Wireless Lan Amplification for a laptop?

[gf4200isdabest]

Hey guys. Do you know if it's possible to increase the sensitivity on the recieving end of a wireless network (ie: a laptop) so as to be able to recieve signal from further away and/or make the existent signal be utilized better?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated...

 

[pm]

On certain wireless cards and base stations, there are internal (non-customer visible) settings to increase the transmission power to a higher value. For example, here's one for the Linksys WAP11. Search for your card and base station.

As a more expensive alternative, you could buy another base station and put it half way between where you are and where you are trying to go and configure it in wireless bridge mode.

Another alternative is the use of directional antennas on the base station, such as this cutting-edge Pringles can directional antenna. Using multiple base stations and directional antennas aimed at each other you can increase the range of a conventional wireless base stations substantially. IIRC, there are a couple of places in the US that are using 802.11b repeaters and cheap home-made directional antennas to increase the range as far as 25 miles. I seem to recall a story about Santa Catalina island having a wireless link back to Los Angeles using 802.11b and directional antennas.

 

[stranger707]

Your question seemed to ask how to improve the reception, not improve the tranmission power of a router or base station. For that you will need a better antenna, and to be able to install a better antenna on a laptop 802.11b PCMCIA you will have to have a card that allows you to connect an external antenna. Buffalo Technology, Orinoco and Zoom cards have a connector that allows you to connect the 802.11b PCMCIA card to an external antenna.

So, now you need to find a good external antenna. Try this site http://www.antennasystems.com/broadband.html#anchor932487
They have a variety of good antennas. The key to making it all work will be to make sure that the cable that you buy or make to connect the PCMCIA 802.11b card to this external antenna has the correct connectors on each end.

Buffalo Technology also has a few solutions, and here is one http://www.buffalotech.com/wireless/products/antenna/index.php

Here is a good web site that discusses range problems with 802.11b. http://www.practicallynetworked.com/support/wireless_range_probs.htm

Happy Hunting!

 

[pm]

Your question seemed to ask how to improve the reception, not improve the tranmission power of a router or base station.

Improving the transmission power will improve the reception. More transmission power equates to longer range and improved SNR at a cost of slightly reduced battery life. But the other two solutions mentioned (including yours) will improve reception as well - although they are more expensive than a software change (if that can be used)

 

[TGCid]

I think the reason he wants to increase reception power is because he has no control over the transmission base. I am a student of at UCSD and I am also looking into doing the same since I have no access to the campus servers.

 

[gf4200isdabest]

Yeah; I'm in the same position as TGCid. Anyone else have suggestions or experiences regarding this type of problem?

 

[ericboo]

Higher gain external antenna would be your best choice, assuming your PC card can take one. They are not that big and I can tell you from experience, that they do work. I have not tried it on a campus but it worked between me and my neighbors house.