Octane
19th Jul 2005, 05:43
Hi all,
Has anyone had success with boosting the reception range of these adapters? The one I have has no plugs for an external antenna. Am I better off getting a USB adapter and making a homebrew 'dish' antenna? Its for my laptop, currently the signal is present but weak (slow and drops out).
Thanks for any ideas,
Octane
Conan the Librarian
19th Jul 2005, 12:55
Hello Octane,
Lots of options here and almost all, refreshingly expensive :-) Seriously, to increase the range, there are many options, but instead of applying at the Rec end, you apply them at the transmit end of the chain. There are signal boosters which are uni or omni directional, which isn't a bad place to start, if it turns out that you have to part with some folding stuff.
If your router is older than a few months, or is the ancient 811B variety, then a new one might help. Have a look at the Netgear MIMO routers which claim a significant increase in speed and range, for instance.
Finally, the free option. It could easily be that your router is placed in a less than optimum position. The signal might also be blanked somewhat in its current position. The basic rule is to get it high and to get it fairly central to its desired operating area. I would be surprised if a bit of effort here might not cure your problem. The Netgear, Linksys and Belkin websites might give some interesting bedtime reading.
Good luck,
Conan.