WIFI Antenna Hack!

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Super, Wireless, Antenna, Hacks, Easy, Cheap, Tips, Tricks, Tutorials, Network, Babblin5

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Double your range and signal strength for about 5 cents! Easy to do with GREAT results!

  1. By: babblin5
  2. Categories How To, Science & Tech
  3. Views 1,066,246
  4. Added :25-Sep-07
  5. Related Link: My CAT Did A DIY!
Comments on WIFI Antenna Hack!
Other comments on this video
  • GREAT IDEA

    Really impressive idea, with a good delivery.

    By KipKav 1190733372
    • Great stuff

      Good video and neatly explained.
      5 stars.

      By bhmeta 1190796873
    • I agree.....

      I agree Kip but you also do you thing too! Impressive, yes.

      By evo_lution 1190778814
    • 8D

      Thanks very much!

      By babblin5 1190738917
    • Great job babblin

      Nice job and well explained, thank you.

      By evo_lution 1190778857
  • u rock

    ty so much, five stars, if there was more than 5, i give u.

    By funnymoody 1190765573
  • GREAT IDEA

    Thanks for the great tip!
    (Good instructions too...)

    By KipKav 1190732707
  • Nice tutorial!

    Now this is the kind of videos I like to vote for. Keep em coming!

    By Black Lotus 1191263445
  • nice!!!!!!

    this is one of the best videos i sean from you!!!

    impressive

    if yu can can you create a video on a D-link USB adapter? so i know how to increase both of my ranges thank you very much for this video!

    By sam boy 1191159653
  • woooooooooooooow

    if its right u r ...............

    By semsem911aj 1191120837
  • ATTENSION PLEASE!!!!!!!

    can anybody tell me the name of that RED wire and its size????????

    By bends 1190998220
    • WIFI Antenna Hack!

      Bends, I made 2 of these antennae exactly as he did on the video. I used 22 gauge "magnet wire". This is insulated wire as used for winding armatures on electric motors, etc. Sometimes the insulation is clear, red, or green. People sometimes mistake the clear insulted wire for bare copper, and then can't understand why they can't solder it. The insulation must be scraped off as he did in the video.

      This antenna works.

      By Paul C 1212380692
  • Nice!

    very good video, nice wrk

    By rgv menu 1190993042
  • thx a lot

    and keep goin the good work

    By xzma 1190867393
  • great video!!

    you could be the new kipkay!!!

    By surfshack911 1190740325
    • I could never be the New Kipkay

      There can be only one! 8D

      By babblin5 1190787807
  • Copyright law?

    What copyright, NK5 and find more fun can leave their video on if they like, get real man.

    By Ham Bone 1191329299
  • nice hack man :)

    keep it on ,but if i connect it to my tv antena wot will happen?

    By Lighter2 1190813788
  • Kudos

    nice.. it took mines awhile to get better performace but better late than never.!! thnx dude

    By zerosix 1190812556
  • Hi,

    the bigger the areial the better? say 20cms of wire, then the coil and so on?

    By AEAAnti-Emo 1190806813
    • Nononono!

      The wire length is important as it is a multiple of the middle of the wavelength for the 2.4 Ghz band. More does NOT equal better!

      By babblin5 1190812216
    • ok.

      so how can i make it better? i want to be able to walk to the park and use it?

      By Anti-Emo-Army 1190826826
  • Wow

    Great video man.

    By Razorg606 1190772071
  • Great job man

    I knew it would be something simple like that, but never took the time to investigate. Great job here, very useful.

    Thanks!

    By mythicalfury 1190770146
  • :)

    Pretty cool!!

    By lifesuxs 1190756003
  • Maybe twice the range

    but it won't cause your system to suddenly put out twice the power. Just a bit more range.

    By wrekt 1190743184
    • Actually

      While it doesn't increase the power of your WIFI card, it does increase the efficiency of the electrical to radio-wave conversion process by about 5dB. So, in essence, it DOES increase the power of the signal when compared with the standard wire found in the stock WIFI antenna. Sorry, I should have been clearer about that...and I forgot to mention that the coil makes the signal omnidirectional, so you'll also find that you don't have to adjust the antenna position to find the "sweet spot" 8)

      By babblin5 1190760333
    • Either way, gain, power...

      I'll be doing this... will it work on a dual antenna router?

      By wrekt 1190763804
    • Yes

      It most absolutely will!

      By babblin5 1190764223
  • nice hack!

    very cool and well done

    By stevenscorsese 1190737980
    • Thank you!

      I appreciate the encouragement! 8)

      By babblin5 1190738967
  • thanks

    for trying to help!!!!!
    i think that would be very helpful for the people who spend alot of money just on buying the super antena and why to waste money if the samething can be done free with the same results

    By karnmamgain 1190717808
  • perfect...

    for me and for my computer 5 stars!

