Woktenna

Here is a pic of my semi professionally made (that is I spent time in the wood shop) dish setup for my D-Link DWL-122 802.11b 11 Mbps USB Adapter:

usb-wifi-wok-dish-closeup.jpg

To develop this dish setup, I did the following:

  1. Used ideas from http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/
  2. Mostly the focal point math from http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/usbscoop.jpg
  3. Took a wok lid and removed the wooden handle
  4. Cut a small length of wood (a) (this gets the USB dongle to the calculated focal point)
  5. Cut a small block of wood (b) (this connects the dish to the camera stand)
  6. Drilled the appropriate holes into the the two pieces of wood
  7. Put a long screw into the block of wood (b) that extends through the other side (this joins the length of wood (a), dish, and block together)
  8. Embedded a nut the size of the camera stand’s butterfly bolt into the block of wood (b) and used a hardening putty to keep it there
  9. Put two thumb tacks into the length of wood (a) to hold bands around the usb dongle

The whole setup collapses in seconds, is aimable, portable, and gave me terrific gain… though I don’t have comparison screenshots. This is a great setup for a laptop on the go trying to get the distant wifi access.

usb-wifi-wok-side-by-side-cantenna-wrt54g-bridge.jpg

Here, the woktenna is seen by the Cantenna. I had the Cantenna hooked up to a wrt54g running dd-wrt as a wireless bridge to another access point.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 10th, 2006 at 7:03 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Woktenna”

  1. David Says:
    July 24th, 2009 at 11:48 am

    How does performance compare with your cantenna? Or maybe that’s an apples and oranges comparison because you’re using the USB dongle and connecting the cantenna to a totally different adapter.

    Anyhow using a wok cover is a great idea. Bet it’s aluminum, which is probably better than steel for this. Do they sell these covers separate from woks?

  2. Karl Herrick Says:
    July 25th, 2009 at 8:23 pm

    I acquired this wok lid from a friend who was willing to part with it. Prior to receiving it, I don’t think I have ever spent so much time in the cookware section of the department stores around where I live.

  3. WLAN: Günstig mehr Reichweite | Bloggergruppe.de Says:
    February 7th, 2010 at 8:50 am

    […] an. Für sogenannte “Woktennas” reicht aber auch etwas handwerkliches Geschick: http://karlherrick.com/dev/2006/02/10/woktenna/ http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/ Categories: Allgemeines Tags: Kommentare (0) […]

  4. Lulu Says:
    February 18th, 2010 at 7:14 am

    How does it work with a 3G modem?

  5. Karl Herrick Says:
    February 24th, 2010 at 10:04 am

    I imagine it would work fine. The only consideration I would take in to account is the different frequencies that 3G operates on (800/1900 MHz etc.). Also, I think for practical reasons, you would probably only use this from a fixed location with the frequency of your local tower already known. Would the focal point math have to be a little different than if using 2.4/5 GHz WIFI?

    Here’s someone who has done it: http://geobray.com/2010/02/07/woktenna-for-3g/

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