Make your own Wi Fi Range Extender
Most of the people who use Wi Fi at home will experience slow connection before, this can be due to the signal being block by a wall or you are staying in a mutli storey house. A lot people will choose to buy range extender which can cost you like 50+ bucks. In fact a lot of range extender are mainly just large antenna or long antenna which you could build yourself. I have found a simple and easy DIY to build a range extender. This guide is from instructables. This Simple idea requires no modifications to a USB WIFI adaptor or your computer. You need only a few parts for this project and they all are pretty cheap.
Step 1 – Gather the items you need:
1 – Metal Strainer/Steamer
1 – USB WIFI Adaptor
1 – USB Extension Cable (I chose a 10ft long)
½” Drill Bit (I like to use stepper bits for metal)
Gorilla Glue (Epoxy works well too)
2 – Zip Ties
DIY pic 1
Step 2 -Drilling the Strainer/Steamer
Before you start drilling you have to remove the Center Post only apply to those people who steamer has one and drill a 1/2″ hole so that it fit just nicely for usb extention.
DIY pic 2
Step 3 – Glue and Zip-Ties
Insert the Female end of the USB extention into the hole you have just drilled. Then just apply the glue/epoxy and let it sit for 24 hours. This Creates a strong bond between the plastic and metal. Then used some tape to help hold the connecter in place while the glue cured. Be sure to apply glue to both sides of the connecter. Once thats dry the next day, zip tie 2 of the metal “ears” so they wont fold in on themselves when you use it.
DIY pic 3
Step 4 Finish it up and optional tripod mount
Finally plug the USB WIFI adaptor into the socket on the steamer and plug the other end into your computer. Test your new boosted signal strength and improved distance. by using Netstumber or Kismet.
Tripod mount is not a must but if you interested just pick hole near the edge of the steamer and use the drill bit i mention earlier on to enlarge the hole. Lastly just put the bolt from the tripod trough the hole and secure with the nut.
DIY pic 4
150Mbps WIFI USB WIRELESS LAN ADAPTER 802.11 B/G/N
DIY pic 5
Source: instructables
I have done this and was in disbelief when it did work.
once it gets wet you’re fucked
My Netgear USB wireless access point will not plug and play at over 2 feet of USB cable. That is perhaps why they provide a cord of that length with it.
This really works? I’m going to have to try this, considering I own all the pieces required. I have my router set up in my basement and get poor signal strength in the rest of the house.
I hope you don’t mind, but I blog about paying off debt and saving money, and I am going to link back to this since it is a money saving idea.
I spent $35 on a Belkin WURE, which acts as a repeater. More effective than an extender, assuming that it’s working right, which it usually isn’t. I need to restart the thing a few times a week.
I wish I’d known about this.
This is very neat. You can also make the parabolic antenna using chicken wire carefully molded to the correct shape. With good enough signal collection, you will be amazed at the number of open connections you can find.
I can get one here from a mall located some distance away. The only problem is it’s much slower than my own connection.
I use a wireless setup at home with one Apple laptop computer. What is the difference between what I have and WiFi? Then why would I subsequently want/need an extension?
Zach
If you think that your wifi connectivity is not so good when you are far away from your wireless router. Then you can consider getting a wifi range extender which is for boosting your router wifi signal.
I think you would need a powered USB hub to get maximum performance with that much cable.
@jas,
you know that water (like distilled rain water)
doesn’t conduct electrictiy and it’s just silly to say that?
^
Sorry to burst your bubble, but rain is FAR from distilled quality.
Yes, rain does start as vapor, which is distilled in the atmosphere, but it picks up alot of contaminants while it’s up there.
If it were distilled, rain water would not boil. Water only boils from impurities. Rainwater boils very rapidly
Point of the post? Don’t leave electronics outside that aren’t properly protected from the elements
@Jon
Agreed, don’t leave unprotected electronics outside. But distilled water most certainly does boil…in fact, any non-volatile soluble substance (salt for example) will RAISE the boiling point of water.
yes ok but this doesnt seem to work if you use plastic drainer