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Increasing your wifi signal strength

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  • 18-09-2010 6:33pm
    #1
    BogMonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 356 ✭✭


    The routers eircom provide have 2 antennas but the signal is always weak in my house for some reason. I was looking into ways to increase the signal and found a few methods. The first one involves making reflectors and placing them behind the antennas. I made a couple like these
    cimg3902.jpg
    but out of heineken cans. I didn't notice a significant increase in signal strength though.

    Another method I came across involves a tin can and Nintendo DS Wi-Fi USB adaptor. The tin can acts as an antenna for your computer and you use the Wi-Fi USB adaptor to connect it to your computer. I wanna try this one out but haven't found a DS Wi-Fi adaptor yet.

    Has anyone here tried a method that works?


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    #2
    KennyLegend
    Registered Users Posts: 291 ✭✭KennyLegend


    BogMonkey wrote: »

    Has anyone here tried a method that works?


    Linking up another router with it and placing it elsewhere works. Connect them both with an ethernet cable (youd have to conceal the cable somehow).
    Set the same ssid on both and the same encryption. just make sure theyre on a different channel and they should roam fine.


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    #3
    Fuzzy Clam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,293 ✭✭✭Fuzzy Clam


    BogMonkey wrote: »
    The routers eircom provide have 2 antennas but the signal is always weak in my house for some reason. I was looking into ways to increase the signal and found a few methods. The first one involves making reflectors and placing them behind the antennas. I made a couple like these
    cimg3902.jpg
    but out of heineken cans. I didn't notice a significant increase in signal strength though.

    Another method I came across involves a tin can and Nintendo DS Wi-Fi USB adaptor. The tin can acts as an antenna for your computer and you use the Wi-Fi USB adaptor to connect it to your computer. I wanna try this one out but haven't found a DS Wi-Fi adaptor yet.

    Has anyone here tried a method that works?
    You may have the focal length wrong. Try spacing the reflector a bit further.


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    #4
    BogMonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 356 ✭✭BogMonkey


    Fuzzy Clam wrote: »
    You may have the focal length wrong. Try spacing the reflector a bit further.
    Yeah I can't really shape the dishes I'm making out of the cans, they keep bending into parabolas. I'll test them out with a laser pointer.


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    #5
    Fuzzy Clam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,293 ✭✭✭Fuzzy Clam


    BogMonkey wrote: »
    Yeah I can't really shape the dishes I'm making out of the cans, they keep bending into parabolas. I'll test them out with a laser pointer.

    Parabolic is good. I meant to say space the antenna away from the reflector a bit.
    The laser pointer is a good idea, I think.


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    #6
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    KennyLegend wrote: »
    Linking up another router with it and placing it elsewhere works. Connect them both with an ethernet cable (youd have to conceal the cable somehow).
    Set the same ssid on both and the same encryption. just make sure theyre on a different channel and they should roam fine.

    That won't work, You need to stop one of them being a router by disabling dhcp and not using the wan port (turn it into an access point) otherwise there would be a huge ip conflict with both wan and lan in the same subnet and both giving out dhcp leases


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    #7
    KennyLegend
    Registered Users Posts: 291 ✭✭KennyLegend


    PogMoThoin wrote: »
    That won't work, You need to stop one of them being a router by disabling dhcp and not using the wan port (turn it into an access point) otherwise there would be a huge ip conflict with both wan and lan in the same subnet and both giving out dhcp leases

    Of course, forgot that bit!


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