Best wifi booster?

[One Awesome Inch]

Looking at the alfa model. Can it be used with a smart phone? That's all I have. How is it powered... 12V, 110 or AAs etc?

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

the alfa adapter is a usb device for wifi, usb port provides power, it wont work with cellular, sorry..

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

i think it is possible to pull in wifi from say mcds, then retransmit it to other devices in the vehicle like cell phones. I just havent figured it out how to do it efficiently and cheaply. For instance hi-gain sells a device ready made to do that, but its probably expensive as hell and i wonder if it has the same long range.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Looking at the alfa model.  Can it be used with a smart phone?  That's all I have. How is it powered... 12V, 110 or AAs etc?

Wifi is for laptops, Ipads, and Android Tablets.  AFAIK, no smart phone has wifi - I could be wrong - does the owners manual for your phone say anything at all about wifi?  Is it one of those in-between "phablets"?

If I'm right, you won't be able to use free wifi if all you have is a smartphone.

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

My Galaxy SIII (and newer) can pick up wifi and can act as wifi hotspots. But AFAIK cannot be hard connected to a wifi antenna/booster.

 

[minimotos95]

Like Lee said, as far as I know all smart phones have built in wifi and none of them work with a USB booster/antenna/thingy, many android phones but not all with android 2.2 and newer can act as a wifi hotspot.

I am thinking I will mount a cheapo 300mbs wifi repeater(I'll see how expensive they are on my next shopping trip), waterproofed somehow on my roof, or in the tree next to my van and see how that works for my RV park situation. If it works here it should work to snag public wifi too with the caveat of having to run your inverter..

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

im not advocating this product, but as xan example of what you have to do here check out the repeater pro (second on page) and how it works
http://hawkingtech.com/long-range-wifi-solutions/04_rvs.html
Alpha has a device you can hook its adapter to pull in signal then rebroadcast/ hotspot it to you phones etc, but apparently they didnt allow in the drivers for the validation screens a lot of free wifi makes you route too 'agree to terms, get connected!' etc

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Yeah I'm using a Samsung note 3 for everything and love it. It does do wifi. If one of those wifi booster dealies works with android tablets it should work with my phone.

However not sure as it's seems the drivers required are not compatible?

 

[LeeRevell]

Yeah I'm using a Samsung note 3 for everything and love it. It does do wifi. If one of those wifi booster dealies works with android tablets it should work with my phone.

However not sure as it's seems the drivers required are not compatible?

Totally different OS involved.  But usually if something becomes popular on the Apple platform it soon is available for us Android fans.

 

[sl1966]

I've tried the Cantenna too and wasn't impressed by it. In my research I discovered something called Wok-Fi. It's comprised of three elements. 

1. wifi usb adapter
2. usb cable (length depends on need)
3. large wok mesh strainer

You make a hole in the middle of the strainer and secure the usb wifi adapter into it. Then plug the cable into the adapter/laptop respectively. The combination of the strainer and usb wifi adapter creates a directional parabolic antenna with a greater range than that of the adapter itself.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wifi-Signal-Strainer-WokFi/

 

[KayakGirl]

I've tried the Cantenna too and wasn't impressed by it. In my research I discovered something called Wok-Fi. It's comprised of three elements. 

1. wifi usb adapter
2. usb cable (length depends on need)
3. large wok mesh strainer

You make a hole in the middle of the strainer and secure the usb wifi adapter into it. Then plug the cable into the adapter/laptop respectively. The combination of the strainer and usb wifi adapter creates a directional parabolic antenna with a greater range than that of the adapter itself.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wifi-Signal-Strainer-WokFi/

Have you done this?  How well did it work?

 

[highdesertranger]

I have seen were they do that wok-fi, only they substitute a satellite dish for the wok. highdesertranger

 

[Gadget728]

I see this thread is a bit dated, so I'm going to update it for everybody -
The WIFI on laptops is a very small on board unit with an internal antenna. The newest Version for wifi is now up to "AC"
The older versions are 802.11 A/B/G/N & now AC. The letter designates the speed of that version. A & B are so old and slow, no one has them anymore. 802.11 G has a max rating of 54 Megabytes per second. 802.11 N is much better and what most people have currently. I get 130+ Mbps with my USB wifi "N" adapter.

About the best you can do is a special YAGI antenna, but they are VERY directional, if your not aiming directly at their Router, it does no good. Forget about this.

The more popular thing to do is similar to a previous post, a USB device with antenna(s) on it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1000MW-Wifi...419473?hash=item4d29c775d1:g:PR0AAOSwM4xXa3nD This is a USB 2.0 Device. I use one of these currently, but will be upgrading to an AC device soon.

There are also several AC versions on Amazon, they range from $35 -$100 A lot of the AC versions count on you having USB 3.0 to attain the speeds advertised. Most windows 7 machines are USB 2.0. Some Windows 8, 8.1 & 10 machines have USB 3.0 if you look in the USB port and it's Blue it's probably USB 3.0.

I suggest getting one that comes with a short usb cord, a longer one can be added to give you flexibility in placement. The fewer the obstructions the better.

