This article was taken from the September 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Wi-Fi reception can be weak if you're far from the router. Ken Denmead, author of Geek Dad, explains how to boost reception with a metal mixing-bowl, a USB Wi-Fi adapter, a USB extender cable, a camera tripod, rubber bands, a 6mm nut and a drill.
Drill
Bore two holes in the bowl: one dead-centre, for the Wi-Fi adaptor, and one part way down the side for the tripod mount. The adapter will be more of a rectangular ellipse than a circle, so draw its profile on to the bottom of the bowl with a black marker, drill holes to clear most of it, then file away the rest. The other hole should be a third of the way down the side.
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Take a rubber band and loop it repeatedly around the adapter, about a third of the way from the receiving end (not the end with the USB jack), so that it becomes like a gasket. Slip the adapter, jack first, through the hole from the inside of the bowl, until the band stops it. This should leave the receiver end at the centre of focus for your "dish"
Secure it
On the other side, take another rubber band and repeat the looping until you have a second gasket. Roll it against the bottom of the bowl so the adapter is secure. If you don't mind a permanent solution, you could also use a glue gun to set the adapter in place, although that won't let you take it back out to show before/after readings to your incredulous friends.
Mount it
To mount the dish itself, set it on to the tripod head so that the threaded screw that would normally have connected to the bottom of a camera pokes through the 6mm hole that you drilled in the first step of the instructions. Use the nut to hold the bowl on tightly. Now you should have a very versatile means of aiming your dish.
Test it
There are apps that show you detailed info on signal strength and available bandwidth. Take your dish to a place with low signal, and set it up so that it is aimed roughly at where your router is, as if you had line-of-sight through whatever walls might be in between. Connect the adapter to your computer with the cable, and start surfing.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
