Wifi range booster for laptop/notebook?

[yangjay]

Hi. I'm currently have an internal wireless card and the range it can pick up isn't that great. I was wondering if there is anything out there that I can add onto my existing system to increase the internal wireless range, and if so, how far and any recommendations? I don't really want to mess with anything, like replacing the internal wireless card.

I currently have a Dell 600m - Pentium M - 1.6 Ghz - 512mb ram - XP Professional

 

[deathwalker]

You need a device refered to as a repeater or range extender. I suggest you go to Newegg.com or your favorite online site and search for one.

 

[Zap]

If you're really hardcore you would tap into the mini-PCI wireless card's antenna wires, terminating them in a small external connector (RP-SMA would work). Then you can use many off-the-shelf antennas, roll your own (I've made a few "cantennas" that worked great) and even use amplifiers (just don't tell the FCC).

An easier option would be to get a PCMCIA wireless card that has an external antenna connector. The forever-popular Orinoco/Lucent/Avaya Gold Card has this tiny proprietary connector that you need a "pigtail" to adapt to a useful size. Those cards are now discontinued and prices on new ones are going up, plus they are "B" only. There may be a handful of other cards on the market that can take an external antenna - you just have to look. Unfortunately they really are kinda rare, doubly unfortunate that most/all I've seen are "B" and not "G." You can get external antennas that clip to the edge of your notebook screen so that it doesn't really take up much more space - can go up to about 9dbi gain or so.

 

[corkyg]

Basically, extending the range of Wi-Fi is done at the server, not the receiver. You can try a bigger antenna, but that really is not very effective.