Boosting your WiFi signal

[OFSO]

I saw a clip on YouToob where two geezers built a cardboard and alumimum foil parabolic segment reflector which clipped over the antenna on the WiFi router and boosted the signal in one direction by some amazing amount - they claimed.

I have my router affixed to the interior wall at one side of the house with the antenna about 5cms parallel to the wall and all users are on one side of that antenna.

So I bought a sheet of aluminum, bent it into a very precise arc (no not really, I just guessed) and glued it to the wall behind the router antenna.

The before and after results in our bedroom*, the furthest room away from the router, are that I now have one additional bar showing on my smartphone screen. For about €3, an easy modification to try if your WiFi rig is at one side of the house.

This is what it looks like: the erect black object is the router antenna, the box what it emerges from is the router itself, and the curved bit is the aluminum sheet. Signals are reflected towards the viewer (as it were).

Is that explicit enough ? If not, photographs may follow (*not of our bedroom, though, it's too exciting).



http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/ROBIN_100/07_27_0.jpg

[Ancient Observer]

Thanks.
Sounds like a great idea.
I bet Loose tries it and it takes about 3 years for it to work.

[Loose rivets]

The very day I was going to set up the two routers to relay the signal to me - I'd got a good signal at the relay point - said mate bangs on me door. His brother was willing to lend me his USB-powered boosted aerial. In combination with inSSIDer, I can position it for very fair results. As said ont'other thread, putting the thing on the floor didn't get more oomph, just a reduction of other people's signals. Since my old signal was so variable, I'd guessed it was other folk switching in and out on my channel.

A good reflector should have a distance from the aerial that's a sub-multiple of the wavelength. Ideally, the length would be critical, though I'm not sure how that works with a curve.

:confused: Erm, in the Gig range, I guess a sub-multiple might be a bit difficult. :p

[le Pingouin]

You're thinking of a single element "reflector". This is literally a parabolic reflector as per a satellite dish or radio telescope. Radio waves bounce off the surface & are focussed on the antenna. Get the shape right & position it correctly so the focus & antenna coincide or things won't work too well.

[Keef]

Reflectors should work if you get the size and shape right and put the aerial at the focus. You can also buy Yagi aerials for WiFi frequencies: they work well.

I've found that moving the standard aerial a few inches in one direction can improve the signal several bars, too.

[FullOppositeRudder]

Thanks OFSO - it's a simple addition to your system which has obviously helped. The basic design is widely used throughout many areas of radio signal work.

There is a fairly useful treatise on this subject - including pictures and some very imaginative design and construction considerations here (http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/).

Regards,
F-O-R

[OFSO]

Well, what I made wasn't trial-and-error, it was (a) measure signal strenth on smartphone in distant room (b) bend aluminum to what looks right and stuck it on wall behind antenna (c) go back to distant room and measure signal again, one bar more, hmm, not bad, can't be bothered fiddling about with it !

And on that subject: once upon a time it was discovered far too late, that a technician employed in a satellite cleanroom had accidently struck one of the axial thrusters on a shiny new spacecraft, knocking it skew-wise with a hammer while working on the transport baseplate. After launch, attitude manoeuvres went just fine. At the Board of Inquiry he explained he hadn't bothered to report the accident as, (and I quote) "I just tapped it back into place until it looked right again".

That's the way to do it !

[OFSO]

FOR, having looked at that link, my device is VERY similar. I mounted the router high up near the ceiling to avoid WiFi radiation coming through my head as I sit at the PC (yes yes, tinfoil hat and all that stuff) and it's in the rear corner of the house. Because of this and because it's glued on the wall I made it slightly asymetrical to include rooms "to one side".

Here's the photo: the aluminum sheet is so reflective what you see here is a reflection of the ceiling tile. The router is screwed to a bracket fixed to the wall, and the cables drop down in a duct to where the WiMax power supply and connector is located. The WiMax cable goes through a hole in the wall and up to the small quad antenna on the roof, pointing at a mast about 15kms away. Stains on the wall ? Where I had a massive cooling duct glued with silicone !


I have been all round the house and get improved signal strength, one thing I did not do (and wish I had) is check the before and after signal strength 'behind' the reflector.

