degarb, I must warn you, I am no expert, and I slept at home last night.
I just like to tinker and play with stuff. I don't own much that hasn't been modified or "adjusted". lol So I don't know all the technical stuff on how it all works. It just works! ha!
So, It is a High Gain Yagi, It doesn't need the pole. That is a "accessory" I came up with. It comes with a mini, camera like, desk top tripod. So it can just be set on your desk. But I like to tinker, so I rigged up some poles. A chain link fence pole works excellent by the way.
So, for entertainment yesterday, I put the Yagi on a 30 foot pole and was able to log in to a Wifi signal right at 2 miles away. Connection strength was strong, but there was some latency. One issue I see is that I had to put two 25 foot USB cables together. I am sure at a 50 foot cable distance, there is some signal loss. The wifi signal travels at the speed of light.
Your performance will vary, due to weather, and topography, and other possible signal interference.
The key to this is to go SLOW. Once you get the pole raised, let the antenna point in a populated area for about 3 or 4 min, then only move it in say 10 mm increments. I went clockwise. It is a slow process, but it is amazing. At one point I had over 35 Wifi signals populating my list. Next is trying to see which are open. I look for Guest. Restaurants, are a good target too. Look for Starbucks, Taco-Bel, Wendy's and you get the idea.
"How to connect??" It connects directly to your device (PC, Laptop whatever) via USB. If that device has a Wifi hotspot, you turn that on, then rebroadcast the signal. Thats how I do it so the kids Wifi only iPad can get signal.
"How to tell which Generation is which??" My friend asked the same question, he said he called and was told they only have the newer generation now for sale. That was amazon. I can PM you a link to the listing sale that we used if you or anyone is interested.
Does any of that help give you a better idea??