Best way to improve signal strength?

[~NeonFire372~]

My aunt and her neighbours down the street agreed to share their internet connection between one another and split the price since they aren't doing that well financially at the moment. However, the router is in the neighbour's house and my aunt's laptop (and my laptop) only pick up the signal in the bathroom - the only room pointing across the yard towards their house. She wants to be able to browse the web in the living room, which is on the opposite side of the house but the signal strength isn't good enough. Is there any way to improve the signal strength? The neighbours told me they have the router pretty much pointed directly towards my aunt's house and it works perfect for them.

Would there be a way to put something in the bathroom wirelessly that would direct the signal again to the living room? Weird question but I'd like to have some idea by Saturday.

 

[setishock]

TP-Link TL-WA501G or Linksys repeater. The TP-Link will run you around 40 dollars US while the Linksys is 99 US dollars. The Linksys is not all that great and wonderful. The TP-Link is what I used here at the hotel. A lot of bang for a few bucks.

 

[~NeonFire372~]

Does the repeater need to be plugged into the laptop or router or does it just pick up the signal wirelessly and then I'd connect to it? Would it support entry of a WPA key and stuff too?

 

[root]

a second router outside might be something that they'd consider.

or a cantenna type apparatus,
basically you build a dish around the antenna and this will increase the signal strength in the direction that the dish points.

also different wireless cards are better o worse at picking up signals,

for instance the laptop I have now (dell latitude 610) is a lot better than my old laptop, (compaq nx6110).

so you culd try using a different wireless card.

 

[~NeonFire372~]

They don't really want to install anything new or whatever; they are older and don't really know much about the internet in the first place so I'd rather try whatever I can from my end.

 

[wee493]

you could try putting a wireless Gaming adapter outside or where ever you get the best signal strength then attacking a wireless router to the gaming adapter. I'm not completely sure if it would work. I still think your best option is the Range Extender that setishock recommended.

 

[GhostGT]

Get an extender or repeater. Basically, you'll plug it into the bathroom wall socket and it will pick up and hopefully throw the signal at you. I don't think it will be PERFECT, but it's sure worth a shot.

 

[D-Lew]

This probably won't help... but I had a weak signal from my G router going to the other side of the house. It's a fairly large house so it has to go a good distance. I ended up eating two mini reeses peanut butter cups and shaping the foil into a satellite dish shape and put them on the end of the antennae and pointed them toward the computer in the back of the house. It actually worked. I laughed so much since that is the #1 most ghetto thing I have ever done with electronics and it worked better than a lot of other things I have done.

Other than that I can just tell you what everyone else has said and possibly some of the overlooked basics, like put the router as high up as possible, avoid electronic devices between the router and computers, etc...

 

[Cabbs]

I'm gonna try that with my 360 now

 

[fireball]

A repeater would probably be the cheapest solution to this problem.(except of course what D-Lew said. hahaha)