Incidently I can receive a good signal from the harbour yacht marina WiFi about 5 kms away on my smartphone, next thing will be to build a yagi looking that way.

OFSO

http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/ROBIN_100/IMAG1453.jpg

[green granite]

How-To: Build a WiFi biquad dish antenna -- Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/how-to-build-a-wifi-biquad-dish-antenna/)

[tony draper]

Bah! nowt wrong wi a length of good honest copper wire.:rolleyes:

[OFSO]

Spent a pleasant afternoon on the terrace with an old laptop, a WiFi USB dongle on a lead, a sheet of aluminum, a collander, a strainer and a few other hemispherical objects. Signal gain improvement with even the most haphazard assembly was over 10% but signal quality improvement was far greater. Then Mrs OFSO came up and wanted to know what I was doing with her kitchen implements so I had to pack it in.

A great way to spend yet another cool grey Spanish summer day.

[FullOppositeRudder]

Then Mrs OFSO came up and wanted to know what I was doing with her kitchen implements so I had to pack it in.Alas I know how that feels. One is on the brink of a new scientific breakthrough and the equipment is repossessed for mundane purposes. :{

Thanks for sharing this with us - very useful (if simple) ideas for future challenges. Improving the WiFi signal can greatly enhance the end result. :ok:

Regards,
FOR

[mixture]

Concentrating your WiFi signals into a more focused beam sounds like a lovely way to get yourself a brain tumour.

[The Flying Pram]

I made this (http://i55.tinypic.com/wgruo8.jpg) to improve the signal from our bird nesting box camera, and also to reduce the interference being picked up from the microwave oven! The aerial came with the receiver box, and I've extended it with good quality 50ohm co-ax and SMA connectors. The gold plated plug body is in contact with the metalwork to help with the shielding.

[rotornut]

I'm always a bit nervous about sending out too strong a signal. Even though I have state of the art security there`s always a possibility that some evil-minded hacker could get into my system. So I turn it off when I`m not using it and keep the modem in a place where the signal is just adequate for the laptop in the next room.

[OFSO]

1) Safety: the WiFi router antenna is mounted about a metre and a half above my head, and almost directly above my head, antenna is vertical and radiating straight out, not down. So I think I'm in a side lobe if anything. The far more powerful WiMax antenna is maybe 5 metres above our heads out on the rooftop and is directional out over the rooftop to the east.

2) Security: the maximum available on this router. WPA-PSK etc. The name of the installation is also one digit away that from used by some ten or twelve municipal hotspots in the nearest town, 5kms away and 600' down the mountain. So not immediately identifiable to me or my house. A hotspot has just appeared next door with a very similar name but completely unguarded. Hopefully rather than trying to crash mine, people will use that.

Has anyone found some simple software which will show what a WiFi router is being accessed by at any time ? I too would like to know.

[FullOppositeRudder]

Has anyone found some simple software which will show what a WiFi router is being accessed by at any time ? I too would like to know. Both of my router devices have a page in their configuration menus which lists the "connected devices" identified with the MAC address for each connected device. It means rummaging around the menu systems which may have varying degrees of ease of interpretation. Hunting down the DHCP table should show this information

There may be external third party software which does the same thing, but I've found the router (sub)menu option satisfactory for my own purposes.

FOR

[FullOppositeRudder]

I'm always a bit nervous about sending out too strong a signal. Even though I have state of the art security there`s always a possibility that some evil-minded hacker could get into my system. So I turn it off when I`m not using it and keep the modem in a place where the signal is just adequate for the laptop in the next room. It's a good point. Using the most secure log in system goes a long way to ensuring that your system is intruder proof. Using a MAC address permissions table where possible and convenient is also an excellent further step.

Regarding levels of RF power and its effect on people in the vicinity, that's a subject which could involve a lot of ongoing discussion. These days we live in a world of almost constant RF exposure. I would still be more concerned about the long term effects of my constant companion mobile phone than that which involves the use of my WiFi system, even if I had the need to concentrate the signal on any given area where humans abound (which I don't). It's a big subject on which the (informed) jury is still deliberating!

