wi-fi hardware, to extend my range?

[lectrocrew]

I have a problem with my laptop recieving a signal from either of my 3 wireless modems from my house to my house trailer 75 yards distance. (modems are AT&T Uverse 'ISP provider issued', Belkin router model # F7D2301 v1, and Belkin n300 model #F9K1002V4).
 Neither of these 3 routers have an external antenna connection available.
 My laptop is HP Compaq 6715b running Vista professional - x86
 and laptop internal wi-fi adapter is Broadcom 4321AG 802.11 a/b/g/n.
 I see no way to add an antenna to my laptop, nor either of my modems.
 I'm on a dissability income and don't have much $, so is there a low cost way for me to improve this wi-fi connection?
 Sometimes it shows 1-2 bars in 'network and Sharing Center', which works fine for what I do, but often I have no connection at all.

As always, Thanks for any help!
Mike

[patio]

Do you like Pringles ? ?

           Cantenna...

[Geek-9pm]

The problem is some WI-FI devices have not antenna connector.

Here is a picture. Some devices do not have antennas connections.



I have run almost 200 feet t of cat-5 out to a small trailer for my nephew, But it did not hold up well to the weather. In was indoor cable.

[patio]

And for not alot of money he can get a repeater that has one...

[Geek-9pm]

Looking  on eBay USA CAT5 outdoor cable is about $65 for 200 feet. Free shipping.
But for  that money you can buy a router that will work as a repeater.
The OP should note that using a router as a Ad-Hoc repeater can be a tricky thing.

But the CAT 5 cable would have to be either buried or strung on a steel wire.

[Lisa_maree]

Hi

I would see where you get the best signal strength in the house trailer , it is most likely where you have a window between you and the house or outside. The house trailer is probably Aluminium which is a shield to wireless signals. The more signal you can get from the house end the less effect the trailer material will have, so the easiest thing to try is getting the router in a direct line with the minimum number of walls especially concrete or brick walls.

A program called inssider which you can get free from here http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9182863/6_useful_Wi_Fi_tools_for_Windows

Will be a great help to find where between router and the trailer you are loosing signal

A solution maybe to sell the 2 Belkin routers unfortunately they are only routers not repeaters .  And buy a wireless repeater that you can place in or on the outside of the trailer where you get the best signal from the router .
This will then restore the signal every where in the trailer.

[Geek-9pm]

Lisa_maree, what you say is generally true.
ISM band is also called the 2.4GHz area used for Wi-Fi.
Some trailers have fiberglass, not aluminum as the exterior covering.
As for the way  2.4GHz  passes through objects is not easy to predict.  Often it works better than you would expect. Reflections cam improve the connection.
The use of a high-gain antenna does help. Preferably the high-gain  antenna should be used on both ends. And they should be outdoors or near a windows.
For the 2.4GHz band sight-of-sight is not required. But it is also quasi line of sight. Meaning a path that is mostly clear or has a few objects that are translucent at 2.4GHZ. As mentioned, brink is harder to penetrate. In some regions wood and chalk are used for walls and the signal penetrates better.

But we need to know if the OP wants to consider  the idea of active repeaters. He may have to buy two. I have found it impossible to get routers to work that way unless there were made for lit. There is a wrong idea about a repeater is just one additional unit that joins a working  system.  No. The repeaters have the feature already, or you have to flash the BIOS of both.

There are others here on the forum that now more about this. My point is that it can be expensive and time-consuming to get it to work.  As mentioned, I have used CAT5 cable that  worked for two years until the sun and rain ruined it.

[anthonyb5615]

They do sell usb wifi antenna's or you could make one. As long as your comouter has a usb port, which I'm sure it does. Google it and check youtube, there a lot of videos about making wifi antenna's.  I saw a video on youtube once of a guy building a Wifi antenna out of a Wok, Wok Fii!!! And it worked great too.
here is link to Wok FI Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jht-s_i__AE

[lectrocrew]

My budget is about $20. My current adapter/antenna is built into the laptop. I have no external USB adapter available. I usually get 1-2 bars reception as is which works okay usually. So I'm thinking an external USB adapter with antenna will work fine. If not then I'll at least have something to use to build a directional antenna with.
 So I found this adapter. Will this work for me, and if not I'm open for suggestions.

Thanks for the help everybody!
Mike