Does anyone here have a WIFI signal booster circuit?

[moody07747]

Im looking to build a WIFI signal booster so I can use my PDA upstairs.

our wireless linksys router is in the basement with the other desktops and the laptops/PDAs have a hard time working upstairs...even my sisters destop linked with the wireless.

If anyone has a WIFI signal booster circuit please let me know.

Thanks


BTW...when I say upstairs...I mean theres the blasement, middle floors...then the upstairs

 

[dknguyen]

That's weird. It seems to work just fine in my house where the router is in a tiny room in the basement and the laptop is in a tiny room upstairs. CHeck that celing for lead filling

Wouldn't it be much more reliable to buy a WIFI repeater (these reduce data flow though because they have to retransmit the information over the same radio spectrum)? Or do you want to hack the router to boost the signal?

Maybe an amplifier circuit with a separate power supply and a bigger antenna and jack it directly into the router?

 

[justDIY]

visit google for those oragami style passive reflectors, you print them out, fold them and glue on aluminum foil ... direct the energy you have into the areas you need, rather than just putting out more energy in all directions.

if you think about it, with your antenna in the basement, more than half your energy is directed into the floor of the basement and into the walls, only a small percentage radiates "up" ... if you build some reflectors, attach them to your antennas, and reflect all your radiation "up" you should see a marked improvement.

 

[dknguyen]

Antenna

Try building this antenna...I am not quite sure how it extends the range since it is passive and does not have more power than the original antenna. But there are commercial versions...but it doesn't seem so hard.



It seems that the antenna just replaces the existing antenna (assuming you can unplug your router antenna or hack into it)

 

[philba]

if you don't want to build an antenna, you can get a directional one one from linksys (I think) that will boost your gain in one direction. Some have a wider angle than others. There are other 3rd party ones that are available, too.

google for wifi antenna - lots of hits.

 

[justDIY]

bah to the cantenna, that's not what you need ... it's a highly directional antenna ... it may work on the receive end, but it won't help if your devices have built in antennas, which 99% do.

spend 5 min and make a set of these:

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

 

[Oznog]

A few notes:
1. I've not heard of a relay that can take a WiFi signal and reroute it on another channel. It can't rebroadcast on the same channel, then it wouldn't be able to tell the original router's signal from its own transmission.
2. WiFi devices broadcast at exceptional frequency and bandwidth requirements. It's not very practical to build something here.
3. The improvements must be symmetrical or it's pointless. I.E. if you found a button on the router to double the transmitted power, well, it won't help the router receive the laptop's signal. So it might not work at any transmitted power level.
4. There ARE external antennas for some routers. These will always improve both transmitted and received power and it can be very substantial. Not all routers have removeable antennas that you can replace.
5. There are wifi booster antennas too. These can make a lot of power. But I'm not sure how well they can amplify the received power.
6. You could run the ethernet cable(s) off the computer in the basement to a wifi router located in a better location in the house.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

A few notes:
1. I've not heard of a relay that can take a WiFi signal and reroute it on another channel. It can't rebroadcast on the same channel, then it wouldn't be able to tell the original router's signal from its own transmission.

I think Belkin do one?, receives on one channel and retransmits on another. Or you can get wired ones, simply run an ethernet cable to elsewhere in your house and add another transmitter - again, on a different channel.

 

[mramos1]

I built one shaped like a V you sat behind the antenna/ Easy to adjust it. And range was a little better. So the parabolic one is worth a try, easy to make. You just blow the drawing up so the 1 inch box measures 1 inch. I dug out a router just to try it. I have a cold, brains not working 100% so that is something simple to play with and not wake the family..

Yes, Belkin has one, I bought it in CompUSA. I saw no improvment, but could have been me. Bought the high gain antenna too, but it required a removable antenna which did not work out well).

Try the parabolic. Cut thick paper or thin card board, glue on some aluminum foil, make the little brace/antenna adjuster.. Guy even gives his calcs.

 

[phalanx]

I would just move your router as close as possible to the center of your house.

 

[stevez]

wifi

I attended a presentation to club members by some local amateur radio operators about a year ago. Part of the presentation dealt with the rules. I understood that commercial wifi equipment is approved for use as sold or as set up according to manufacturer's instructions. Adding antennas, amplifiers or other unapproved or home-brew modifications would then violate the rules. Realize that the presentation was very general in nature and that the "experts" weren't lawyers or regulatory experts.

They did go on to show how to improve things but only by licensed amateurs and only on the wifi channels that are part of the amateur radio spectrum.

This may be unimportant to some but I thought it worth sharing. I have similar problems with coverage within my house but my solution has been to sit in a different chair or at a different table.

 

[mramos1]

I will built the one antenna (fond by justDIY) and let you know if it works. I have an acre and a half, so I will not reach a neighbor.

I printed the template, blew it up in Photoshop, now to get cardboard, glue and foil. It already reaches everywhere I need, wood framed house, but maybe I will go outside more often. Will to test it anyway. I can go sit in the RV when the kids are driving me nuts.

 

[sparthacuz]

does any one know how to home-brew a 1 watt bi-directional 2.4 ghz amplifier? honestly i want to hack it to the linksys wrt54g router...

 

[Sceadwian]

That's illegal sparthacuz Part 15 FCC compliance requires power levels well bellow 1 watt. Most wireless routers I've used use SMA connectors and you can simply get an SMA extension cable to route the antenna say.. into a wall a floor above. You probably have nearby ductwork or something in the floornig of your house or the walls (electrical or HVAC stuff) that is interfereing with your signal. re-routeing the antenna a single floor up, inside the drywall of a room that has. Amplifying the power sounds like a quick and easy sollution, and it is. But 1 watt is at least twice the allowed output power on the 2.4ghz unlicend band (not including antenna directional gain) You could end up jamming someone elses wifi. Especially consider noise is amplified as well.

 

[sparthacuz]

thanks for the reply sceadwian, i never know that its illegal.. wow! i dont like massaging cold metal bars... how about if its lower than 1 watt say 0.25 watt? i would like to transmit my signal to other building aproximately 600 meters with a HVAC transmission line crossing at the center. do you think a 0.25 watt will do?

 

[tunedwolf]

You need a better, more secure way to do it, like a radio ethernet link...
Then stick another wifi node on the end of that for local transmission...
Wifi was never meant nor designed to span huge distances, any solution you come up with using Wifi will be a cobble together and most likely be unreliable.

 

[HiTech]

I built the parabolic reflector and it worked but was directional. Rather than that route it's far better to buy a ready made "gain" type antenna. I did that with a 2.4Ghz wireless video sender and it made a world of difference. They can be a bit pricey but they work, trust me!

 

[Sceadwian]

You'll get further by simple re-routing the existing antenna, or like was mentioned before purchase a high gain antenna, these increase the effective transmitted power, but are directional. The only other quick and easy option is a wifi repeater, just google it. Or ask at your local big box PC store.

 

[Analog]

Actually, the easiest method is to see if your wireless router has a hack out on the internet. I have a linksys, and a simple google search shows many such hacks that change the internal firmware to boost the output signal. These units have variable output capability that is programmable internally, and there are those hackers out there that provide you the means to do this. I never did this to mine, but I researched it, and since I do not have any issues with signal strength, its a moot point. Perhaps you should look into this.

 

[mramos1]

I have done the parabolic and it works. Not a lot but it works. The Belkin repeater did not work. The high gain antenna works, but directional as stated.

So the cheap and wasy is get some foil and cardboard and start cutting..