Wifi Booster

[thedi]

I live in my house 50 km from Khon Kaen city. There is a nice big garden with a pond, shadowy trees and a cool sala about 100 m from my house. The sala stands in the middle of the pond, it can be reached over a small bridge. The sala and the bridge are made of concrete and both have a roof made of metal frames and tiles.

I also have a great MacBook running with MacOSX. Now I would like to use this MacBook in said sala near my pond - with internet.

Problem: the wifi station is in my house. Its signal reach some of the garden, but is too weak for a reliable connection in the sala. I guess one of the problems is the metal of the sala's roof. Another may be that 100 m is probably the limit of my wifi station.

Has anybody experiences with wifi boosters?

I have the only wifi in our village. Hence problems with other wifi owners should not be a concern. I also could use a booster where the antenna bundles its signal to one side (my garden), but not to one point, because there are several places in the garden where I would like to sit and play the internet. Depending on the sun and wind - this or that place may be preferable.

Thanks for any tips.

Thedi

[FlatOut]

Haven't tried this yet but.... http://www.ehow.com/how_5390718_make-wifi-booster.html

[innerspace]

If you have a fairly recent (2007+) macbook it will support wireless n.<div>If your current router is b/g then upgrade to an n and this should improve the range.</div><div><br></div><div>Otherwise apples airport express will extend the range of either an airport extreme or express network.</div><div>And of course there are other (cheaper) ways to do this with non apple technology but it won't play so nicely with your macbook.</div><div><br></div><div>Some info on your current wifi setup will help give further advice.</div>

[surayu]

Hi!, i just bought one of this yesterday, on the datasheet it says can cover distances up to 30km range, it has a switch as well that will disable the internal antenna and let you use an external one, so i also bought an 170 cm omnidirectional antenna to couple with it, everything for less than 10.000 baht, it's seems to work nicely with my satellite internet connection (IP-Star, the infamous ILLEGAL satellite)

http://www.engeniustech.com/datacom/products/details.aspx?id=314

[welo]

Other options are

* Setup a wirless Access Point as repeater (that's basically the generic term for what innerspace has suggested AFAIK) - a repeater is an Access Point that picks up the signal and retransmits it on a different channel. Only thing you need is a power source, no LAN cable connection.

* external antenna or antenna replacement for your current router (but don't expect wonders)

* Moving your current router/access point to a different location - remember that walls will degrade the signal significantly, maybe you can provide a line of sight from your AP into your garden.

If money matters I guess that you should find a solution for much less than 10.000 THB (n-router 1600-3500 THB, Access Point repeater maybe 1500 THB, indoor version though), though surayu's solutions is a cool setup for sure!

Make sure you check out this topic which is basically about the same question.

Edited July 1, 2010 by welo

[bagheera]

 you can buy wi fi antennae that plugs in to your usb, the version  that i have looks like oversized flash drive, costs around 1500 bht.  Make  a   'satellite' dish with a vegetable strainer and incorporate antennae into this. I boost  2mbs to 18mbs with this method, it's cheap too.Check out  'cantennaes' on the internet for variations. Good luck.

[thedi]

Thanks for all the good advice.

I will try this reflector suggested by FlatOut first. I have an uncontrollable affinity to things made of card stock paper and scotch tape. If it does not work as desired, I will opt for a repeater.

Regards to all experts

Thedi

[Glimcoil]

If the booster doesn't work, then consider replacing the antenna on your wifi access point. Are the antennas permanently attached? If not, then it would be easy to have them replaced with better antennas.

Make a pic of the connector or take the accesspoint to the friendly neighborhood computer store and see if they have replacement antennas. Look for something like a 8dB antenna.

Another choice is a external WiFi adapter for your Mac. Try to get one based on the Ralink RL8781L chipset which should work fine on the Mac (however you need to download some drivers for it).

There are multiple companies making them. Here is one from Alfa (from amazon): http://www.amazon.com/AWUS036H-Wireless-Adapter-Network-Antenna/dp/B000QYGNKQ

Just look for a similar looking one and 500mW or higher and you'll be set.

(I remember to have seen them at the Central Mall in Khon Kaen)

- Martin

PS: I'm actually doing something similar in a small village outside Kalasin - just figured out to share some internet with the friendly neighbors. However I'm using a professional outdoor amplifier from Hyperlinktech with a large 12db outdoor antenna. Gives wifi reception for the whole neighborhood.