How to Find a Wireless Internet Signal With a Homemade Antenna
Wireless networking has made tremendous strides in both technology and broad use by the general public. Antennas built into laptops and add on antennas are designed to be compact and durable with range not being a primary factor. When the goal is to achieve reliable wireless connectivity with an 802.11 source over greater distances, an external antenna is the logical direction. External antennas can be made from all kinds of materials including items like a Pringles or coffee cans. Experimenting with antenna designs can be a great deal of fun and useful for grabbing a distant signal.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with Windows operating system
- Wireless card
- Homemade wireless antenna
- Netstumbler software
Instructions
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1
Download the software package "Netstumber" from http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/". Follow the instructions to install the application on your Windows based computer.
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2
Connect the antenna to the computer. Open the "Netstumbler" application on the computer. With the application open choose the drop down menu "Device" and choose the antenna you wish to use.
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3
Press the "Ctrl" key and the "B" key to start scanning for wireless Internet signals.
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4
When a signal is detected it will show up in the right hand portion of the screen. The data will include information such as MAC identification, SSID, channel, encryption status and signal strength.
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5
Use the signal strength data from Netstumbler to position increase the SNR, signal to noise ratio, to the maximum.
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Data from the Netstumbler session can be saved to a file by pressing the "CTRL" key and "S" key.
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Tips & Warnings
Tuning of the antenna can be accomplished while watching the reaction of SNR to the changes made at the antenna.
Permission to access a wireless point should be obtained before connecting to a private wireless network.
