A PocketPC and a Pringles tube

[Chubbergott]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/36202000/jpg/_36202803_pringles150.jpg

It would seem that, armed with a PocketPC, a wireless network card and an empty Pringles tube, you can hack into a wireless LAN from a long way away!

Click here for more (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1860000/1860241.stm)

[Brad Adrian]

Well, it's not the Pringles can that allows you to hack in, per se. There are ways, though, to use such stuff to greatly extend the range of a 802.11 radio.

[Jason Dunn]

Yeah, all the Pringles can does is act as an antenna - a piece of metal would do the same thing. :-)

[seanturner]

What are some of those ways to extend the range of 802.11b anyway?

[Steven Cedrone]

I have been curious about this as well...
Do you:

1) Try to extend the power at the Base station.
2) Try to extend the receive ability of the client. (Receivability, new word!!!)

I have a D-link 713P, can the antenna be replaced?. on the Client side, I have both Symbol and D-link cards, how do you extend their capabilities?

Just wondering, my WAP is at one corner of my house, my clients are one floor away (at opposite sides of the house).....

[seanturner]

I have been curious about this as well...
Do you:

1) Try to extend the power at the Base station.
2) Try to extend the receive ability of the client. (Receivability, new word!!!)



In kinda answer to my own question, I have heard of one guy who drilled a hole in his Apple Airport Base station and attached a directional antenna to it. He then somehow attached another directional antenna to his laptop and affixed it to a park bench about half a mile from his house and is able to access his network from the bench. This is a friend of a friend thing so my friend could be full of crap, but, it could also be true.

Also, I know the Orinoco cards have the ability to plug in an external antenna, and that the Linksys base station has standard sized antennas.

But, my question still stands: how have other people been able to increase the range of 802.11b?

[Terry]

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html is a very good site to learn about increasing 802.11b range with a directional antenna.

802.11b runs in the 2.4 GHz range, so it's important the antenna length matches the wavelength. This is the same range as many portable phones, garage door openers, and other wireless devices. An interesting site with more is http://www.netscum.com/~clapp/wireless.html. Pay attention to the FCC regulations mentioned on the site if you decide to modify stuff. FWIW, microwave ovens use about the same frequency (see http://www.howstuffworks.com/microwave.htm) 8O. Imagine the trouble WiFi or 802.11b would have if vendors called it "microwave" wireless networking :oops:!

Most PCMCIA 802.11b adapters have a fixed antenna...some serious hacking-up of your card would be needed to add an external antenna :( . One exception is the Orincco (Lucent) series.

Some "base station" access points can have their output power increased by changing software configuration (software for the Linksys series is available around the Internet). There are also commercial access points with higer outputs. I tried upping the power on my Linksys...didn't make a bit of speed or distance difference using my Linksys PCMCIA or Symbol CF WiFi so I turned it back down (always a good idea to use the lowest output power you can...think about those microwaves).

[seanturner]

Thanks, I took a look at sites on Google and your links and I think I'm going to build a Pringles Can antenna so I can be ubber ghetto nerd. :D

[peppejeppe]

This is a very illegal way of geting "free" broad band... but my WLAN card does has some serious problems answering packets from my "ment to be ISP" The "ISP" is using some sort of Cisco router, and my "noname" WLAN card looks like it doesn't use the same standard. Or more liley... Cisco has (as all big dudes on the market) made there own standard and my poor WLAN card is following the standard as a whiped slave, the last sentece is just my guess... I have monitored the trafic and have seen several "junk packages" coming from the Cisco.... I have problems understanding what the Cisco wants me to answer... is there some one around that knows Cisco, so I can get my lovley "broadband" working :wink:

So what I like to do is to write a "emulator" that lets my WLAN card start writing junk to the Cisco, so the Cisco route thinks my WLAN card is a nice fella (Cisco router)

[seanturner]

Are you sure the cisco card is doing this? Isn't the Cisco equitment compatible with all other wi-fi certified devices? It doesn't seem logical to me that they would do this...

[seanturner]

Speaking of Cisco, there is a comerical Cisco wireless bridge solution meant to bridge buildings up to something like 15 miles apart... Although it must be terrible to install since I believe things like the curvature of the earth become an issue at that point.

[yunez]

wait--dont you need a way to hook the pringles antenna to your WiFi card? I dont know of any CF wifi cards that have the necessary jack

[seanturner]

wait--dont you need a way to hook the pringles antenna to your WiFi card? I dont know of any CF wifi cards that have the necessary jack

That would be a problem. You would need an card capable of handling an external antenna. The Proxim Orinoco PCMCIA card comes to mind as one that would work and also has a pocket pc driver.

[vincentsiaw]

Thia is cool, i don't really care about the technical part, just the fact that snack tube can extent or hack wi-fi network is so cool!!

[JackTheTripper]

I'll be trying this this weekend. I have a room in my house where I don't get a consistant signal. Really annoying. Works for a while then I can't get a sig without stretching. If this even boosts my signal 10 or 15 feet it will be worth it.

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

P.S. Pringals can's seem very popular. Doesn't help the image of the fat slob of a computer geek, does it. :(

[ux4484]

As I understand this is very directional on the receiving end of things and is often done router to router to share a broadband connection.
There are a number of setups with pringle cans from rooftop to rooftop claiming blocks long ranges.

I'f you'd like an "official" one, look here:http://www.cantenna.com/

[seanturner]

As I understand this is very directional on the receiving end of things

Can antennas like this are going to be very directional in both the transmit and the recieve which is why it is only good as a point to point solution.

[JackTheTripper]

Although the Parabolic antenna is still directional, wouldn't it be LESS directional than a can antenna?

[ux4484]

Can antennas like this are going to be very directional in both the transmit and the recieve which is why it is only good as a point to point solution.

:? Isn't that what I just said? :)