I suspect that mostly, it's considered to be OK at the exposure levels encountered in the average home or office. However every so often information comes to hand which gives rise to some angst.

respectfully,
FOR

[Mr Optimistic]

I am not sure that 'bending' the metal is entirely necessary as in terms of focussing. A plane sheet of metal will act as a reflector giving a signal distribution that is the same as if you had two antenna, the real one plus its 'image' in the metal (as if metal was a mirror). If you put the metal too close to the antenna (near field) you will screw up the impedances and this would be a bad thing. Think you would want it a significant fraction of a wavelength away, which at 2.4 Ghz with c= 3x10^8 is.....a bit bigger than 0.1m so say a fifth of that, 20cm. Now the issue is how much of the radiated energy going 'backward' towards the metal is actually intercepted,so want a big sheet.

There is a 180 degree phase shift from the image (to null out the field at the metal), so side on will give no signal. So if you are trying for constructive interference don't forget to add a lamda over 2 to allow for this.

EDIt: In terms of health, can't say I would be too worried at the signal strengths involved. The most sensitive part of your anatomy (above trouser level) are your eyes. High radiation causes the humours in the eyes to denature and they go opaque as per cooked egg whites. So desist at the first signs of blindness would be my advice. Other thing is that I suspect half the wifi issues I experience are more to do with multipath interference than raw signal strength, though such interference will get worse at low signal levels. So, check out any big metal things (eg range cooker :*) in LOS between router and computer.

[OFSO]

page in their configuration menus which lists the "connected devices"

Thanks FOR, it's listed as DCHP Client List in my software which translates as connected devices. Not obvious but why name things the simple way ?!

[Mr Optimistic]

On my router it only lists DCHP clients, ie those devices for which the router has doled out an ip address. The computers with fixed addresses as set by me don't show up. Not the most useful of distinctions.

[OFSO]

Some aluminum sheet, a USB cable, a USB plug-in, epoxy all over the garage floor, and hey presto, 15 sources within view, one open down in the town (most towns here have free wifi).

This little device would fit very well inside a top hat, methinks, cable down neck into concealed netbook.......

http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/ROBIN_100/IMAG1461.jpg

[Mike-Bracknell]

Concentrating your WiFi signals into a more focused beam sounds like a lovely way to get yourself a brain tumour.

...along with being illegal. Expect a knock on the door from Ofcom*










(*or whatever they like to call themselves now)

[Cameronian]

Mr. Optimistic, I just venture to query your arithmetic in your post 19. Are you sticking with a fifth of 0.1 metres being 20 cms? I don't know about the original wavelength calculation so perhaps the wavelength was 1m and only finger trouble gave the 0.1 metre so perhaps the 20cms. is correct after all (but for the wrong reason!).

[OFSO]

...along with being illegal. Expect a knock on the door from Ofcom

Town Halls here in Catalunia - big, medium and village - have been falling over themselves to install free WiFi for the residents. The way it works is you pop into the Town Hall with your Padro', which shows you are registered in that Community, and they give you your password. And that's it.

Why do the Town Halls do this ? Estimates of costs, the Town Hall budget for the forthcoming year, etc., on which a juicy subsidy from the government of Catalunia is allocated to each Town Hall, are based on how many residents each Town Hall has registered on the Padro' so the more names they get, the better. And free WiFi which costs the Town Halls virtually nothing, is a good bait to dangle in front of the residents' noses.

Non-residents ? They just pop along to the local bar, since they are allowed to offer free WiFi to everyone who buys a drink.....

[FullOppositeRudder]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mixture http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.pprune.org/computer-internet-issues-troubleshooting/458649-boosting-your-wifi-signal-post6609114.html#post6609114)
Concentrating your WiFi signals into a more focused beam sounds like a lovely way to get yourself a brain tumour.
And then:


...along with being illegal. Expect a knock on the door from Ofcom*
Interesting. Not sure that it's illegal dunnunder. People are using dishes screens and yagis quite openly to squirt WiFi (and wireless internet) in the desired direction and have been for years.

So the use of signal enhancing devices for WiFI appears to be widespread in Aus without any apparent offense being taken by the authorities.

Perhaps they don't care. But somehow I don't think there's a problem.

[Bushfiva]

US EIRP is 4W for 802.11b, so you can probably run at full power with an antenna having 12 dB gain.

