# WiFi Antenna



## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

I have my daughter connected to my home network!
Her house is approx. 200' away from mine.
At her end, I have a TPlink 722N (usb) connected to about 15' of coax cable, running outside to the TPLink antenna.
At my end I have a DLink N router. There is a direct line of sight, through a window, between the two.
The connection gives about 2 bars on the signal strength icon.
From time to time, if the weather isn't cooperative, it fails to connect.
I would like to install an antenna at my daughters end, that would give me a more reliable signal.
I would be interested if anybody knows of a suitable antenna for this purpose. Either manufactured or home built.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Here is a link to a wireless booster that will work better than the high gain antennas. http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-WSB24-Wireless-B-Signal-Booster/dp/B000085BD7


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

jiju1943 said:


> Here is a link to a wireless booster that will work better than the high gain antennas. http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-WSB24-Wireless-B-Signal-Booster/dp/B000085BD7



Thank you for the link! It never occured to me that electronic boosters were available.
Are thes located with the router or can they be located at the distant location also?


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

also look up directional antenna
http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wireless/directional-wireless-antenna.php

and for better reliability, you can hook up two wireless routers or access points as wireless bridges.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Client_Bridged


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I put the router at one PC and the booster at the other one.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

Thanks everybody for your tips. Lots of info to digest and it may take me awhile! When I make a decision and have tried it out, I'll post back!


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

URL did not work. Sorry. 
http://www.cricketusers.com/content/394-having-reception-issues-solution.html


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

sdsester said:


> URL did not work. Sorry.



??????????????? Worked for me! :yes:


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

sdsester said:


> URL did not work. Sorry.


It worked for me too.


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## Weird_T_Figure (Feb 2, 2012)

Wildie said:


> I have my daughter connected to my home network!
> Her house is approx. 200' away from mine.
> At her end, I have a TPlink 722N (usb) connected to about 15' of coax cable, running outside to the TPLink antenna.
> At my end I have a DLink N router. There is a direct line of sight, through a window, between the two.
> ...


Just run an ethernet wire underground... that's what I would do.

Chaining Wifi is bound to run into frustration.


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## DavesWS6 (Jan 25, 2012)

^ I agree.

I would just get a spool of ethernet cable and run it 6" underground, then connect it to a second router/switch for the connectivity in the second home. It will give a faster and more reliable connection for the secondary home. A signal booster is a nice alternative, but then you are ensuring that more people near your home are able to access your connection; even if it is secured, which any wireless connection should be, you want to minimize the amount of people who can be in range to see and possible access your connection.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

I found a simple, workable solution to my problem.

I made reflectors from aluminum sheet stock that are mounted 1" behind the Dlink router antenna's.
I cut the aluminum into 7" squares and bent them into a curve that had the cord about 2" from the aluminum.
To mount the two reflectors I cut styrofoam blocks to fit the curve and taped these to the reflectors, centered between the top and bottom.
I drilled a hole in the blocks and slid the reflectors onto the antenna's.

Originally, the signal was a maximum of 2 bars (40%) but with the reflectors it went to 3 bars (60%) and now connects reliably.

Total cost=$0


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

Wildie said:


> I found a simple, workable solution to my problem.
> 
> I made reflectors from aluminum sheet stock that are mounted 1" behind the Dlink router antenna's.
> I cut the aluminum into 7" squares and bent them into a curve that had the cord about 2" from the aluminum.
> ...


You must be an antennologist to think of something like this.
Amazing that it helps.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

titanoman said:


> You must be an antennologist to think of something like this.
> Amazing that it helps.


 I've been tinkering with using surplus satellite TV dishes for wifi, but had little success. With these I had to run coax outside to a dish and although they did work, the dishes weren't an improvement over the router antenna's. probably because of the cable loses.
With the antenna reflectors, there is no concern about cabling.


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## Ironlight (Apr 13, 2011)

I would bet also that the dishes are too large.

Given that N standard antennae are more complex than the older B and G antennae you probably did the best thing available by shielding/reflecting the existing hardware.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

Ironlight said:


> I would bet also that the dishes are too large.
> 
> Given that N standard antennae are more complex than the older B and G antennae you probably did the best thing available by shielding/reflecting the existing hardware.


 That may be the case. although i'm unsure just what makes the N routers have a stronger signal.
:huh:


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## pollostar (Mar 16, 2012)

You need a directional antenna .You can be used for point to point or some times multi point system.

http://www.igennie.co.uk/hp-support.html


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

Wildie said:


> That may be the case. although i'm unsure just what makes the N routers have a stronger signal.
> :huh:



Yes, you are correct! See my post #12 for how I solved the problem!


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## Total Tool (Dec 4, 2011)

Build a cantenna for a few bucks. Works great. :thumbup:


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