Wifi booster?

Richard_T_

Im looking into boosting my wifi signal power, ive tried a repeater, but with mixed results - however after searching online ive come across a device that will increase the signal form the router by 2watts
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008YSIAE8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004GL7EJY&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=045RVER95ETG62ZW2CST

Does anyone have any experience with these in line amplifiers?

GunJack

not directly, but if your router has sma connectors on it's antenna, try saving yourself £28-odd and get a 10dBi-gain antenna from hong kong off ebay (around £1.70 delivered), will probably work just as well if not better... did for me

pogofish

Its dead easy to make your own boosters from scratch using simple materials - Beer cans, foil cards, old dishes, bits of metal etc. Try searching for all sorts of designs for varying levels of ability.

bluesnake

GunJack wrote: »

not directly, but if your router has sma connectors on it's antenna, try saving yourself £28-odd and get a 10dBi-gain antenna from hong kong off ebay (around £1.70 delivered), will probably work just as well if not better... did for me

I bought myself one of these yagi from ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4GHz-25dbi-Yagi-Wireless-WiFi-Antenna-RP-SMA-Female-/390485661193?pt=UK_Computing_Boosters_Extenders_Antennas&hash=item5aeac25609

It was a pile of poo! Bad design, just looks the part, but rubbish. It was not directional and offered no gain and no side channel blocking either. My 16" omni gives a measurable better signal reception.

However the 18 element I bought did work far better, but did expect more. Also unlike the driven element had a black 'something' in the middle - could be a balun? plus all the directors were not all spaced the exact same distance apart. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4GHz-18dBi-RP-SMA-Yagi-802-11b-g-WiFi-Antenna-N-Femal-/120998065598?pt=UK_Computing_Boosters_Extenders_Antennas&hash=item1c2c0bf5be

esuhl

I saw an advert in a magazine today, where you plug a device into a plug socket, which connects to your router somehow and creates it's own wifi access point, thus extending the range.

It was this sort of product -- I don't know if it's any good:
http://www.geek.com/news/netgear-wifi-booster-extends-your-home-network-with-one-plug-no-wires-1504581/

Equaliser123

esuhl wrote: »

I saw an advert in a magazine today, where you plug a device into a plug socket, which connects to your router somehow and creates it's own wifi access point, thus extending the range.

It was this sort of product -- I don't know if it's any good:
http://www.geek.com/news/netgear-wifi-booster-extends-your-home-network-with-one-plug-no-wires-1504581/

Just in the process of returning a similar product to amazon as it simply doesn't do the job. The wifi signal ends up almost non-existent in my experience.

espresso

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Just in the process of returning a similar product to amazon as it simply doesn't do the job. The wifi signal ends up almost non-existent in my experience.

Did you locate the extender within range of your router’s wireless signal?

kwikbreaks

bluesnake wrote: »

..the driven element had a black 'something' in the middle - could be a balun?

Thanks for the reviews on those two - I'll note that for future reference as I may find a use for one or a pair sometime.

Regards the black something - I've no idea what is in there but a balun if fitted (and they mostly aren't used for cost reasons) would go in the feed point to couple the balanced dipole to the unbalanced coax. The middle of a folded dipole opposite the feed point where that "black something" is is a low impedance point and is often just fixed to the boom. There is no reason for any active component there - it may just be to simplify the construction somehow.

Regarding the 2w amplifier - apart from being anti-social and illegal it isn't likely to add much to the range because WiFi is two way communication so just boosting transmit won't help the receive side which also need to be extended even if they do claim a preamp is included. Better antennas or better still using a wired repeater is the way to go.

Equaliser123

espresso wrote: »

Did you locate the extender within range of your router’s wireless signal?

Yes. It was a TP-link product. Located about 30 ft from the router. PC could get 2 or 3 out of 5 bars connection where it was placed.

esuhl

Dunno if it helps, but to extend my wireless network, I connected two routers together. Only one is actually being used as a router: the second one is just used for its wireless access point and 4-port switch.

I used the same SSID, encryption and password, so most devices just connect to whichever signal is strongest.