WIFI RANGE

[jx2mad]

My situation is that my daughter is trying to use her laptop through my wifi setup. However the range is too far for a good signal. It is impossible for her to bring her computer closer and I cannot shift mine or the wifi modem. Is there any way of boosting the signal. She uses a laptop but is in her study.
:):):)

[Barefoot Dave]

Mate, sme rules as any other radio transmitter；
Relocate the antenna to give as close as possible to line-of-sight
Minimise absorbtion by walls, se above
Use more power, some (most?) wifi units have variable power output. Note- you may give your neighbours more signal than the other end of your house. PASSWORD!! You should also make it invisible.
When all else fails, add a repeater. These can be had for ~$100
Hope this helps.
Dave.

[isuzurover]

Or the cheap option, drill a few holes and run a cable between the modem and her room.

[101RRS]

Wifi will transmit over the whole house and around the nearby neighbourhood. If you are not picking up the signal there is an issues with either the modem or the WiFi in the computer.

You should have no issues.

Garry

[Benz]

you can get wireless routers with different strengths of wifi output.

what kind of router do you have and how far are you trying to transmit?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I would suggest a large tin foil reflector,,
but you guys would probably laugh:angel:

[goingbush]

I would suggest a large tin foil reflector,,
but you guys would probably laugh:angel:

dont laugh, it works
get a parabolic dish, a wok will do

get somone to hold it behind the router so that the signal bounces off it into the direction of the laptop, once you got the best signal then work out a way to set it in that position.

you could also buy a Linksys WAP repeater / range extender

[Ferret]

Wifi will transmit over the whole house and around the nearby neighbourhood. If you are not picking up the signal there is an issues with either the modem or the WiFi in the computer.

That's pretty much what I thought also. We have no trouble around our house using WiFi -all walls are brick (double brick in some cases) and line of sight distances to some rooms would be ~ 20 meters in some cases, plus can see the neighbours networks.

Interference may be an issue. Is the modem or your daughters laptop located near another device generating RF radiation, ie cordless phone or something like that.

[isuzu110]

Jaycar have a wifi extender Universal Wi-Fi Extender - Jaycar Electronics (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=YN8360)

[DeanoH]

Poor wireless signal may be due to signal quality as opposed to strength. Electrical interference is quite common from compact flouros and cheap Chinese LED lighting. Try turning all your lights off and see if this makes a difference. Another cause of poor signal could be interference from a neighbours wireless equipment. Try changing channels in your router and see if this improves things.

As for tin foil reflectors (as opposed to hats :p), I once had a customer who used a pair of USB WiFi adaptors (the ones that look like a large USB stick)mounted in the middle of a wok. Line of sight it worked very effectively over a distance of about 1/2 Km between two PC's.

As mentioned earlier some wireless routers have variable output. ie. The original Telstra 2-wire brand routers when cranked up from default gave in excess of 10 dB gain, but remember this does not affect the transmit power from the laptop back to the router.

Deano :)

[mattyg]

Aldi have range extenders on sale on Saturday $30ish

[slug_burner]

I went the passive solution and got a higher gain antenna. It is just a longer stub, it is probably a stacked co-linear array, couple of bucks on ebay from Hong Kong. The repeater sounds cheap enough but you will have to find somewhere to put it and power it etc.

I got something like one of these babies

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/491.jpg

and if all else fails get on of these, although it will be as much trouble to find the space for as the repeater.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/11/492.jpg

[jx2mad]

As it is my post I will change the topic slightly. Is there any provision on a laptop to fit an external antenna?

[austastar]

Hi,
most are in the lid behind the screen, I'm not aware of any external antenna as such.
You can get a receiver that will put the signal down a normal network cable, which is sort of what you may be wanting to do.
cheers

[EchiDna]

you can get a USB wifi adapter/dongle with external antenna... pringle can cantennas work too ;-)

How to build a tin can waveguide antenna (http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html)

[jx2mad]

Well I made a reflector from cardboard and alfoil from kitchen. Worked fine for a few days... now I have no wifi at all. How could this cook the transmitter?

[EchiDna]

weirdness - have you rebooted the router/access point??

[jx2mad]

Yep! Rebooted everything .Router works ok for my desktop pc, but no wifi

[p38arover]

Aldi have range extenders on sale on Saturday $30ish

See ALDI - special buys from sat 24 nov - hurry, limited stocks in store* (http://aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_24418.htm)

[jx2mad]

Thanks Ron. Just my luck...sold out. Jim

[p38arover]

Thanks Ron. Just my luck...sold out. Jim

I'll have a look tomorrow at my local Aldi. I want one.

I didn't get there today as we were waiting for this guide dog puppy, Eloise, to be delivered to us:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[Discomark]

Also try a different channel as most routers seem to use channel 6 by default so you may be sharing a frequency with a neighbours modem. If you have access to an Android phone you can download an app called "Wifi Analyzer" that will give you an idea of what channels are in use and not in use around you.
Its also worth trying a few different channels as a cordless phone etc may also be interfering. You can also use the App to do a bit of a site survey by selecting different channels and checking which one has the best signal strength at the other end of the house.

Cheers
Mark

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I'll have a look tomorrow at my local Aldi. I want one.

I didn't get there today as we were waiting for this guide dog puppy, Eloise, to be delivered to us:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=53628&stc=1&d=1353742573

My apologies to the OP,,
stop arguing Ron,,
you are a nice guy,,;)

[MickInTheMud]

Puppy.

Ron wins.