Hi I bought a Wireless lan High Power 500mW USB adapter with a 2.4GHz 5dBi antenna it worked fine but did not give me enough range. Then I bought a 12-16dBi antenna and it worked great for about two weeks, then zip, zilch, nada, do you think It was the antenna or just a cheap usb adapter?
Do you think I can buy a wireless card for a PC that picks up a Wifi signal then distributes it. What is something like that called? and what are the best kinds?
You could try boosting the signal from the AP's side instead of the client's side. Install a higher gain antenna on the AP, or a signal boosting device of some sort.
Kinda just theorizing, but perhaps someone has installed some wireless device nearby which is functioning on the same 2.4 gHz frequency as your AP. If that's true, your signal will start getting very unstable, and cause your card to loose its connection.
A repeater is also another option if you want to boost your AP's range. It normally requires more user configuration than the installation of an antenna or signal booster.
Did I mess it up? 
Linear Mode