Much of the rest of the world is 100 mW EIRP, with Japan being at a slightly odd 10 mW/MHz & China being a flat 10 mW EIRP. In Japan, that means you can only use 50 mW even at 0 dB gain. In China, unless things have changed recently, you can't use any antenna above 3 dB gain. Dunno about Australia. Numbers are different for 11a, especially in the US.

[Mr Optimistic]

My arithmetic is ALWAYS suspect, and the theory can be a bit wobbly too, especially if I am too lazy to go read the books (which I am).

Edit: just been to look, erm mm not cm was the source of my embarrassment. :*

[IO540]

This is the most brilliant thing for boosting WIFI reception :)

It is quite small and nowhere near as directional as one might expect, but obviously you need to be discrete when using it.

I find just leaving it in a backpack is good enough, to pick up an unsecured access point.

It is one of the best things I have ever bought for travelling, and I pack it on every long holiday. Even in hotels with "free wifi" it has proved essential most of the time.

Wifi is becoming a rarity in Europe these days. On a recent trip to northern Greece (Kavala area) I found not one single open access point. Loads of commercial ones. Pretty obviously the operator did a sweep of the area and knocked on thousands of doors to get the residents to secure them.

Still, nothing beats an E585 (http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/4874/3-mi-fi-mobile-wi-fi-e585) with a local SIM. I got 3GB in Greece for 15 euros for 10 days. If you can get a local SIM like that, forget WIFI. In these "late developing" countries, 3G is almost everywhere - unlike the UK.

[Mr Optimistic]

Blimey, does this really put out 2.2 W ?

[OFSO]

Wifi is becoming a rarity in Europe these days

???????? Not Spain.

From my terrace I can 'see' about 10 wifi spots of which two are open (public service) and one more open (idiot neighbour). Most of the 'closed' spots only require you to sign up. Other towns in Catalunia are the same: Figueras has a good completely open system.

Most Spanish cafés round here offer WiFi for free.

IO540, buy it from amazon US, far cheaper. Or make a cantenna, then nobody will know what you've got.

[IO540]

How do you buy from Amazon US? I have tried that but they won't ship to a UK address.

[OFSO]

Ah, perhaps because I don't have a UK address.

I know it's an enormous thread drift, but when I order stuff from the USA to be sent to Spain it doesn't bother the Spanish authorities at all, but when I have items sent from the USA to the UK (even small very cheap items) they are frequently intercepted and have to be collected (usually unopened) from The Authorities so they can administer a slap on the wrist if necessary.

[sirwa69]

I tried this and then I tried a bigger ariel but in the end I just put in another wireless access point in the other part of the house.

[axefurabz]

How do you buy from Amazon US? I have tried that but they won't ship to a UK address.

You sure? I've had DVDs sent with no problem.

[Exascot]

I have just purchased a new laptop. The system is Win7. My office uses WIFI picked up from the office above (with their permission, included in the rent). It is too weak to pick up without boosting. I have been using a Realtek USB Wireless Lan Driver and Utility system with a booster and external antenna. The driver is a RTL8187_windriver. It will not work on Win7. I have tried every way to get a compatible driver for Win7. Have down loaded one, was told by the computer that it was not compatible and it would find me one on the internet that is. It did that, downloaded that and it still doesn't work. Any idea boffins? I can't run a cable from their system due to the distance.

I currently have to go up to the taverna above to work and this is not good for the liver ;)

[Mike-Bracknell]

Buy a Wifi AP that can do bridging, and bridge the existing wifi signal onto your AP. :ok:

[Bushfiva]

Win 7 driver is here (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=1&PFid=1&Level=6&Conn=5&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=true#RTL8187L)

[Exascot]

Bushfiva, Many thanks. I looked at this page and downloaded one but it didn't work. I am not very technical. Which one do you think I need?

I have just removed the driver which my computer thought that I needed it was: 'RTL818SE Wireless Lan Driver'

Thanks also for your advise Mike, but it was working fine on my other computer it is just a case of getting the correct driver, I am sure. The current hardware was not cheap and in this location takes weeks to arrive. I need to sort the problem out very fast.

[Bushfiva]

Either "RTL8187B, UI and Driver auto install package(Support XP/Vista/Win7) version 1181", or "RTL8187L Windows7 InstallPackage (Beta) version 1316(Beta)"

I don't know which would be most appropriate. If neither work, you may want to try uninstalling the existing driver before installing again.

