weak received signal

this may be a double post i'm not sure, i'm new to this forum and i don't really feel like looking through 98 pages to find something that might help me.

I need to know if there is a way to amplify or boost the signal that my laptop is receiving, i'm not sending the signal one of my grandmothers neighbors is doing that. i get a weak signal with the best signal i've had so far is 11% signal strength with 9% signal quality, not enough to access the net. Is there a way to get that signal to boosted? a device or something that i can make at home, anything will work just need to know thank you.

 

hmmm... you can make at home?!? thats tough... i can't help you with that..
all i can think of at the moment is something like an: wireless router extended antena or something...

 

There was this article about boosting your WiFi signal. Hope this helps, but it’s not for the faint-hearted I guess. Here's the link ..

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3334

 

well, the amplifier thing could work, but the problem is that my wireless card is not in my laptop, i had to buy one that would plug into the laptop, another problem is, is that my card has no antenna already on it, it's the wpc54g v3 series from linksys. that and my laptop is being paid off so i can't really make any mods to the insides if i wanted to at the moment. thanks for the help though, now i know it's possible to boost the received signal at least. keep me posted if you find something and i'll keep looking myself, thanks again guys.

 

if you're not stealing the signal (as in you're asking permission to use their internet access,) you could go see if your neighbour is willing to put up a cantenna.

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

 

please explain the setup you're working with

 

the setup i'm working with is just a laptop with a WPC54G V3 wireless card, the problem with going to my neighbor is that i don't know which one it is, lol. and one has a big ass dog that i can't get past and that one is hardly ever home that i can see. my wireless card has no antenna and there's no antenna hook up on it. i read about amplifiers and stuff but they need to be hooked to your wireless card and i can't do that. there has to be a way to boost the signal with my wireless card, but i'm new to this stuff and need a little help. lol.

<--- my wireless card

 

Stealing someone elses signal is wrong, at least for long term use. Arguably if they're not encrypting it then it is somewhat their fault, but that's like saying someone who goes out at night and gets robbed deserves it.

In other words, get your own connection - they're almost certainly not willing to share.

 

dude, the problem is that the area that i am located is weird, cable lynx and resort tv cable don't service my grandmothers house, even though they service other peoples in the area, and i highly doubt that with the crappy amount of channels my grandmother gets, that her cable company has any kind of cable internet available, so that's out. until resort decides to service all the areas around my grandmother. don't ask me why they don't, or how they don't, i don't know, they just don't. so getting my own connection isn't an option. and it's not for long term use. just so i can get a little information here and there. without having to drive all the way from the boondocks to the library. but thanks for trying. oh wait, you didn't try yet.

 

First of all, just because something makes your life easier doesn't mean that it's okay, or even legal. You may have to learn to deal with going to the library. A fate worse than death, I know.

Now, as for your problem, the wireless signal should get stronger the closer you are to the router. Maybe you've already tried this, but have you walked around the neighborhood with your laptop and looked for where the signal is strongest? You may be able to figure out which neighbor has the wireless router that way. Then you can talk to them, explain your situation, and they might allow you to use their wireless. Maybe you can even talk them into moving the router a little closer to your house so you can get a better signal. Plus, knowing where the router is, you can try to find the best spot in your house to pick up the signal.

 

I agree with MrFoolish. Most people once explained the risk of being taken advantage of, will be willing to trade you free wireless for help on securing thier network. As for cable servicing issues, are you sure they receive cable and not service from a telco? If you are having problems getting service from a cable provider, send a letter to your local cable board. Your local board oversees the cable company and its use of the local city's cable utility and laws. GL