Slashdot Mirror


Cardboard WiFi Antenna Upgrade

An anonymous reader writes "A British company called Tritium is marketing a piece of cardboard with metal foil on one side. You order it for under US$25, shipping included, and you get a flat envelope with the cardboard. Cut it out, shape it into a parabola and snap it into the little stand. Then slip it over your current antenna. It is advertised to extend the range of your current antenna by 2 to 3 times. See their website for more information on the cleverly named Tritium Flatenna."

15 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. Hah by dotslashconfig · · Score: 5, Funny

    And you thought tin-foil was just for hats!

  2. Make your own by webscathe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Or you could just go here and make your own with stuff in your house for under $1.

    1. Re:Make your own by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, like someone said, If you glue two pieces of crap together, some $EXPLETIVE_FOO will pay good money for it. (And if you do it in white or aluminium and emboss an apple on it: 500% instant markup! ;) )

      /Consumerus Sapien

  3. This looks strangely like advertisement by Cyb3r · · Score: 5, Insightful

    doesn't it?

  4. Microwave Pizzas by mcgroarty · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microwave pizzas, hot pockets, etc come with foil-backed cardboard underneath. That looks to be the same material -- I'd wager you could cobble something together with those as well. And you'd have something to eat while you're geeking out.

  5. Second use by Tokerat · · Score: 5, Funny

    A British company called Tritium is marketing a piece of cardboard with metal foil on one side.
    If you don't have Wi-Fi, these also make excellent hats.
    --
    CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
  6. Finally, a use for tinfoil hats ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    just turn it inside out, insert over antenna, viola 10 mpbs and encrypted ...

  7. Great, but.. by noname3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does it work? Yes, this advertises a boost, but so do a bunch of products for cell phones that are purely decorative.

    I had to sell these for a small retail store, and to this day I feel guilty. A local newstation did an expose where they found there was zero conductive material at all in these stickers.

  8. Cheaper solutions exist by mcgroarty · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can get Wi Fi Speed Spray for a few bucks less, and there's no overseas shipping to worry about.

  9. i laughed at this too by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Insightful

    i laughed at this too, like 90% of slashdotters here

    then again, if you told me in the 1980s that people would pay for bottled water

    or in the 1990s that people would pay $5.00 for a cup of coffee

    i would have laughed at you too

    the lesson is not to laugh, but to figure out your own amazing scheme

    for while we laugh at the people who sell this stuff, they are laughing all the way to the bank

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  10. History of ideas, volume 27 by legLess · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good idea Getting an ad for your product posted to Slashdot. Bad idea Hosting the site on DSL in your mom's basement.

    --
    This isn't as much "normalization" as it is "don't take so many drugs when you're designing tables."
  11. Not an upgrade... by xchino · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is NOT an upgrade for your antenna. This doesn't increase gain, it just takes it from the back and adds to the front. The good thing about this method is it doesn't require you to modify your original antenna, so you don't have to worry about breaking FCC regulations on all equipment being certified. Apart from that, they are selling for $25 something which I created for free out of household items. Check here for more info on how to do it yourself (took me all of 30 minutes the first time).

    But again, I want to state this isn't an upgrade, your antenna isn't any more powerful, you're just taking power from the back and shooting it forward, so if you need omnidirectional signal this isn't for you. It can however, increase a dirctional link, but so can a pringles yagi directional, and that's still cheaper than this. Forget about this company and just make your own, it's simple, fun, and cheap, and gives you more of a choice in what material you want to use.

    --
    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
  12. Other cardboard products for under $25 by James+Turpin · · Score: 5, Funny

    For $24 I'll sell you a cardboard box that you can sleep in. Just think how much money you'll save by not paying for housing! This is ideal for people living in Silicon Valley.

    --
    Mathematics is not a crime.
  13. Re:Tritium by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, but their website had a halflife of only about 15 minutes. The irony...

  14. Re:Tritium by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
    I know all about the stuff, I injected it into rats for years.

    I can't decide which kind of rat's eyes are creepier: original blood red reflective glow or new cool green self-illuminated glow.