To what degree can you increase range of a wifi signal through use of long range antennas? I would like to use my skype wifi phone with an augmented range. Any thoughts on what technologies are currenly available toward that end? Thanks
What kind of range are you anticipating.
Will this be from your own access point? Internet hot-spot? WISP?
Will you be able to carry a 30 ft ladder around with you?
Can you stay tethered to a fixed location? Five ft. diameter dishes are clumsy to carry around.
yeah but think of the nerd points to be gained...he'd be like a...nerd god!
snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com hath wroth:
6dB increase in antenna gain will yield a 2x increase in range. 12dB will result in 4x, 18dB will result in 8x.
Nope. You didn't bother to supply a maker or model number on the phone, or indicate if you were planning on adding this antenna on the hanset or the access point. If you're wi-fi phone doesn't have an external antenna connector, you might try building a foil or sheet metal reflector.
DTC hath wroth:
I keep suggesting an inflatable dish antenna at various meetings, but nobody seems interested in selling one.
I have been known to carry a 3ft (24dBi) dish antenna on top of a telescoping fiberglass pole looking for interference. It's quite a balancing act and requires both skill and a good insurance carrier.
The local university (UCSC) built a new science and engineering building without providing for Wi-Fi. They also installed aluminized mylar coated windows for thermal insulation. The result is the equivalent of a large shielded screen room with little Wi-Fi or cellular coverage. Students have been seen with various strange antenna arrays including a large panel "backpack antenna", small panels on hats, collinear verticals on a pole, and various bizarre reflectors. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but desperation and kludge are close relatives.
oh yeah, what do you call her?
"mr.b" hath wroth:
I'll let the marketing department pick the name. They have the appropriate mindset.
Actually, I'm serious and have been working on inflatable towers and masts for ham radio field day. I don't have a prototype of an inflatable dish antenna, but do have a fair idea of how it might be done. Basically, it's a torus (donut) around a flexible membrane that gets pulled into a parabolic shape. Support for the feed can be stiff wires or an inflatable tripod structure. The design is quite common for spaceborne antennas:
Probable vendor:
The two RAFT video clips are worth watching:
Yes I've noticed, and quite frankly many in here are the better for it. Those were some very interesting links you posted.
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