totally amateur question: How to attach an antenna to my laptop?

- P
- pau
  
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posted
16 years ago

Wed, Jan 23, 2008 8:33 PM

Hi,

I have a thinkpad T40 running OpenBSD and live in a small, nice city close to Barcelona whose city hall offers free wifi Internet to everybody.

Unfortunately they do not have a good coverage and where my building is, I don't get any signal. The card is identified by OpenBSD as ath0, which means it's Atheros.

Now, I am thinking of building an external wifi antenna but I don't have the slightest idea of how to do it. I don't have the time (unfortunately! it looks fun!) of building the antenna by myself, like here

'Antenna on the Cheap (er, Chip)'

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so that I'd buy one. The problem is... which one? I have seen a lot of them in ebay but I'm not sure they are for the laptop and not just for the router, to enhance its signal.

This guy seems to have managed to do exactly what I would like

'PORTATIL IBM CON ANTENA WIFI 9 DBI EXTERNA Y 2 BATERIA en venta en eBay.es (finaliza el 27-ene-08 14:55:38 H.Esp)'

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So, my question is

1) which kind of antenna do I need? I think I will need to increase the coverage radius to up to 1-2 km

2) how do I attach the antenna to the thinkpad?

3) will it be compatible with the card?

4) will the OS automatically "see" a broader range? I mean, is it something mechanical or will I have to play around with the driver?

thanks in advance!

Pau

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- M
- msg
  
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posted
16 years ago

Wed, Jan 23, 2008 9:28 PM

A quick check of the web shows that your laptop has a mini-pci internal wireless adapter with connections to diversity antennas in the case (probably the lid). You will need to do some significant modifications to provide connections to external antennas (possibly two needed depending on how the diversity system is configured) -- not for the inexperienced or those lacking time and patience.

A better bet would be to use another WiFi adapter: either USB or PCMCIA with an external antenna connector already provided.

Regards,

Michael

- J
- Jeff Liebermann
  
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posted
16 years ago

Thu, Jan 24, 2008 7:39 AM

(...)

See:

which list a variety of methods of adding external antennas. Unfortunately, there's nothing specific for the T40, although some of the other installations may give you some ideas.

- S
- seaweedsteve
  
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posted
16 years ago

Thu, Jan 24, 2008 3:50 PM

It seems like a lot of trouble to connect an antenna directly to your built in thinkpad radio.

There is an easier solution that will leave your laptop in good condition for resale and give you a device that works with all computers.

Buy a USB wireless adapter with either a very good antenna, or, better yet, an external antenna connector plus antenna.

Something like this:

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Or this one with a fixed, but good dish antenna:

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If the antenna for the first product is not strong enough, you can put a home made reflector on it:

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Or for best reception, put a directional antenna like this (may need an adapter to connect):

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Most important will be to find the best place for the antenna. Something with a good view to the city hall and no walls or trees if possible. You may have to run it outside your building with a USB extension.

Steve