wifi antenna

[Stryker]

well, i bought a wifi antenna today. It wasn't quite what i was expecting. I thought i would plug my network card right into it (with an adapter, as the input is different) and then it'd have some ac adapter to power it. Instead, what I get is two bolts sticking out labeled "polarization" with an arrow pointing at them both, and another bolt which is unlabeled (probably what you use to mount it). The input is what I was expecting. Any ideas how I can get this thing working? Am I going to need some sort of a signal amplifier along with an adapter to properly power it?

this is what I got:
http://www.wlanparts.com/product/P2418

[worker201]

That certainly is an antenna. Did you realize you were buying something to put on the house, like a Dish receiver? I would think that you could just connect this thing to your router as input, and then transmit the signal from your router to your computer. It's not a whole lot different from using a piece of speaker wire tacked to the wall as a radio antenna, or using a coat hanger in place of rabbit ears on an old television. Except more fun.

[Stryker]

its going to be used to connect my house and a friend's house who is a few miles away. its a pretty clear shot so it should be possible. He needs to get one too, but i'm not paying for it. But what i'm not sure of is if the signal from the router will be strong enough to power it. It says it can take up to 150watts, and I really doubt my routers putting out close to that.

[Void Main]

Yeah, I'm no expert but I think you need some sort of amplifier to go with that. I see similar antenna advertised with and without amplifiers and the ones with are like $500 more. I would think seattlewireless would have some info on it or ask over at www.openwrt.org. Someone there would surely help.

[ZiaTioN]

Well first thing about the connection, the site says it has a "Standard Connector: N-type female (50 ohm)". This should connect directly to your WAP's (router or whatever) connector.

Next as far as the power rating (150 watts). You will not need a "signal amplifier" for this simply because the unit itself is the signal amplifier. You may need a power amplifier though to supply the neccessary wattage to push the signal the required distance.

Lastly $41.00 is not a bad price but you could have made this for about $5.00. I have made a few before and they work GREAT!. Here is an awesome site that covers homemade wifi boosters. Check out the link for the "Pringle Can Antenna". This is the style which I have made. The most difficult piece of equipment to get in this construction is the connector that interfaces with your WAP's connector. In most cases it is not a standard coaxial type connector. You can find these at Radio Shack sometimes but if not you will need to buy some wifi antennas and cut the ends off and solder the connector onto your antenna. The distance that these homemade boosters have been tested at are up to and including 6 miles! The downside is that this is a directional antenna and needs to be pointed directly at the expected recipient (which is the same as your store bought one).

Another one is the Cantenna which is basically just a fancy pringles can booster that some company has decided to market. With either the homemade version or the cantenna no power amplifier is needed. If you decide to go with the homemade version follow the step-by-step directions on that site and pay extra attention to the lengths of the hollow tubing you cut to fit on your threaded rod. This is what determines the frequency that gets transmitted and received. The washers are used to filter undesired frequencies cutting down on noise and interference. If the washers are not spaced exactly as the site described the wrong frequency will be transmitted and received.

Also use a pringles/coffe can in pristine condition with no dents or holes in it whatsoever. This can is what will act as your waveguide (signal booster) and will be thrown off by even the smallest inperfection.

[Stryker]

hmm, i'll try it without an amplifier and see how it works. I'd need an adapter because the connector is just a little thing sticking out 1/4" and it just won't work for the router. i'd at least need an extension, but I was thinking I could get an adapter and have it connected directly to my pc, which would probably work a little better for testing (since I can see signal strength and such).