Boost a Weak 3G Modem Signal, With a Saucepan

modeca writes "Using only commonly available kitchen equipment this guy demonstrates the amazing powers of an ordinary metal pan to boost the 3G reception of his USB modem. It really seems to work, check the right hand side of the graph in the video." It's not that crazy: cheap antenna boosting (for USB WiFi dongles, Bluetooth, and more) has been elevated to a fine art in New Zealand.

Comments

Easily done

[earnest murderer]

You can find plans for aluminum foil and cardboard reflectors in many places as well. Here's one now!

http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

They work great.

Re:Who knew?

[drinkypoo]

Who knew that tinfoil hats actually _boosted_ reception.

everyone but you

Re:Hijacking advantage

[ShooterNeo]

Welcome to the club. People have been doing this since wi fi was first publicly available. There are special antennas available that are much better than improvised ones, as well as special wireless radios that are hacked to give a stronger signal. For a long time, everyone was using WEP for security so that basically anyone with the right equipment also had access.

Dim-sum scoop works on modem antennas too

[stimpleton]

I came accross the USB Wifi site by accident a couple years back. I recalled seeing the dim-sum scoops in the local chinese mini-mart up the road, so I went up and bought one (NZ$4.50), and leaned it behind my modem's wireless antenna, then went to my garage sleepout for guests, which previously was out of range. Using NetStumbler, I watched the graph while a friend adjusted the scoop in the house. It went up to a usable "Good/Excellant" signal.

I havent investigated why, but a wire mesh scoop seems better than a sold dish(Engineers will know I am sure).

Re:Most likely

[GrpA]

And fairly simple physics at that... The pot attenuates some signals and may even amplify others... The end result is a better S/N ratio and less lost packets due to errors.

I do the same, except I use a mesh spagetti strainer ( a big sieve ) and I've mounted a USB cable extender just below the focal point... Add my 3G dongle and away I go... up from 1 bar to 4 bars reception and my download speed doubles.

My neighbor now uses one for his mobile phone and then he uses bluetooth to take the call so he can leave his handset in there.

They are kind of directional though, but it's very repeatable.

GrpA