WiFi Antenna

After reading through some websites and gleaning information from different sources, I decided to experiment with some antenna design. Even though I don’t have much of an artistic/creative mindset I figured I had some tools and a roll of duct tape… so I gave it a go. The first idea I tried to implement was the Pringles “Cantenna”. It is a neat design, plus I was able to munch on some ketchup flavored Pringles for my first time here in Canada. To make a long story short… it didn’t work with my USB adapter… partially because I changed the design in the process. Probably not good, right? So moving on, I found an awesome webpage called Poor Man’s WiFi. I must say, this is a masterpiece of an idea. They simply took the dish concept, like from a satellite dish, and put a USB WiFi adapter to it using common household items. For my pseudo WokFi, common items I could find in my area happened to be a spaghetti strainer, rather than a Chinese cooking vat scoop.

Items I used:

1 USB WiFi adapter
1 Spaghetti Strainer
1 roll of duct tape
1 ruler

->
->
->
->

$9.99 ($29.99 mail-in rebate)
Free (graciously taken from wife)
$4.99? (I can’t remember)
$0.99? (I can’t remember)

While a permanent structure would have been sturdier, this one worked great. Check out the screen shot pictures. I was able to get a 24% increase in signal strength and 40% increase in link quality. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get Netstumbler to work with the DWL-122 USB adapter correctly, so I wasn’t able to capture decibel and wattage information. I have estimated by pacing that the distance the signal is traveling is 126.4 feet (38.5 meters). The signal is originating off of a DI-624 AirPlus Extreme-G router, and then travels through a window, across the yard, and another window.

For more information on DIY antenna design, store bought, and what others have done, visit the links below. There is a lot of great reading, especially related to the 2.4 GHz band with 802.11b/g equipment.

http://www.cantenna.com/
http://manuka.orcon.net.nz/
http://www.freeantennas.com/
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/
http://home.comcast.net/~troarty/wifi.htm
http://www.netscum.com/~clapp/wireless.html
http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448
http://reseaucitoyen.be/index.php?SardineCanAntenna
http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/DirectionalAntenna
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64440,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2