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INDEX TO WEB SITE STORY UPDATE NEWS AND EBAY LISTING
GENERAL ITEMS
OTHER EVIL/ HERO GUIDES NAMES I CALL MY WIFE & SHAKESPEAREAN INSULTS COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR ANIMAL SPECIES SOME OTHER EBAY SALES WITH STORIES THE REAL MEANING OF HAYNES MANUAL INSTRUCTIONS
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM READERS HATTYMENDER (THE BEARER OF GRUDGES AND COMPLAINTS)
STORIES AND EBAY SALES
1 AN OLD LAND ROVER
19 SELLING 3 TONNES OF CLAY
29 ZEN AND THE ART OF LAND ROVER MAINTENANCE 30 SELLING A CIGARETTE LIGHTER AND A TRIP TO SCOTLAND 34 THE UNIVERSE IS A BIG PLACE 42 SELLING LAND ROVER SIDE STEPS 43 SELLING A TOW / RECOVERY CHAIN 44 SELLING LAND ROVER BULL BARS
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FOGGYDAVES CANTENNA MY WIRELESS BROADBAND SIGNAL BOOSTER USING A WIFI DONGLE INSTEAD OF A PROBE (Reaches the parts the standard wireless router cannot) Also HOW TO MAKE A USB BULKHEAD CONNECTOR
--------------------------------------------------------------- Below are two results from Net Stumbler. The first using the wireless WiFi dongle placed in the USB port on the computor. The second with the WiFi dongle placed in the USB port in the Cantenna. As you will see when using the Cantenna you can pick up signals from most of the adjoining houses.
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As the cellar is the quietest place in the house I tend to spend a great deal of time there. Also as the stairs to it are a tad steep my wife avoids coming down, tidying up and generally causing chaos. Though given that the air circulation in the cellar is very poor with only one small window it is probably best due to her open pore problem and associated perspiration complications that she cannot come down. My megaphone mouthed love usually communicates by standing at the top of the stairs and bellowing or if in a really bad mood by banging her wooden leg on the floor, the more severe the bad mood the louder the banging. My web access is broadband through a wireless network with the wireless router being in the front bedroom. The signal throughout the house is ok until you are in the cellar, which happens to be where I do most of my web browsing. I needed to boost the signal strength. The way to do this was to use a Cantenna and so I decided to design and build my own based on the standard Cantenna design but with a WiFi adapter in place of the ariel probe. I used a Pasta can with a domed lid and cut off the bottom of the can, using the domed lid as the end. You can use standard tea or coffee caddies as well. After many attempts at different designs I ended up with the one shown above. Not only does it pick up my router, but when pointed at the window it picks up most of the wireles routers in the local area , and unlike the doggy can ones it would really look great on the coffee table, or desk, My wife is thinking of wearing these at the next race meeting. see story 9. It will pick up signals within line of sight up to one third of a mile away. I made the special USB bulkhead connecter assemblies myself as I cannot find a suitable one in the existing market place. So if you are having problems picking up a signal ie garage, garden shed, greenhouse, Anderson shelter, dogs kennel, Atomic bunker etc then this could be the "cure" that you have been looking for. I use either a pasta can or coffee/tea container with the bottom cut off. The design is based upon information from the site below and its many links. How to build a tin can waveguide antenna The difference on my cantenna is that I use a wireless adapter instead of an ariel probe. One of my original ideas was to use a probe ariel with a lead from that soldered to the ariel in the WiFi dongle. I noticed when doing this that the ariel in the dongle was at roughly the same height as the tip of a probe ariel. This set me on the track of just using a USB connection and placing a WiFi dongle in place of the probe. Couple this with the dished base of the cantenna and the reception is pretty much the same. This also solved the problem of my rather poor soldering skills. I found the concave domed end/lid seems to give a stronger signal than a flat end. I wonder if the dome concentrates/focuses the signal more efficiently.
HOW TO MAKE A USB BULKHEAD CONNECTOR
Materials required.
One N Female panel receptacle.
One Heatshrink tubing 30mm wide. One USB lead. All the items are available on Ebay. (Note use receptacle as shown)
1 Take a standard N Female panel receptacle. 2 Cut off rear threaded portion. 3 Cut off front shoulder flush with the face of the flange, 4 Push out central core and discard.
5 Place connector in vice and, 6 Using a square file file cut out the hole to suit the USB connector. 7 Rectangular hole ready for connector. 8 Chamfer back of receptacle, ( Optional).
9 Push USB connector into the rectangular hole in receptacle. 10 Bond USB connector to receptacle with epoxy resin (Araldite) 11 Feed heatshrink cover onto connector when resin is dry. 12 Heat cover to shrink and that's it.
Copyright © David B Forrester 2008
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