Wifi Signal Question? Please Help!

  • Thread starter JMSA540
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JMSA540

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Hi everybody. I have a quick newbie question, I've been to Circuit City and Best Buy and they can't seem to find an answer for my question. So, I was wondering if ya'll could help me out and give me some advice. Okay, I bought my Compaq laptop on black friday, took it home and set it up, and I'm getting wireless signal (unsecured network), from my neighbors house (about 200 feet away). I get about 11-18 mbps, and the signal strength is 1-2 bars out of 5 bars. I was wondering if I bougt a P.C. Card, such as the "Hawkings Hi Gain PC card", (model number: HWC54D). Will that improve my signal any? Do ya'll have any recommendations, or just the plain simple answer to my question? Replies would be greatly appreciated. Again, thanks. And happy holidays. :)
 
You want a better signal from a network that is not yours?

JMSA540
Will that improve my signal any? Do ya'll have any recommendations, or just the plain simple answer to my question? Replies would be greatly appreciated. Again, thanks. And happy holidays. :)
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Go and stand outside your neighbours house, and you'll get a better signal.

Buy him a router with a bigger range and you'll get a better signal.

Or just get your own internet connection and use that. 💡
 
You'd need an external antenna and a card that takes an external antenna input.

The "cantenna" is supposed to be good.
 
Most of the higher speed & range cards work on a different signal (Like the MIMO ones). You've gotta be careful that you don't get a card that runs on a different frequency than the router. If you're picking it up on your laptop's built in card, the chances are it's using 802.11b (as apposed to a, g, n or whatever). If your laptop has a centrino sticker on it, it'll be a B (and therefore their router will be B).

If you're really desperate not to pay for your own internet, go and buy one running on 802.11b with a whacking great aerial sticking out of it. It won't make much difference at all, so you're better off paying for your own internet. That way you don't annoy the neighbours, and you get a constant, quality connection that you can fix if it goes wrong. Learn from their mistakes, too - stick a password on it :P

EDIT

By using something like a MIMO card, you'll probably still be able to use their router because most cards are backwards compatible. However, you won't enjoy any benefits because their router will still be giving out a slower signal. It's like buying a Ferrari and putting 93 RON into it instead of 102 or whatever. It'll still run, but you may aswell have bought a Ford Focus.
 
Jondot
Most of the higher speed & range cards work on a different signal (Like the MIMO ones). You've gotta be careful that you don't get a card that runs on a different frequency than the router. If you're picking it up on your laptop's built in card, the chances are it's using 802.11b (as apposed to a, g, n or whatever). If your laptop has a centrino sticker on it, it'll be a B (and therefore their router will be B).

If you're really desperate not to pay for your own internet, go and buy one running on 802.11b with a whacking great aerial sticking out of it. It won't make much difference at all, so you're better off paying for your own internet. That way you don't annoy the neighbours, and you get a constant, quality connection that you can fix if it goes wrong. Learn from their mistakes, too - stick a password on it :P
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1) Cards are different within a given band, like b band cards can have different range. The signal should be detectable for 1.5+ miles even for a lousy router, assuming a clear line of sight.

2) Aerials are good for signal sending and reception over a large frequency range, directional antennas--like a cantenna--are good for signal reception in a narrow frequency range...exactly what WiFi demands. So a big aerial is good for your TV but pretty worthless on a WiFi card.
 
skip0110
2) Aerials are good for signal sending and reception over a large frequency range, directional antennas--like a cantenna--are good for signal reception in a narrow frequency range...exactly what WiFi demands. So a big aerial is good for your TV but pretty worthless on a WiFi card.
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Really? Presumably having slightly larger aerial is going to help in some way in comparison to an internal one.
 

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