Improving Wireless Reception

jacool

hi all,
have just moved to a house with very thick walls and am getting wifi from landlord who lives in house with equally thick walls. i can receive a signal and the internet when i sit on the stairs opposite his place, but while i find this appealing during the current balmy weather, i have a feeling i might not be so happy over the winter! i have an acer 8930G and was wondering if i could attach some kind of a booster antenna to improve my reception in nicer parts of the house. i'm not as thick as the walls in the house, but nonetheless would prefer not to have to open the laptop and wonder if there is a USB or some such connector available, or will i have to have a card installed?
thanks in advance for any assistance.

mehmeh12

What materials are the walls made of? metal/wood/concrete?

jacool

sorry, circa 1840 standard issue blocks. they are 2 feet thick in both houses and the distance between the house across courtyard is 30-40 feet.

mehmeh12

jacool wrote: »

sorry, circa 1840 standard issue blocks. they are 2 feet thick in both houses and the distance between the house across courtyard is 30-40 feet.

ah well then maybe you should get a n type router-i heard that the signal goes farther on those.

jacool

thanks.
am I to assume that it needs to be at his end to boost the signal, or is it at my end to improve reception?

mehmeh12

Yes ask your landlord nicely to get a n router so that you can connect-is internet access one of the terms of your accommodation contract?

jacool

Yes it is !
and i can't live without it really. i'll have a word.
thanks for the advice.

jacool

Been told to consider this as well. A solution one of my friends went with.
Might be something here for others with similar issues.

http://www.netgear.com/Solutions/HomeNetworking/PowerlineNetworking.aspx

ttm

WokFi might help Wikipedia and Original WokFi site

jacool

appreciated ttm !