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Cheap Wi-fi Antenna
AgentBryant
CTRegistered User regular
CTRegistered User regular
I've been looking to build a cheap wi-fi antenna ever since I've read this. I have a usb adapter and plenty of usb extension cables of various lengths, but my problem is finding the appropriate dish. I would prefer to find a parabolic metal strainer so that I can easily cut a hole in the middle to feed the usb cable and attach supports without too much trouble. I have no idea where I can find such a thing though.
The best I have right now is a sort of parabolic pot lid (similar to a black teflon coated pan), which hardly does anything. The current setup is a router across the house to which the usb adapter picks up no signal at all. With the pot lid and adapter placed approximately at the focal point, it picks up an intermittent signal so it knows the router is there, but it isn't strong enough to hold a connection. I've also noticed that using this setup with a router thats one room away, and point the dish in the opposite direction, there is essentially no signal interruption caused by the lid, so I feel that it just has horrible reflectivity (or I have no idea how microwave radiation works).
I should note that I'm building this simply because I can, so I don't want to move the router or adjust the power at all (or buy an actual high-gain antenna).
The best I have right now is a sort of parabolic pot lid (similar to a black teflon coated pan), which hardly does anything. The current setup is a router across the house to which the usb adapter picks up no signal at all. With the pot lid and adapter placed approximately at the focal point, it picks up an intermittent signal so it knows the router is there, but it isn't strong enough to hold a connection. I've also noticed that using this setup with a router thats one room away, and point the dish in the opposite direction, there is essentially no signal interruption caused by the lid, so I feel that it just has horrible reflectivity (or I have no idea how microwave radiation works).
I should note that I'm building this simply because I can, so I don't want to move the router or adjust the power at all (or buy an actual high-gain antenna).
AgentBryant on
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