By Peter Cochrane, 15 July 2008 13:01
COMMENT
Written in a Lisbon hotel bedroom and dispatched via my home LAN two days later.
A couple of weeks ago I received a call from one of my start-up companies gearing up for an exhibition and demo that was dependent on having online connectivity.
Unfortunately, the location was at a marina some 500 metres from the nearest wi-fi hotspot and no 3G signal was visible. They wanted to know whether I could help.
In my lab I looked out a couple of old wireless routers and a wi-fi extender plus a wi-fi dongle. About an hour later I was able to get four bars at 200 metres and began to get confident that this was going to be an easy fix.
To get the final throw I needed to focus the energy in a beam and enlisted the help of an old domestic satellite dish and a dongle. The rough and ready set-up is shown below.
On the day the team opted to use the 3G dongle. They managed to pull five bars of signal from an initial level of zero.
So it occurred to me that many of you folks living out in the country, villages and towns, who email me from time to time complaining of net deprivation, might just appreciate this very simple, low-cost solution.
All you have to do is make sure the dongle and especially the USB connector cannot get wet. Anything from a plastic canteen cup to a plastic bag should do the trick - depending on how professional you would like it to appear.
One last warning; watch out for the sun and the UV rays that degrade plastic and for the full enclosures that raise the temperature above 50C. Make sure there is some ventilation and adequate drainage holes should water actually get in.
Oh, and if you are having trouble getting a good mobile phone signal - standing in front of a dish also helps but it isn't very portable. Enjoy.
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Comments
There are 22 comments. Join the discussion
1. Antony Norris
A small piece of genius, which will go a long way. I'm currently living in Western Australia and the mobile coverage here, especially 3G, is patchy to say the least. This will certainly help a lot! Thanks Peter.
2. Simon Cox
Hurrah! Good old blighty still has that Heath Robinson crackpot inventor ethos! Where would we be without it?
3. Richard
Alternatively, try a cheap mass-produced Wok.
4. MusicFan
Hang on, so your saying if I'm having trouble with my mobile reception in the middle of a field, all i need to do is hold a wok to the other side of my head?
5. anonymous
Please explain a little more... I want to try this at home where my connectivity is spotty at best.
6. Rob
Except... then you're in violation of the laws that allow us to keep using this part of the spectrum. That is unless you're licensed for this kind of power. And no, it's not wattage that's limited, it's signal strength, so modding your antenna is a violation.
7. anonymous
Yes. A pocket wok. The kind you carry while talking on your cellphone in the middle of a field, usually. Whip it out, hold it up to your opposite ear from your cellphone, and turn in circles until you get the best reception.
8. Maurice
Mmm... Just hope you weren’t running an illegal radiator there, Peter - though a couple of wrt54g’s running ddwrt with some after market antennas make a very nice ptp /bridge link. And you could run two pairs with one pair rotated 90 deg to get double the band width
9. Peter Cochrane
Antony = Pleased to be of help - and you are living in a great location down there! Peter
10. Peter Cochrane
Simon = Not the first time I've been called a crackpot! But this really is just the application of what is well known already - and after a lifetime in the industry it is rather obvious. Peter
11. Peter Cochrane
Richard = A flat sheet of metal, dustbin/trashcan lid +++ will alsp work to some extent - but like the wok are far from the ideal shape. I just picked up a new 60cm dish at my hardware store for less than £20. Plenty of options out there. Peter
12. Peter Cochrane
Music fan = That will help for sure! You will look a bit of an idiot...but hey...this is IT! Peter
13. Peter Cochrane
Anonymous = GOTO Google - search Radio Telescope, Microwave Dish, Parabolic Reflector etc and see if you can figure. If not - think flashligt, car headlight and reflectors - all the same stuff! If you are still stuck ping me direct. Peter
14. Peter Cochrane
Rob = Depends in which country you reside - and of course there are laws and then there is the need. Even in the legislation intense USA people step over the strict line from time to time. The reality is that the only people driven to do this kind of thing, are by definition, in population thin areas and tend not to be a real problem as envisaged by the regulators! By the way it is also illegal to play soccer in the UK, or listen to overseas radio signals....Peter
15. Peter Cochrane
Wok in a field
We should get a pic of this!
Peter
16. Peter Cochrane
Maurice = As if I would! If we don't push the envelope nothing changes - nothing advances - and we learn nothing new!
There is theory, conservative regulation, and then there is the practical world we live in - and they seldom line up 100%.
And worse, there are always problems we didn't anticipate - the big question is = what works for the majority of the population!
Peter
17. MusicFan
Heres one for you Peter...
My Dad lives on a narrow boat in the middle of a field, and i have terrible trouble speaking to him because of the awful reception in his area.
Apart from telling him to hold a wok to his head when i phone him, is there anything we can build onto his barge (sorry narrowboat) to improve reception?
Does he need to be stood next to the "dish"? or can anything be done to give the whole boat surrounding area?
Thanks
18. Peter Cochrane
Music Fan
Your Dad on a boat most likely only needs erect an antenna at the top of a mast with a coax down lead (TV style) that he can plug into his phone or passively couple in.
I don't advocate, promote or sell specific products - so just pick the search engine or auction site of your choice and search 'passive couplers' or mobile phone booster/repeater.
Shouldn't cost more than £100!
Best of luck - Peter
19. MusicFan
Thanks Peter!
Will let you know how it goes!
20. Sasa Sekulic
you can also build a "cantenna" - basically a nail inside a 1/2lb coffee can, widely used here in Serbia because it's cheap and has a 500-1000m range. lots of instructions on the internet.
OR, since it is a company you're talking about, you could just buy a normal +18 or 24dB weather resistant antenna for 75 euros upwards, and you don't have to think about plastic covers or anything. some of my friends tested those and in flat fields they have a range of up to 70km.
21. gobuddy
This is in total contravention of the Wireless Telegraphy Act.
This is a very selfish approach Increasing the power in one direction will cause interference to other users, and they won't know why they can't conenct. Maybe they should boost their power as well to overcome this, and then so should their neighbours...
I'm off to set up a pirate radio station now.
22. Robert Sugg
If the module at the focal point is a standard end-user Wi-Fi module then the transmit power is within limits. The key benefit is the improved reception by focusing the radio signal. Look back to the column's mention of the jump from no bars to five bars of signal strength. That is the result of the dish's geometry. This is the closest one can get to having the equiv. of Arecibo Obs. (PR) or Jodrell Bank (UK) in their back yard.
N.B. I've benefited from altitude (hill-side not mast) sensitivity gains in my TV reception in the past. Currently, my Wi-Fi hotspot list expands depending upon how high my laptop is in my house (mid-deck vs. top floor). The signal strength is also affected by which way it is facing. So if your connection is lame try getting as high as possible and turning it from XII to IX or from XII to III (desktop as a Roman clock) in one hour chunks. No guarantee for your situation - just what I've seen at home.