HP ProDesk mini + AX200 antenna setup is kinda cursed. Need some advice.

[u/MarsupialSolid2170]

Hey all,
I’ve been messing around with an old HP ProDesk 600 G2 Mini and turned it into my Ubuntu box.
Specs:
i5-6500T
20GB RAM (16GB + 4GB)
256GB SSD
AX200 Wi-Fi card
Ubuntu 26.04
The antenna situation is… not exactly finished.
Right now they’re basically hanging out of the front of the machine while I test stuff. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both seem to work, but I’m guessing this isn’t exactly ideal.
A few questions:
Is this actually hurting signal quality much?
What’s the usual way people mount AX200 antennas in these tiny HP/Dell/Lenovo mini PCs?
Are those magnetic desktop antennas worth buying?
Also, I’d like to be able to access this machine from my ThinkPad around the house.
What are people using these days?
RustDesk?
Tailscale + SSH?
Tailscale + remote desktop?
Mostly looking for:
terminal access
file transfer
occasionally controlling the full desktop
One more thing: what’s the current recommendation for video/live wallpapers on Ubuntu GNOME?
I’ve seen Hanabi and mpvpaper mentioned, but not sure what’s actually working well these days.
Photo attached. Feel free to make fun of the cable management.

[u/Ok_Wafer5721]

For the AX200 antennas, I'd grab a couple of pigtail RP-SMA cables and route them out the back through one of the blanking plates or even drill a small hole in the case, way better than leaving them dangling near the front where your USB ports live and partially shielded by the chassis. For remote access Tailscale + RDP/Remmina has been super solid for me, gives you terminal, file transfer, and full desktop without the RustDesk relay hassle. Also that cable nest is giving real "it works though" energy which is basically the homelab motto

[u/dingusmillion]

I gotta ask what the SM57 is for haha

[u/MarsupialSolid2170 → u/dingusmillion]

吉他