endover Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I bought my wife an Eee netbook for Christmas and although it works great, it doesn't pick up my wi-fi signal near as well as my laptop does. I'm looking for an inexpensive signal boost for my Linksys router. I don't need to boost it down the neighborhood. I just need another 20 feet or so of signal strength to get me to the dining room. You folks have any inexpensive recommendations that you know work? It's waaaay too much trouble to move the router. I'm not up for any attic work when all I need is about 20 feet. I was hoping to find something for $50 or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 How old is your router? Is it a model with antennas? You may be able to just redirect the antennas or reposition the unit if it does not have antennas. My Linksys easily goes a quarter mile up my street as confirmed by my PDA. You already have plenty of power and should not need a repeater. I also have a PC in my basement 3 floors down. No issues. Check your aim. Of course if you are going through many walls that may be an issue, and metal will cause issues too. But if it's just from attic to downstairs in your house it should work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endover Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 Linksys is about 4 years old. Has two antenna's. House is 1978 so it's all wood studs...very little metal. Single floor, ranch style. Router at one end of the house and dining room at other end of the house. Like I said...laptop picks up great (even out in the yard) but Netbook doesn't seem to have as strong a receiver (probably to conserve battery power). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 You can get a high gain antenna for that router. something like this, http://www.amazon.com/802-11g-9dBi-OMNI-Directional-High-Gain-Adapters/dp/B002DGE62M/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_0 I run a linkysys wrt54G with DDWRT aftermarket firmware so I can boost the output wattage a good bit over stock. I also use a couple of 14dB directional panel antennas for extra signal as well but those are kind of pricey to just go out and buy. To buy new that is, you can find them cheaper on the ebay. One advantage to the directional antennas would be less interfering with your neighbors signal depending on how you can aim them. The disadvantage would be if your router was in the middle of your house, those in the link are omni directional and should work fine regardless but you might find cheaper ones on ebay or even on craigslist. -Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace168516 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Wish I saw this a few weeks ago, I dumped a linksys signal booster (which is now banned by the fcc) and a range extender on CL. I have some actual Linksys high gain antennas still...you can PM me if you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I would say if the router is a wireless G, why not swap it for a N router with rangeboost, and get a compatable USB adapter for it? That would seem like the most likely scenario, you can get other outboard antennas if you have a thread on connection, we have a large outdoor unit at our shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I just bought a Netgear WNDR3700 and this thing is OUTTA SIGHT!! Wirless-N with RangeMax 8 internal antennas 4 port gigabit hub Dual Band at 2.4 and 5 GHz with (5Ghz dedicated to video streaming) USB port for external hardive backups Yes, it was a little expensive at $159 (Staples) but this thing ROCKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Nice! Very impressive WiFi unit. -Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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