Cost-effective way to boost your WiFi signal

[etalianstallion]

http://osiris.urbanna.net/antenna_designs/projects/template/

Okay, so if nothing else, this gave me a good laugh for the weekend. I have yet to try this myself but certainly will do when I get some time.

And of course this gives us a good reason to get some Pringles. :)

[msprague]

hmmm.
Well, I am glad that my house is small enough that I don't have to worry about boosting my signal. :roll:

[seanturner]

Yeah, there are quite a few sites which deal with creating your own antenna. There are a lot of how-to's on how to turn a pringles can into a directional antenna that gets ranges of around 1 mile! I've never tried it myself but will do so as soon as i get the time.

[JackTheTripper]

I've been looking for something like this for some time. There is one spot in the house where the signal is sketchy at best and have been thinking of just buying another router and a kind of bridge or even a second DSL modem. But I really just could use a boos in the signal by just 10 or 15 feet. I'll try this and report back incase anyone is interested.

[spinedoc]

1 mile? There is no way, otherwise I would make an antenna since I only work less than a mile from home!!

Yeah, there are quite a few sites which deal with creating your own antenna. There are a lot of how-to's on how to turn a pringles can into a directional antenna that gets ranges of around 1 mile! I've never tried it myself but will do so as soon as i get the time.

[Ocean]

1 mile? There is no way, otherwise I would make an antenna since I only work less than a mile from home!!

Yeah, there are quite a few sites which deal with creating your own antenna. There are a lot of how-to's on how to turn a pringles can into a directional antenna that gets ranges of around 1 mile! I've never tried it myself but will do so as soon as i get the time.
San Diego wireless net installs 72-mile, 2.4-GHz link. Ofcouse it is line of site. But you can make directional antenas that can easily go past a mile. There are plenty of web site that will show you how to build them.

San Diego Article
http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,75830,00.html

[Sheynk]

Make huge antennas with aluminum foil and stick it to your antennas...that will boost it for sure :roll: :roll: :lol: :D :D

[kinged]

What do you guys think of this?


http://www.dlink.com/products/wireless/dwl800ap+/

[davea]

I just added the D-Link DWL-R60AT "Single Patch Flat Antenna" to
the back of my Netgear MR814 (in place of the Rubber Ducky).

Cost was $30 from Amazon.com and antenna gain of 6 dBi was claimed.
It did boost the signal stregnth and is very pleasing to the eye!

Will work with any Wireless accesspoint / router with a "Reverse SMA"
connector on the rear panel.

[Sven Johannsen]

Keep in mind folks that mother nature and physics are stingy. Gain typically comes at some cost. In most of these cases, for passive boosters, the cost is directivity. The rubber ducky antennas that come with the APs are omni-directional, a pattern that is kind of like a dough-nut stuck over the antenna, all the way around and up and down to some degree.

The patch antenna adds some directional characteristics. Out in front of the panel, you get more signal strength, off to the sides, you will get less than before. With a parabolic reflector, you will get very little behind it.

Think of it like a light bulb. A naked one in the center of the room lights the whole room. Put a reflector on one side and it gets brighter on one side, and darker behind the reflector.

So placement is something you need to think about. Where are your receivers in respect to the pattern produced by the antenna(s).