On larger properties, it can be difficult to get a strong enough signal to some cameras which can result in low quality video or skipping, possibly even outright disconnections.
New product: ALFA AWUS036ACH USB-C version now in stock
The ALFA AWUS036ACH USB-C model is the same model in all aspects as the AWUS036ACH but features a revamped connector on the adapter itself (a USB-C style input for the cable it comes with). The other end of the included cable is a normal USB type A male that goes into the standard USB 2.0 or 3.0 port on your computer.
Customer feedback on ALFA AWPCIE-AX200U 802.11ax WiFi card
If you are in the market for an ALFA AWPCIE-AX200U internal WiFi card upgrade for your laptop, but are unsure of what the upgrade process could entail, follow along with our customer Terry at Terry's Random Ramblings blog.
ALFA 4G-Camp Pro 2+ 4G signal booster: Getting Compatible Service and Understanding MVNO carriers
In this special podcast-style video, we cover everything you need to know about getting a dedicated line of service and separate SIM card for your new ALFA 4G-Camp Pro 2+.
Apple Mac OS 11: Big Sur compatibility update for ALFA AWUS036ACH & other Realtek based products
The following applies to Realtek 802.11ac RTL8812AU based products including AWUS036AC, AWUS036ACH, AWUS036EAC, Realtek RTL8814AU based AWUS1900, and Realtek RTL8811AU based AWUS036ACS...
New Product: Wi-Fi HaLow™ & LoRa compatible antennas are here!
Our new 8 dBi outdoor LoRa/HaLow compatible antenna operates on the 915 MHz band as is compatible with WiFi HaLow and LoRa applications. If you are a manufacturer looking for bulk or custom options, we can provide manufacturing made in Taiwan, China, or the USA depending on your need.
Announcing the launch of the Rokland Super Tech Channel: our newest YouTube Venture
We have been with our main Rokland Technologies channel since 2009. We grew immensely during this time to offer all sorts of technology products, from camping and boating WiFi boosters, to WiFi USB adapters designed for Linux and packet injection.
ALFA Tube-UNA and AWUS036NHA Atheros AR9271 products on Windows 10
The best driver for Atheros AR9271 chip devices, such as ALFA Tube-UNA or AWUS036NHA for Windows 10 is this driver. Note that after installing, the device will appear in Device Manager as "TP-LINK Wireless USB Adapter" instead of Atheros or Alfa. This is because TP-Link is associated with Microsoft as the Device Developer ID of the Atheros chipset.
Soon ALFA will roll the driver into their own branded release but until then, it will be normal to see the Atheros device identified this way in Device Manager after doing the driver installation.
We have tested the driver extensively and it works with well.
Video: See if the WiFi hotspots around you are 2.4 or 5 GHz on Microsoft Windows 10, Android, or iPhone
In this YouTube video from Rokland Technologies we demonstrate three simple ways to determine if the networks nearest to you are 2.4 Ghz or 5 Ghz. In January 2021, Xfinity began shifting their public WiFi hotspots to 5 Ghz only. This means computers with older 2.4 GHz-only WiFi devices will not be able to detect them. It may be time to upgrade your WiFi to a dual band 5 Ghz capable product.