But, I think RTL8187 is supported by Windows Update, so I don't know why you are having problems.

Edit: Your first post referred to 8187. Were you mistaken?

[Exascot]

Many thanks I am downloading the former now. I will let you know. As I say I was offered a fix (update) but it didn't work.

Yes I have taken off the duff one.

OK I did that, still no joy. I will try your second option tomorrow. Thank you again for you assistance.

Sorry, missed your question yes definitely 8187. I checked the original installation disk.

[hellsbrink]

Silly thought, exascot, but have you tried installing the driver in "compatibility mode"? Basically, you tell it that you're running Vista and it may work (suggesting this because doing that has worked for me in the past when W7 drivers were not available).


Of course, sometimes the Vista driver itself works fine too......

[Exascot]

Guys, thanks awfully for your help. I have now had a reply from the company a 'Fred' in China. He suggested that latter beta version as suggested by Bushfiva:

"RTL8187L Windows7 InstallPackage (Beta) version 1316(Beta)"

It still doesn't work.

I am reluctant to try a compatability mode. I am not that good with these things and with a band new computer I don't want to mess it up.

Another colleague has suggested that that the software on their site only works in the USA or Asia.

I have gone back to them and asked this question. Perhaps 'Fred' will come up with another solution.

In the meantime I have to keep working in the taverna above the office.

All other suggestions welcome. My bar bill is running up ;)

Thanks again.

Kind regards.

EA

[Bushfiva]

No, that's worldwide software. Is this an external dongle, in which case can you read a part number or anything off it?

You say you're "boosting". This means you have an external antenna plugged into a jack on the computer somewhere? If it's a new notebook and you're using internal wifi, then perhaps you can tell us the model number. Since it's a new notebook, I assume it's got internal wifi and you say you're possibly using a wifi dongle too. So you've got two wifi sources in there?

[Exascot]

Thanks again for continuing assistance. I must say that 'Fred' is being very helpful. Yes he says it should work worldwide. I then noticed this morning when looking at the spec that the software is 32 bit my laptop is 64. I put this to him he came back very quickly and said it should still work. So it must be the set up. I am not that technically minded I was trying it on the default setting. I obviously need to change something. I have just put this to him.

I am using a 'high power realtek 8187l usb adaptor external antenna' if you put this into Google there is a PDF file on the unit.

My new machine is a Toshiba Satellite LG 655-1GL.

My last laptop had internal WIFI as well and this system worked with it. This was VISTA. I had a software disc provided with the realtek gadget for VISTA. It worked straight away.

Thanks again.

[le Pingouin]

A 64-bit operating system definitely requires 64-bit drivers. That said the packages from the Realtek site would appear to contain both 32- & 64-bit drivers.

[Bushfiva]

OK, the driver called "UI Package and Driver (Support XP/Vista/Win7)11222010/1/2514684k
"
found here (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=1&PFid=1&Level=6&Conn=5&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=true#RTL8187L) should work for you.

Since it doesn'ｔ, I'd like to recap:

Does the driver install? If not, I'm stuck.

If you can't connect from your room but you can connect from the bar, there's a signal issue. Can you move and/or rotate the wireless hub, even if only a small amount? Does it make any difference? If not, continue.

Would you be comfortable downloading software that will tell you the signal strength of all sites in the area, in case you need to change wireless channel?

[Mike-Bracknell]

One other suggestion - if you can see but not connect to the wireless, have you checked whether your wifi card is set for UK/European operation, as it could be that the AP is on channels 12 or 13 (which are outlawed in the US).

[Exascot]

Does the driver install? If not, I'm stuck.

If you can't connect from your room but you can connect from the bar, there's a signal issue. Can you move and/or rotate the wireless hub, even if only a small amount? Does it make any difference? If not, continue.

The drive installs and says that it is working correctly.

The issue with the office is that it is half underground with a high window which is where my antenna is located. The source is on the roof of the building. If I stand on a chair and stick the laptop out of the window it works without the booster. However I find it easier and safer to work in the pub!

The card works OK here.

Thanks yet again everyone. It's a mystery - probably a very easy fix - we will see.

[Bushfiva]

This is not a driver problem.

[Exascot]

I think it's a settings problem