    By GAM-0 1190716729
  • Excelent

    Great video tutorial. 5 stars

    By MockFarm 1190716218
  • Nice

    This guy is better then kip kay

    By money_yang 1194070031
  • Please Reply

    Is that true that the more twist i make -> the longer distance i can get (more signal at longer distance)? or it just work for certain length of the antenna only

    By vnstyle 1193909279
  • Good

    Muy buen video, Gracias

    By lotengoparado 1193818683
  • GREAT video,

    but mine seems to be actully worse than the unhacked XD

    By fricken hamster 1193795654
  • cool

    nice idea

    By kuazay 1193687978
  • thanks

    5 star

    By manchess123 1193550932
  • good work..

    great presentation.. try it out and it really work..
    thanks dude..

    By cicak man... 1193108729
  • wooo

    demn those guys who charge too much for a lousy wire! nice... youre definitely gonna get five from me

    By shogrran 1192442793
    • it's not the wire

      It's the precision that goes into it when dealing with 2.4 GHZ the measurements need to be fairly precise to realize the full potential while it's not difficult for a machine to produce repeatable results it's pretty hard to do it by hand consistently and this info is coming from an X radio repairman who has a little more than a dabbling in antennae.

      By fentanyl3 1194906758
  • Great video! 5 stars

    well edited and delivery. I was curious if those were that simple! Now I know

    By srvowoof 1191614379
  • cool

    i wish i could do something like that with my laptop

    By midnight rider 1191330874
  • great video.

    proffesional quality video, and antenea!
    great tutorial. I tried this and it works like a charm!
    I hesitated to tear apart my original antenea, but Then i realized my card came with an extra.

    By Felpman 1191133527
  • coil

    this obviously works... correct me if im wrong but i thought there was some science to the windings in the coil.. like when/if you have ever built one of those diy radio receivers.. and depending where u contact the coil is the frequency you pick up. does this come into play here at all?

    By monkers 1274367581
  • antenna booster

    I tried it. Impressive result. 5*

    By eyib 1272383007
  • Please, Please,Please

    Greetings! I do not talk in English. Who anyone send me the sizes on the address labean00@gmail.com if during video the sizes refer to. It is possible in inches and in see. Very much to you I shall be grateful.

    By hryaker 1266446981
  • NoReplay

    awesome ! i'll try it ^^ thanx

    By solomon83 1256929979
  • GREAT

    THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION

    By maquinado siglo 21 1249339605
  • allstar

    can i use the normal hard copper wire the one you can rip out of a electricity wire role

    By 2stroke 1232886165
  • health issues

    should anybody be concerned about any possible health issues extending from the fact that you have an almost unprotected antenna?

    Is it safe to replace the protective cover with a straw?

    By jmasides 1232384534
  • Very well done DIY video

    Looks pretty simple. I'm going to give a try. BTW: you have the perfect "instructional video" voice.

    By skekoa 1232301147
  • Innovative

    Great idea - I yanked apart a relay in an old power supply and got the copper wire. I got +2 bars and max Mbps.....nice work!

    By scytheye 1223968274
  • Broken Wire

    The wire from the original antenna has broken. Is there anything able to be done to fix this problem?

    By Spik3r 1222232712
  • Broken Wire

    The wire from the original antenna has broken. Is there anything able to be done to fix this problem?

    By Spik3r 1222232616
  • Not a WIFI antenna anymore.....

    Great Video and well done, but it doesn’t work. A lot of do it yourself wifi antennas at the net doesn’t work.
    Why ? Because the people who makes them can't measure. They think they copy or calculate them correct but they can't verify their constructions.
    This particular one doesn’t work because of the missing original plastic tip. I tried removing the tip from a super extender antenna while measuring the "return loss" (how much power the antenna keep and not return in the cable to the transmitter). Removing the tip make this a 2,6GHz antenna and not 2,4GHz as it should be. The return loss is reduced from 15dB to 4-5dB, so it works a little, but more than 25% of the power goes back to the wifi transmitter. If you want to build it you have to make the antenna longer to compensate, but then you have to measure and verify. Sorry, I also liked the short movie and it was a great idea. /Rt

    By rtoooo 1219085412
  • VERY NICE!

    GREAT JOB! Did this to my D-Link 2320 PCI wireless card (VISTA compatible) and it increased my signal by 30-40%!

    Question, if I use this hack on my wireless router will my signal go up even more?

    By smithmal 1218764593
    • Type of wire I used

      BTW, I forgot to mention that I used some electrical ground wire which I pulled out of some Romex electrical cable I had.

      By smithmal 1218767974
  • Great job

    This is one of the best DIY videos on metacafe.

    By Curecreator 1215707302
  • my wireless

    my wireless card is built into my computer =/..
    i want to be able to get my neighbors wireless but idk what to do.. got any ideas?

