Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Improving your WIFI router's signal strength

I've been going crazy these past few days because my siblings purchased a new router and its signal isn't nearly as strong as the old one.  I won't go into the details why this change was necessary though, you don't need to know that hehe.  As for the new router, it's a TP-Link TL-WR740N, which has favorable reviews.  It's cheap, it has bandwidth management, and it's Draft N compliant.  Downside is, the antenna is non-removable, so you can't change it.  Now ever since it came on, I've been getting disconnected left and right.  I guess I can't completely blame it, as my laptop's miniPCI wireless network adapter is almost 8 or 9 years old.  Nonetheless, I didn't experience this with the old router (D-Link).  So how do you improve your router's wifi signal strength without spending a lot of money?  Easy.

Introducing:
The Alien-thingy parabolic DIY wifi antenna booster!

Well, that's really not what it's called, but that's what my nephew likes to call it.  I searched Youtube and out pops this video about a crazy DIY wifi antenna booster that supposedly worked, and worked well!  I was intrigued.  All it took was cardboard, scissors, tape or glue, aluminum foil, and a little perseverance (I have a lot of that!).  Here's what it looks like:


Anyway, my nephew didn't believe that this thing works, so I took a snapshot of the signal difference using inSSIDer.  Here's the snapshot:


So there you have it, concrete proof that it works!  That's the poor man's way of improving wifi signal strength using everyday materials and a little perseverance and patience.  For you DIY freaks out there who would like to give this a try, here's the link: Free Antennas.  If, on the off-chance that you don't have the patience, I'll make one for you (for a small fee, of course), easy-peesy!

Check you guys out next time, take care and happy new year!

jon

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