And crazy as it sounds, it seems to improve the signal at a location that was previously marginal. Formerly varying between "very weak" and "good" it now consistently shows "excellent." Is this a placebo effect, or does this little antenna reflector really work?
What say ye? Science or Chicanery?
Science. A ground plane improves wireless characteristics. In fact, using a "standard" shape antenna with a ground plane makes the antenna behave as if it were twice the length. This is why radio station antennas have wires buried radially around them in the ground.
My point is that a conductive medium is a conductive medium, regardless of whether it's aluminum foil or unobtanium.
Nope you are not immaging things I did this at my other house as I had the router in the lowest point of the house in a corner. This resulted in very pore signal strength on the other side of the house. Adding a similar antenna enhancement thing helped alot.
Hows the signal from the opposite side of the 'tinfoil hat'?
RossD wrote: Hows the signal from the opposite side of the 'tinfoil hat'?
Suck.
Yep it basically turns your wireless router's omnidirectional antennas into feed horns for a directional parabolic antenna. It'll improve range in the direction the parabola is open to at the expense of range in all other directions.
Dr. Hess wrote:RossD wrote: Hows the signal from the opposite side of the 'tinfoil hat'?Suck.
What! Pros and cons?!?! What's next? Ups and downs? 
Actually, the only other device we frequently use that is networked wirelessly is the iPad, and it seems to do just fine. The other three desktop workstations on the network are connected by good old wires (insert grumpy old man voice) and we LIKE it! So this little gadget really pumped up the signal strength right where we needed it pumped up.
while I was in Panama on one of the islands I recall going to a shop that the guy was using a pringles can as a wifi booster to pick up free wifi down the street...
As an added bonus, if you wear it on your head it keeps the government from stealing your thoughts....also...I ...um ...er...hang on, there's an unmarked van outside my house. I'm going to go check it out, I'm sure I'll be right back......
donalson wrote: while I was in Panama on one of the islands I recall going to a shop that the guy was using a pringles can as a wifi booster to pick up free wifi down the street...
Yep search for "pringles cantenna."
Or DirecTV bi-quad
I've got an airport extreme at my house without issues.....parents still have the apple time machine as theirs.....plus there is a wifi bridge from their house to mine(1/4 mile or so) as I have obstacles between my house and the tower our internet comes from.
Our ISP, and the wifi bridge are both just advanced versions of the pringles cantenna......
mine doesn't have an antenna. 
RossD wrote:Dr. Hess wrote:What! Pros and cons?!?! What's next? Ups and downs?RossD wrote: Hows the signal from the opposite side of the 'tinfoil hat'?Suck.
Chutes and Ladders
Bobzilla wrote: mine doesn't have an antenna.
It does, it's just internal.
Indeed it does work. Similar to taking a piece of card board, wrapping it in aluminum foil, adding some copper wires and placing it in close proximity to your terrestrial tv antenna.
I did this to get HDTV on my laptop and a few of us did the pringles cantenna to the one wireless router that was providing internet to 700 Airmen in tech school barracks.
This thread is interesting to me. My younger daughters laptop is giving us fits as far as wifi goes, and just today it occurred to me that her bedroom is at the opposite end of the house to the wifi, and she seldom cries and yells when she is in the kitchen with it...
How does one check signal strength? Wrap your head in copper wire and see how your vision changes as you walk around the house?
In reply to Streetwiseguy:
Pretty sure both Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP have a little tray icon that shows signal strength. Should be a way to check it from within the OS.
1988RedT2 wrote: In reply to Streetwiseguy: Pretty sure both Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP have a little tray icon that shows signal strength. Should be a way to check it from within the OS.
Windows 8 also. Right in the taskbar at the bottom of the desktop.
Thanks. I figured it might be like that. Sarah is running Win7, so we'll do a search when she gets home.
You'll need to log in to post.