    By sonicboom165 1215289580
  • It`s a big little antenna

    It`s really works. Simple to made. I used it in both wifi ends, in the router and pc pci card with a great gain of signal. The video and sound are very good. Thank`s for the idea.

    By Yosimontomoto 1209183140
  • anyone actually try this

    Does this actually work....

    By Jerkinp 1209180884
  • k000l !!

    if i plan on using any antenas i`ll surely try your method thanx for the info ......

    By sheryakahan 1208006784
  • Dont wanta screw up

    Can somebody find me this copper wire on frys.com or where can i buy it i dont wanta screw up my 2 antennas, 80$ d-link dwa 542 rangebooster n desktop adapter.. I just want to double check and buy right wire's before i do this.. I dont wanta screw up... help please...

    By DsCreaTionS 1207456163
  • HOW DID U TAKE OFF THE TIP!?!?

    I spent at least half hour trying to take that damn thing off and in the end just gave up.

    By Nemesis2747 1205760911
  • vry nice

    thank you very much, clear and concise!

    By shotgunharry1 1203893995
  • Great Video...

    Thanks for the video the only thing is that if you put this on (D-Link) router it doesn't boost the signal, sometimes even making it worser than the original. Maybe this is just for the receiving device.

    By DanZio2020 1202770234
  • Fantastic Tutorial

    Thank You for Sharing your knowledge of increasing ones range and power for wireless connectivity. I am off to purchase another antenna to give your lesson a try. Great Information! Fantastic Tutorial!

    By ZephyrPrincess52 1202563217
  • nice

    just love it :D

    By chemistryproduction 1200252986
  • Try it

    Doesn't Help if anything worst!!! sorry

    By eznug 1200035384
  • Awesome

    Awesome. I should try that, since i don´t get a good signal in my room.

    But i will buy another antenna to take apart, so i will still have a spare in case something goes wrong.

    By Wattstone 1198242313
  • OMG 1337

    WOW! thats amazing... he earned 1337 doallars!

    By Dragon5n60 1198023643
  • Wire Gauge?

    This looks really good. In order to get the best chance to match your results, can you let us know what gauge copper wire you used to do this?

    Thanks!

    By JustDon 1197650170
  • Doesn't Work

    Too bad this doesn't work. I tried it, I still get the exact same range and signal.

    By DanZio2020 1197603001
  • Thats

    Real good awesome for rc cars too use coiled copper wire good as haha 5

    By Rodady 1197258355
  • good

    great idea and well constructed and explained, hey are you the guy who made the parabolic mic?

    By fuckyeahimover18 1196698481
  • Diameter on the wood screw?

    I don't have a boost antenna to find out the needed diameter, so maybe you can handle us that information?

    btw, great video!

    By kernel-panik 1196505858
  • Twice

    twice the power, twice the range, and twice the power usage. so don't overdo it. Or else you'll make your router die..

    Or, start hearing noises from sucha strong energy :P

    By laos101 1196299614
  • Neat

    That was a good vid. Tried it and it works like a charm, thanks for the tip!:)

    By SixSicSiks 1196011164
  • wire

    Hi thanks for nice video, but i want to know which kind of wire is the best one to hack! please give me the name of the wire(number)
    again thank you.

    By E-Danny101 1195384883
  • Great job

    Really thank you

    By styloalpha 1195073383
  • it works but...

    would the performance grow even more if i soldered teh end of the copper wire to a tv antenna?

    By winnabego 1195066851
  • Good Hack

    I just did this today an it increased my range 40% Thanks very much

    By EldoradoMan 1194752297
  • Marvelous

    It is very nice trick

    By jackdk 1194387003
  • NO WORKING

    It doesnt work Babblin, it does show up the 5 bar signal at really far distance however i cant access to the internet. this just help us feel better, not work better. Thank you

    By vnstyle 1193985446
  • cool

    You Might be a redneck if...

    By RD24 1193285838
  • Интересно

    Надо попробовать

    By art.z 1192453282
  • Meet up with other people like you at MI

    By mariellensexymomvi 1191484362
  • PRAISE FROM KIPKAY?

    You're on the road to success! Lol great video, and CHEAP! I already have those materials, including the straw!

    By Doyouwantaspoon 1190835798
  • You should have..

    added an extra straw in between the other two in the shape of an "M". Then leave the straws uncolored.

    "Over 10,000,000,000 packets served!"

    By NK5 1190764558
    • lol

      clever

      By saqer1 1190790410
  • strange

    dzikie:)

    By libi82 1193872085
  • This works extremely well

    With any 802.11 network including b,g, and n. I converted all my device antennas like this, and get 5 bars, even from the basement to the second floor of the house, and outside to about 1/2 block with my laptop. I'm even surprised!

    By babblin5 1190702362
96 Comments
 

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