Wireless Question

I'm building a new toy and I would like to know if I increase the length of antena wire will I get added range. If so is there a theoretical limit like the wire it comes with gives me 150' of range will twice as much give me an aditional 150. 100 or less? Would mounting the antena pads to a uhf antenna help or hurt. Is there a way to substantialy increase the range of standard wifi on the laptop side, excluding cellular cards.

 

I'm not sure I fully appreciate (are you transmitting or receiving) your question but here goes.

The antenna part of an aerial system is carefully chosen to be the correct length and geometry for the frequency involved. Any change to this will degrade performance. The actual antenna for the 2.4 Ghz in most wifi is very short.

The feeder wire can be quite long, but length will only marginally reduce the efficiency of the antenna.

This is good because in general the higher you can get the antenna the better as a good deal of the power is otherwise absorbed by the ground.

Normal transmit and receive wifi antenna have a spherical response pattern - equal in all directions including up and down.
You can replace these with directional antenna which concentrate the signal power in one or two particular directions. this would inclrease your range.

However doubling the range is over-ambitious, even with a repeater.

 

A standard Wifi mini Pci card, that has main and AUX antenna leads off of it, to pick up 802.11 g, you're telling me the length of the wire is tuned to the signal, increasing its length will actually reduce my signal to router.

basically I'm trying to get a wireless signal from further away. without being able to set up a repeater in the middle.

 

If it's a mini pci card it will have 2 tiny coax connectors, like press studs. The feeder cables connect into these and connect to a frame aerial stretched around the laptop lid, behind the screen, in much the same way as old fashioned valve portable radios sets worked. At the other end of the feed will be short stub antenna, resonant at 2.4 ghz for wireless g.

 

Yes thats right, so the length of the coax cables have no effect on signal, but it does effect how high you can put the stub antennas to which are as they should be to make the connection.

 

basicaly I've built a boat computer out of a laptop and I believe the router is about 300' away over open water. I can mount the antena stubs anywhere I want I wanted to know if putting them on deck would be beneficial or if keeping them in the same general area of the screen is going to be about as good as it gets.

 

Yes, I'd get the ends as high as possible if you can succsessfully extend the feeds. They don't have to be behind the screen at all, its just convenient in a normal laptop.

Sounds like a gen project. Good sailing.

major:cool