Ideas to boost your WiFi signal

Antenna on the Cheap (er, Chip) article shows how to build a simple “classic” WLAN antenna from Pringles potato chip can. I have built antenna based on this plan (some improvising) and I can say that it worked. Besides WLAN I have used it for wireless video at 2.4 GHz.

Cantenna article tells that in reality Pringles tube is too narrow to be practical. However, a cantenna can be made from various cans or tubes of an appropriate diameter.

802.11b Homebrew WiFi Antenna Shootout has some interesting reading on various DIY WLAN antenna options and how well they perform.

How to boost your WiFi signal with a beer can shows with several pictures how a beer or soda can can be converted to a WLAN signal booster antenna.

12 Comments

  1. luxury blog says:

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    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Cheap biquad antenna extends LAN between apartments
    http://hackaday.com/2012/11/27/cheap-biquad-antenna-extends-lan-between-apartments/

    The antenna itself is about one meter of thick wire bent into two squares which are 31mm on each side. The coaxial cable going to the router connects to the center portion of this antenna. For a bit better directional reception he added some tin foil as a reflector. Since this is outdoors he used a food storage container for protection

    Reply
  3. www.ziare.asia says:

    Everyone loves it when individuals get together and share opinions.
    Great site, continue the good work!

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Covering a 40k-sf warehouse with one access point
    http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-20/issue-12/features/covering-a-40k-sf-warehouse-with-one-access-point.html

    One of the most difficult indoor spaces to fully illuminate with wireless (WiFi) signals is the typical large, multi-aisle warehouse. The product racks between aisles look like variably reflecting and partially leaking walls to the passage of 802.11b WiFi signals in the 2.4-GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band. Many WiFi companies suggest dividing the floor area by 4,000, or even 3,000, to estimate the number of access points needed—assuming that “RF (radio frequency) overkill” will be necessary to get signals through products on racks.

    Even if an extensive site survey is performed in a facility and multiple access points are deployed in what seem to be the best locations, areas of weak or no signal coverage can occur as products are added or changed on rack shelves—which, unfortunately, is what warehouse owners want to do. What’s needed is a new yet proven antenna strategy that is optimized for warehouse WiFi coverage.

    New technology

    If all the aisle antennas could be fed from a common (single) access point, or one or two more for backup, and each aisle employed a directional antenna pointed down its axis, the need to try to propagate signals through the clutter of products on rack shelves would be eliminated.

    But how do you connect all those aisle antennas together along a warehouse cross-aisle that may be hundreds of feet long, without high loss of signals in the process?

    Inexpensive waveguide systems recently have been developed to give value added resellers (VARs) a new tool to solve difficult WiFi distribution problems. They have been in development and testing for several years, and are designed for 2.4- and 5-GHz indoor applications where most WiFi systems are being deployed. The attenuation of the 2.4-GHz waveguide is less than 0.5 dB per 100 feet, or less than 1 dB per 200 feet—a typical run feeding multiple aisles in a warehouse. The new waveguide technology is completely passive, meaning no amplifiers are needed anywhere in the system.

    The waveguide, acting as a signal backbone across a warehouse, is placed under the red iron along a cross aisle at the ends of the product aisles, or in a pass-through aisle in the middle of a group of aisles. Nothing else is required in other areas.

    Because the signal loss in the waveguide itself is extremely low, the system can be viewed as an almost lossless “bus” that divides the transmit power input to the waveguide to all of the antennas attached along the “bus.” Think of it as a set of wide-area wireless track lights. Variable signal couplers, adjustable over a 40-dB range, are placed in the waveguide at locations close to each aisle center. Each coupler’s output is then connected to a warehouse-aisle-optimized high-directivity antenna aimed down each aisle. The warehouse is thoroughly covered while providing a system efficiency (total power to antennas vs. waveguide input) that typically is greater than 80 percent.

    Yes, a single access point can cover an entire warehouse at 11-Mbit/sec 802.11b. This new method of signal distribution uses a purpose-driven design to place excellent signals throughout all work spaces. It performs well with any standalone or controller-based commercial-grade access point that uses external antenna connectors. A single AP is sufficient to cover the area shown, but a total of two or three APs with adapters can be connected to a single waveguide system, if needed, to provide backup for the first AP and/or additional bandwidth. And fewer APs means fewer, or no, controller ports. ::

    Reply
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  6. Wireless Router Booster says:

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  7. Shin Luisi says:

    How do i log on to a internet wireless server on my psp when it needs a WEP code or something?

    Reply
  8. Lael Latona says:

    i would like to set up a webpage, or group for children?

    Reply
  9. Earle Lampert says:

    What actually is a Wifi Hotspot, and are they free to use?

    Reply
  10. Emma Valent says:

    I need help connecting my Nintendo DS to the Wi-Fi network?

    Reply
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