Boost Wifi with a beer can

Okay, I had to share this with you folks.


http://dsc.discovery.com/gear-gadgets/boost-your-wifi-signal-using-only-a-beer-can.html#mkcpgn=otbn1

Thanks for sharing it.

same power, just more of it going in one direction instead of 360°.
If you have a wifi connection behind that reflector, you probably won't be able to connect.

in other places and apparently it can make a significant difference.

Pretty damn funny.

If you are mobile, an omni-directional rubber-duckie works much better.

The Wi-fi that is built into most laptops is designed to operate in an office environment. The power output is rather limited at 50 Milliwatts and the antenna gain isn't that great. If you go out on the street as in OWS, the results are going to be rather underwhelming. The early feed from OWS is a good example. Now that they have their act together, it's much better.
USB wireless adapters with removable antennas are inexpensive. I purchased one recently that has a 1 Watt power output and came with two omni-directional antennas, one with 6 db gain (4X) and one with 9db gain (8X). The cost was less than $20., shipping included.
I use the 6db antenna at home and the 9db mounted on the dashboard of my POV when mobile. In any reasonably built up area, I can stay connected continuously while traveling. The omni-directional antenna allows me to connect to hotspots and stay connected as the vehicle travels down the street. As one signal gets weak, another hotspot takes over.
If you are at a fixed location and the distance to the nearest hotspot or repeater is more than an omni-directional antenna can handle, then a directional, high gain antenna is called for. A 23db (250X) gain Yagi can be purchased for around $30. These are also good to avoid jamming, since they can be pointed directly at the hotspot while ignoring interference from other directions.

I took a plastic CD case -- you know, the kind that covers a pack of 50 CDs on a spindle base -- and wrapped aluminum foil around one half of it.

Worked fine, but it was temporary, until I got around to moving my router to a better spot.

Oh darn!

Never tried it tho.

:shrug:

:tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :silly: :tinfoilhat:

shorted out a good router and wasted a can beer!

:)