Any tips to get a stronger wifi signal?
 

I have to use next doors WiFi until my new broadband provider get their asses into gear and my internet goes live on Monday. I just cant get it above 2 bars and it craps out every few minutes.

I have tried all the things I can find on Google. Even some weird thing with a beer can.

Nothing really works that well.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Years ago, I was in the same situation. I went to Fry's and picked up a large Hawking antennae and that allowed me to go from 1 wifi option to like 200. LOL

Worked quite well.

This is the model I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Hawking-Techno...s=Hawking+wifi

Get bigger Athena :D i have similar problem when i try to connect from my 2nd floor in house, really dont see how can you do it with some "inhouse upgrade"

Great, that pointed me in the right direction.

Thanks

use a bigger antenna or use a wifi relay

Ask your neighbor if you can crash their until Monday. :)

I have one of these for my laptop and it works great. 98% link strength on my network and in the high 80's-90's of networks around me. My built in card only gets like 20-25% strength to those same networks.

http://www.amazon.com/Alfa-AWUS036H-.../dp/B002WCEWU8

pringles can

I used to set up wireless extenders for businesses every now and then, worked well! (apart from when the cleaners switched them off)

That "beer can thing" (a waveguide) gives 8db gain (about 8 times as much power) if you use the right can and measure very carefully. I used a certain tomato sauce can to get about 1.5 mile range with 802.11g.

The waveguide needs to be pointed directly at the other antenna and that's true of any "better" antenna, except one that's simply longer. Different antenna designs increase range by being more directional - they work better in one direction, worse in others.

If you look up at a radio tower, you'll see professionals use exactly two antenna designs. Most of the antennae on the tower are simple poles like what came with your router or wireless, called dipoles. Broadcasters use those because it's the best design for sending and receiving in all directions. The professional ones on a tower may have some horizontal elements add to the bottom, called a ground plane, but otherwise they are identical. What that tells you is that pros know gimmicky antenna designs are bullshit. For coverage in all directions, the only thing better than a dipole is a bigger dipole.


The second type you'll see on a commercial radio tower is the parabolic dish, which is the best design for pointing directly at the other station. They are best known for their use in picking up one specific satellite they are pointed at, giving them the name "satellite dishes".

If professional broadcasters use those two designs, that tells you gimmicks are just that. Marconi, Tesla, and the whole of the US military R&D budget for communications and radar already figured out the best antenna designs, so don't buy any "breakthrough new antenna technology".