All my new neighbors are the nicest bunch coming over with brownies and fishing tips. They will let me use their open wireless connections for the next few weeks while I decide what option to use to get permanent wireless. My preference is to use the public library and coffee shop thus forcing me to not couch surf but the wife wants to actually submit manuscripts and actually work. (What a buzzkill.)<br><br>Question: an internet search shows a billion ways to improve distance by the receiver of wireless. (I do not want to ask may neighbors to add gizmos, they may take the brownies back.)<br><br>There is the 79 dollar super Pringles can. Then there are USB dongles which are antennae to boost.<br><br>Does anyone have real life experience with any of these solutions? They may all be a scam. Any really work? I am getting half a bar on three networks from upstairs but they are fighting through trees and the signal connects for only five minutes at a time.<br><br>NB: I am not going to install cable (no TV yeah!) so I have unused coax from the pole down into the house. Think I can use that as part of an antennae? The USB dongles use a mini coax connection but I bet Radio Shack has adapters for mini/normal coax.<br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>There is the 79 dollar super Pringles can.<p><hr></blockquote><p>You can build a Pringles can antenna for the price of Pringles :P<br><br>But as far as an antenna, something like this should do nicely:<br>linky<br><br><br>That is, as long as you can actually connect it to the router.<br><br><br><br>Hey I'm an F'n Jerk!®

I have one of those Hawkings for pushing my lab signal over to the Boston BeerWorks next door. (Nice place to do paperwork.) But in this instance I don't want to connect anything to the router as I am pushing my luck asking to borrow some wireless from my neighbors. If I ask to install some electronics on their end they might get the idea I am going to make the arrangement permanent.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

Bah, forgot you're not the one with the router.<br><br><br>Hey I'm an F'n Jerk!®

Just how long is it going to take to get your own service? Is it really worth the effort for what could be only a week long thing? <br><br>

Receiving is half the battle. Even though you can get an antenna to suck in more radio waves, you may have trouble sending out unless you put a booster on your end too. A long term solution would be a pringles directional antenna with a hacked linksys router set up as a WAP to give you the boosted transmitting power, but for the short time you'll need it it seems like a waste of money and time.<br><br>------>#1 - JD's Trivia game<br><br>------>#2 - MM-MCF Trivia game

It may turn into a permanent solution. Don't tell comcast but if their internet was 47 a month and I can give my neighbor the equivalent of 10 bucks a month (walk her dog or something) it could easily be the be all and end all. I don't really want more than to read my email twice a day and pretend I am working. Unfortunately my wife has to do more to pretend so she is pushing complete full band internet. But it is a summer house to be used weekends and so to pay 47 is nutty. The house is getting electric and water and that is it if I get my way.<br><br>

Airport extreme ? you can always take it back home too.<br><br>

Don't know if this will suit you, poly, but an Airport Express will receive the signal from neighbors, and boost it. That may be all you need.<br><br>[color:red]&#63743;</font color=red> [color:orange]&#63743;</font color=orange> [color:yellow]&#63743;</font color=yellow> [color:green]&#63743;</font color=green> [color:blue]&#63743;</font color=blue> [color:purple]&#63743;</font color=purple>

Can I use an Airport Express without having to configure their router? That would be a handy way since I have a spare. Do I have to reconfigure it naming it the same thing as my neighbor's router?<br><br>I just got back from Mocrocom and got a linksys USB2 wireless enhancer which is supposed to boost the signal. It's down in my car or I would name it. Might be a waste of time.<br><br>While at Microcom I had a conversation with the "expert" and he came up with a solution for my cell phone boost. Since I have coax coming in from the street up high which then goes down into the living room:<br><br>Take a piece of PVC pipe and cover with aluminum foil Attach coax to foil (this could be the outer wire as I want the wire to act like an antennae as well as the aluminum).<br>On the other end of the coax near where my phone will be attach a sheet of aluminum foil.<br><br>It may be that wrapping aluminum foil around my head might do a similar job.<br><br>

Why do I have images of beer can turkey in my head?<br><br>[color:purple]A lopsided man runs best along the little side-hills of success<br>- Frank Moore Colby</font color=purple>

Yes, you don't have to putz with their router at all, just sync the Express with it.<br><br>I should add that not all routers are repeatable. Do you know what kind the neighbors use?<br><br>[color:red]&#63743;</font color=red> [color:orange]&#63743;</font color=orange> [color:yellow]&#63743;</font color=yellow> [color:green]&#63743;</font color=green> [color:blue]&#63743;</font color=blue> [color:purple]&#63743;</font color=purple> <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by yoyo52 on 09/02/08 12:28 PM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

One is an airport, I think extreme and the two others are linksys type. I will try it as a repeater by synching it. thanks.<br><br><br><br><br><br>

The Airport will definitely repeat, and if the Linksys ones are recent models, they should be repeatable too.<br><br>[color:red]&#63743;</font color=red> [color:orange]&#63743;</font color=orange> [color:yellow]&#63743;</font color=yellow> [color:green]&#63743;</font color=green> [color:blue]&#63743;</font color=blue> [color:purple]&#63743;</font color=purple>

All I know is - my Airport Extreme picks up ALL traffic - ya just click on the link and if its un-protected there ya go <br><br>Way to easy<br><br>

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2044<br><br>Make sure you choose a spot in the house with a good signal. You may have to get creative as to where you put your base station, near a window upstairs on the side of the house towards the neighbor or something. Get something like MacStumbler, AirStumbler, or iStumbler to run on your laptop to see what spots in your house have the best signal strength. Make sure you set it to poll every second or two.<br><br>An attic may not be a good place due to heat and cold extremes. Heat kills, cold causes condensation.<br><br>------>#1 - JD's Trivia game<br><br>------>#2 - MM-MCF Trivia game

Thanks for the KB and the mention of iStumbler. On my MBA macstumbler, even 0.75 quit immediately and airstumbler doesn't discover squat.<br><br>iStumbler is listing five routers when my airport is only listing two and it gives me great stats.<br><br>Where my best reception is an addition with an uninsulated upstairs which I can fill with aluminum foil, and 18 inch pieces of wire until it looks like a UFO landing site. Since all my cell and wireless signals are coming from one direction the aluminum goes on the other side at a 45 degree angle reflecting the signal down into the house with an Express dangling in the middle. I might even attach all the unused coax wired throughout the house to the aluminum and watch what the iStumbler signal does.<br><br>On a whim I bought a Linksys N ultra Rangeplus which is a USB dual band dongle. model "WUSB66N"<br>I knew it was Windows only but figured there was a script put there for activating the antennae in it to my laptop. A search or two finds some minimal stuff but it won't be easy.<br><br>