[Ronald Epstein]

Have a Linksys WAP11 wireless router. Bought
it so that I could receive broadband on my laptop
anywhere inside the house or outside on the property.

I was able to get more power out of the router
by doing a simple software hack that can easily
be found doing a search on the subject.

I also just bought the Linksys Wireless Signal
Booster that piggybacks on top of the WAP11 and
actually does what it is supposed to do -- amplify
a little bit more range.

I still want more signal strength.

Radio Shack just began selling these new antennas
for Linksys routers that are supposed to
improve performance. Not sure if it will, take
a look and see for yourself....

CLICK HERE PLEASE

These antennas look the same as the ones that
came with the router, so I am not sure if they
really are capable of transmitting a stronger signal.

Don't they make a sort of "network bridge" that
can sit inbetween your connections and extend the
range? In another words, some sort of hub that
goes halfway between your source, amplifying the
received signal to your target.

[JamesHl]

A bridge is something that hooks up wired devices to your wireless network, or to link two wired networks wirelessly. I wonder if you could just get another ap and put it at the edge of your original's good reception. I'm not sure if it can get the info it needs from the other ap without you plugging it in, but I think it might.

[JamesHl]

A more accurate update: you can buy the exact same thing you have and set it within range of your original ap and set it to 'wireless repeater mode.'

[John_Bonner]

Quote:

I was able to get more power out of the router by doing a simple software hack that can easily be found doing a search on the subject

Ron,

What'ya mean by "more power"? More wireless range or more speed/bandwidth?

[Lee L]

Ron, if you are interested in getting the max range on that thing, check the following link.
http://www.freeantennas.com/
He has some simple designs you can use that focus the power of the antennas you have. This should work great if you have the router at one end of the house. Also, you can use them to keep you signal from spilling out into the street and maximize it towards the back yard.

A page with some omni info:
http://www.tux.org/~bball/antenna/

A directional yagi design:
http://www.seattlewireless.net/index...irectionalYagi

There are several different links at the forums at www.dslreports.com they have a Wirelss forum as well as a Linksys specific one.

Also try www.netstumbler.com , they are not an antenna site per-se but trying to stumble wirelss networks tends to make people build some crazy powerful antennas.

[Ronald Epstein]

Lee,

Thanks much for the information. Lots of
useful tips, but really, I am not the type of
person that can build his own antenna.

I am looking for more RANGE.

I was able to boost POWER on my Linksys just
by doing a little-known software hack that increased
the radio frequencies.

Just looking for ways to increase range.

[Tekara]

there's only two things you can do to increase range without adding in additional repeaters/access points:
1. increase the power of the signal
2. use a higher gain antenna

now there's some legalities that come into play when you use high gain antennas with high power amplifiers, but your better off researching that elsewhere as I'm not familarized with it.

so then, the easiest and typically cheapest method is to use a higher gain antenna. you can make a directional cantenna for cheap and they work great; or you can buy some nice ones from stores.

the antenna can be used on either the access point or the computer, or both, to increase the range of reception. this is the most reccomended method since it's cheap and it's pretty easy to setup.

outside of that you can look into purchasing an amplifier to boost the transmitted signal from the access point. this is a bit spendy though and there's some issues that may be involved with it.

[John K Carter]

Ron, as Rob.M.G. said you have two choices, if you decide to go with better antenna, try here HyperLink Technologies
HyperLink sells Indoor, Outdoor, Amplified, Directional, Omni Directional Antenna, you name it.

I will be starting a project this month providing wireless internet access to a Campground/RV Park/Cabin Rental business using HyperLink products.

[Darren Lewis]

Ron, I've got the Linksys BEFW11S4, which is similar to your WAP11 except it has a router and switch built in.

Wouldn't the Linksys WSB24 Wireless Signal Booster work for you? This is from their website

Quote:

Turn up the volume on your Wireless LAN! The Linksys Wireless Signal Booster piggybacks onto your Linksys Wireless Access Point (or Wireless Access Point Router) to increase the effective range and coverage area of the 802.11b network. The added signal strength also helps speed up your close-range communications, because every packet comes through "loud and clear", reducing retransmissions due to reception errors.

To install, just stack the Wireless Signal Booster on your Access Point, move the antennas to the Booster, and attach the Booster's twin cables to the Access Point -- no drivers or modifications to your setup are necessary.

Darren.

[Lee L]

It looks like Ron already has the signal booster.

If you don't want to build something, then you could try the Rat Shack antenna and if it doesn't work well enough, you could try one from these guys: http://www.fab-corp.com , they have all kinds of pre made 2.4 antennas.

[Ronald Epstein]

The antennas look great.

Problem is, not sure which one will be best
for my Linksys wireless router.

Anybody actually have one of these indoor
flat panel antennas? I sthere significant
signal strength obtained from these?

And yes, I do have the wireless signal
booster already. It *slightly* improved
my signal.