Wireless reflector for PCMCIA Card

hi guys

i want to connect to a free wireless ap, i don't have any influence to this
ap. unfortunatly the signal is a too weak in the apartment but it works on
the stairs outside my front door. as soon as i enter the room, the signal's
gone :(

i have a US Robotics 805411 PC Card (MAXg) PCMCIA Wireless card in my laptop
without any external connector for a antenna. is it possible to improve
reception a little so it might be possible to use wireless in my apartment?
i heard that it can be done eg with a cd spindel. but how do i place it
since there is no connector on the card?
or maybe special drivers to boost signal strength?

thanks for your hints. (if possible with link to howto)

greets

beat

Beat <brinospam@gmx.net> wrote:
> without any external connector for a antenna. is it possible to improve
> reception a little so it might be possible to use wireless in my apartment?
> i heard that it can be done eg with a cd spindel. but how do i place it

A CD as a reflector? That would be interesting to see, if you have a
page reference for it. I have seen mention of people using CDs as some
portion of an external antenna, but not as a reflector for a Wifi card.
Some people have a couple of notebook sized sheets of aluminum or steel
that they position roughly as a reflector.

You can get several different USB-client radios. The USB cable can be
quite long, so you can position the units where you get good reception.
The expensive ones come with larger antennas as part of the unit, the cheap
ones can have reflective antennas mounted cheaply.
Hawking HWU8DD is one usb/antenna unit.

http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/ #42 is the Hawking unit.
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/images/IMG_1571.JPG

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

<dold@05.usenet.us.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:emulol$ti6$2@blue.rahul.net...
> Beat <brinospam@gmx.net> wrote:
>> without any external connector for a antenna. is it possible to improve
>> reception a little so it might be possible to use wireless in my
>> apartment?
>> i heard that it can be done eg with a cd spindel. but how do i place it
>
> A CD as a reflector? That would be interesting to see, if you have a
> page reference for it. I have seen mention of people using CDs as some
> portion of an external antenna, but not as a reflector for a Wifi card.
> Some people have a couple of notebook sized sheets of aluminum or steel
> that they position roughly as a reflector.
>
> You can get several different USB-client radios. The USB cable can be
> quite long, so you can position the units where you get good reception.
> The expensive ones come with larger antennas as part of the unit, the
> cheap
> ones can have reflective antennas mounted cheaply.
> Hawking HWU8DD is one usb/antenna unit.
>
> http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/ #42 is the Hawking unit.
> http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
> http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/images/IMG_1571.JPG
>
> --
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5
>


hmmm. thanks. the reason i have the pc card is that the laptop has only one
USB connector (it's actually the laptop of a friend).
but it looks as though usb stick would have been the better choice.

would it work to build a antenna like this (also cd as reflector...)
http://www.tresselt.de/wlan.htm
and then simply stick/glue/whatever the cable to the antenna of the pc card.
or would this provide 0 gain?

Beat <brinospam@gmx.net> wrote:
> hmmm. thanks. the reason i have the pc card is that the laptop has only
> one USB connector (it's actually the laptop of a friend). but it looks
> as though usb stick would have been the better choice.

http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GUH275
$9.95. I found a rebate to zero a year ago, and bought a few.
This is a tiny thing that I carry in my laptop bag all the time.

> would it work to build a antenna like this (also cd as reflector...)
> http://www.tresselt.de/wlan.htm and then simply stick/glue/whatever the
> cable to the antenna of the pc card. or would this provide 0 gain?

It might provide less than zero gain, or it might give you directionality
that you need. there are web pages about attaching antennas to cards that
have no connector. Try a google search for the model number of your
mystery card and "external antenna", and see what comes up.

Most require some soldering skill. stick/glue won't work very well.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Beat wrote:

> hi guys
>
> i want to connect to a free wireless ap, i don't have any influence
> to this ap. unfortunatly the signal is a too weak in the apartment
> but it works on the stairs outside my front door. as soon as i enter
> the room, the signal's gone :(
>
> i have a US Robotics 805411 PC Card (MAXg) PCMCIA Wireless card in my
> laptop without any external connector for a antenna. is it possible
> to improve reception a little so it might be possible to use wireless
> in my apartment? i heard that it can be done eg with a cd spindel.
> but how do i place it since there is no connector on the card?
> or maybe special drivers to boost signal strength?
>
> thanks for your hints. (if possible with link to howto)
>
> greets
>
> beat

Aluminum foil might do the trick.

I'm a big fan of corner reflectors.

See my link http://homepages.picknowl.com.au/glo...gnet/ant1.html

If you have a corner in your apartment that roughly faces away from the
source of the wifi signal, it might be worth a try to turn it into a
giant corner reflector.

Just cover the wall each side of the corner apex with aluminum foil
over a fairly large area - down to floor level.

Then place the laptop into the corner with the PCMCIA card near the
centre line of the apex and see if you get a signal.

Slide the laptop into and away from the apex until you get the
strongest signal.

Also try to position the laptop height about mid way up the foil.

Try to keep your body out of the signal path as much as possible.

Should work to some degree.

Lets know how it goes.

Rob

Beat wrote:
> hi guys
>
> i want to connect to a free wireless ap, i don't have any influence to this
> ap. unfortunatly the signal is a too weak in the apartment but it works on
> the stairs outside my front door. as soon as i enter the room, the signal's
> gone :(
>
> i have a US Robotics 805411 PC Card (MAXg) PCMCIA Wireless card in my laptop
> without any external connector for a antenna. is it possible to improve
> reception a little so it might be possible to use wireless in my apartment?
> i heard that it can be done eg with a cd spindel. but how do i place it
> since there is no connector on the card?
> or maybe special drivers to boost signal strength?
>
> thanks for your hints. (if possible with link to howto)

Your best bet is to replace the PCMCIA card with one that has an antenna
connector. Actually the best bet is to use that single USB connector for
a USB adapter (with an antenna jack). At least you can put the USB
adapter up to 5 meters away from the laptop, and then use an antenna
with a short cable if necessary (the big losses are in the antenna
cable). A long cable from a PCMCIA adapter card will have high losses
and you may be no better off than without any antenna.