Cheap Broadband Range Extender

c - 13

I have a standard Eircom Netopia wireless router at home for the broadband.

http://www.netopia.com/equipment/images/npp/photos/2247front.gif
http://www.netopia.com/equipment/images/npp/photos/2247back.gif

The router is located in the hall near my front door. I tend to use my laptop in a room in the garden (about 25M away through a couple of walls), this is too far away to recieve the signal, the furthest away I can pick up the signal is just outside the back door.

Can anyone suggest a home remedy that might be able to boost the signal enough to pick it up in the other room ? I've tried moving the box to other pionts in the house etc to no avail, I've even tried wrapping the antennas in tinfoil and others like that.

Any suggestions that pervents me from having to buy larger antenna or a different router would be very much apperciated, the cheaper the solution the better obviously

Thanks

shoutman

Check this one out...
http://www.instructables.com/id/EQARE4I72GEPUCHTHU/

arseagon

One option would be to buy a wireless repeater for approx €100 or get one of these babies, connect it to the netopia and point it at the room you want signal in: http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=viewProduct&localeCode=EN_IRL&pid=1343
Shouldn't be more than about €25 IMO

For the real lifehacker in you try this site: http://www.techanvil.com/

There's even video instructions on how to assemble it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0uYtm-b3O4 (try to ignore the cheesy music at the start)

c - 13

shoutman wrote:

Check this one out...
http://www.instructables.com/id/EQARE4I72GEPUCHTHU/

I was looking at this one alright, Its a wireless card is internal, i'm wondering if its cheaper to buy the antanna than the wireless usb adapter ?

humbert

This site, and others like it describe how to boost the range of usb adapters but the same principle would apply to the router. If you've a wok or something parabolic and metal at home you can set the router at roughly the focal point and reflect the signal in the direction of the garden.

It may help and you don't have to take anything apart but the router also has to be able to detect the signal from the wireless card in the laptop which is often the bigger problem.

oscarBravo

A good antenna at the router will help it "hear" the wireless card more effectively. Antenna gain is reciprocal: if it improves transmit signal strength, it will improve receive sensitivity by precisely the same amount.

Bear in mind that increased gain isn't free. If you're increasing your gain in one direction (which is the whole point of a parabolic reflector) you're reducing it in others.

c - 13

Thanks there lads, I've been mucking about with a wok and a cheap usb adapter but i'm not having much luck. Ill let you know if I get anywhere !

MooseJam

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template2/index.html

got this link from the wireless forum, i have a eircom router myself and this works great, got signal to go from poor to good, give it a go its easy and really does work

alan4cult

You could flash the firmware with dd-wrt and then "overclock" the signal strength. worked for me but all routers aren't flashable. Lifehacker.com have posts about this.

red_ice

unscrew the antena on one of the wireless jobbie thingies, then tie some wire to it and leccy tape it to the inside of a pringles tube (which is lined with a foil). Then point it at where you want to send/recieve the signal.

Apparently it will boost the signal big time - i've seen it working, but have had no tests with it

Capt'n Midnight

alan4cult wrote:

You could flash the firmware with dd-wrt and then "overclock" the signal strength. worked for me but all routers aren't flashable. Lifehacker.com have posts about this.

illegal since it breaks EU eirp levels

and since it usually increases noise too not always a solution.

you could also get a wifi card with an external antenna too.

play around with the location of the router and horizontal / vertical / 45 degree angle on the antennas too - don't forget it may be easier to go through a ceiling or floor than a wall

Gone West

Pft this is tech stuff, not lifehacking!

Get a wok or a frying pan and place it about 6 inches behind the router, pointing at the place you want the signal extended to.

kirving

There is a setting on my router(d-link) that allows you to change the strength of the signal output, is it possible that you ruoter could be set on a low signal stregnth?

Capt'n Midnight

Kevin Irving wrote:

There is a setting on my router(d-link) that allows you to change the strength of the signal output, is it possible that you ruoter could be set on a low signal stregnth?

EU power limits are far lower than US limits. More power only means better signal if there is no extra noise, otherwise you are just interfering with other people. Try other channels first or reflectors or change the orientation from horizontal to vertical etc.

Case Sensitive

Its not pretty, and not all that cheap, but it works.

Get a wireless usb dongle for your computer and a 10 meter extension cord. This should get you in range of your hub.

Jonathan

You need a cantenna.

Brian

I did that Windsurfer parabola thing a couple of days ago, seems to have boosted the signal a bit.

Ricky91t

Baza210 wrote: »

I did that Windsurfer parabola thing a couple of days ago, seems to have boosted the signal a bit.

I tried it and my signal dropped!

luap_42

red_ice wrote: »

unscrew the antena on one of the wireless jobbie thingies, then tie some wire to it and leccy tape it to the inside of a pringles tube (which is lined with a foil). Then point it at where you want to send/recieve the signal.

Apparently it will boost the signal big time - i've seen it working, but have had no tests with it

Pringles cans internals are not metal, and don't give much boost to WiFi. You need to use a metal cylinder 3-4" diameter for best results. The longer the better.

Check: http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

Brian

Ricky91t wrote: »

I tried it and my signal dropped!

The precision of your aiming of the dish makes a big difference. My signal dropped too, then I went back upstairs, tilted it slightly and the signal rose.

oscarBravo

Baza210 wrote: »

The precision of your aiming of the dish makes a big difference. My signal dropped too, then I went back upstairs, tilted it slightly and the signal rose.

That's the nature of the beast. You're not amplifying the signal, you're focusing it. The total power output stays the same, so if you're not in a place where the signal is better, you're probably in a place where it's worse.