ALL USB & wifi protocols are backwards compatible. You can hook an AC device to a USB 2.0 system, but probably won't achieve the max speed of the AC device, because USB 2.0 is slower.
No matter what USB protocol your computer i running, if you can afford an AC Wifi Adapter, buy it. it is WAY WAY faster than any USB N Device.

As for repeaters - A repeater has to be close enough to grab a good signal, then it boosts it from there. If you have a good enough signal in your vehicle for a repeater, you have enough signal for a good wifi adapter. There is also some setup required for a repeater, which might require permission from the originating router. People giving away wifi don't want you messing with their settings!

D-link also makes a magnetic base, with a threaded port on it to screw an antenna to, and then it's extension cord screws where the antenna would have been attached on your wireless device. The thread size and designation for wifi antennas is called RP/SMA.

There are only a handful of companies that actually produce the wifi devices, Ralink & Realtek are the 2 most popular for the general public.

If you decide to hook one f these up to your USB port, go into your network settings on your computer and disable the on board device, it doesn't help anything if your using the USB device. In fact it just slows things down. Hope this helps out some - Gadget

 

[Gadget728]

Add on to previous post.
If the wifi your trying to capture is pushing a signal from an old "G" router, 54 mbps is the max you can get. Anyone pushing an "N" signal, you could easily see 130+ mbps if your close enough. Wifi signals radiate outwards in an oval, they don't shoot straight up & down. being around the same height off the ground as the router gives you a better signal. Fewer walls and obstructions is better too. I don't know where they locate their routers, but ti's usually centrally located enough for anyone in the building.

I will start testing the free wifi at Wendy's, McDonalds, Lowes, Home Depot, Starbucks and anywhere I can find it, and see what they are running for wifi.

 

[blars]

ALL USB & wifi protocols are backwards compatible. You can hook an AC device to a USB 2.0 system, but probably won't achieve the max speed of the AC device, because USB 2.0 is slower.

No matter what USB protocol your computer i running, if you can afford an AC Wifi Adapter, buy it. it is WAY WAY faster than any USB N Device.

There are only a handful of companies that actually produce the wifi devices, Ralink & Realtek are the 2 most popular for the general public.

This is a few minor technical corrections, Gadget728 mostly has it right.

Both ends have to support the same protocol. Having high-speed wifi won't do you any good if the limiting factor is hardwire internet connection.

There is limited backward compatibility between wifi protocols, most B or G devices won't work on A. Most N devices only support a subset and can't get the highest speed.

In theory, there should be more backward compatibility between USB devices, but there are devices that don't support the older protocols.

Only a few places produce the chips used in wifi adapters, but many produce boards using them of varying quality.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Older devices operated only on the 2.4 ghz frequencies.  Newer devices can also use the 5 ghz frequency, which most people never seem to remember.  A new usb wifi with antenna, as mentioned in previous posts, will probably support the 5 ghz.  If the source transmitter - say Mickey D or Barnes and Noble - also supports 5 ghz also supports 5 ghz, that's the way you want to go.  Everybody else will be battling each other for 2.4 ghz bandwidth.

 

[Gadget728]

After posting, I have done some research on newer more advanced devices on the market today. There are signal boosters I had never seen before, so I apologize if I posted anything misleading.

A lot of my customers that are trying to get a better wifi signal can't afford the newer pricey boosters or even AC hardware at all. The Cantenna, and similar devices are all good for being more directional, and scooping in signals.

BLARS is right about 802.11 A, I only mentioned it because it's there. I haven't seen any "A" or "B" devices used in years, so the possibility of having that protocol in your network is slim. I also should have specified wifi chips, not devices, Ralink & Realtek make the most popular chips, a gazillion different manufacturers put them on boards and in devices. Thanks for clarifying BLARS.
I do some network penetration testing and have found some chips work much better than others. Some manufacturers of wifi "DEVICES" don't specify which chip the are using, and although many usb style wifi devices look the same, they could have cheaper older versions inside.

I'm old school and sometimes ghetto, but I've used many different configurations to grab wifi cheaply, and have been fairly successful. My post was intended for PC & laptop owners, not so much cell phones or tablets. That's a whole different can of worms.

I forgot to mention the differences between 2.4 & 5 ghz signals, I got this info from the net:

The differences between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wireless
The primary difference between the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless frequencies is range as the 2.4 GHz frequency is able to reach farther than the 5 GHz frequency. This is a result of the basic characteristics that waves attenuate much faster at higher frequencies. So if you are more concerned with the coverage, you should select 2.4 GHz rather than 5 GHz.

The second difference is the number of devices on the frequencies. 2.4 GHz suffers more interference than 5 GHz.
The older 11g standard only uses the 2.4 GHz frequency, majority of the world is on it. 2.4 GHz has fewer channel options with only three of them non-overlapping, while 5 GHz has 23 non-overlapping channels.
A lot of other devices are also on the 2.4 GHz frequencies, the biggest offenders are microwaves and cordless phones. These devices add noise to the medium that can further decrease the speed of wireless networks.
In both aspects, choosing to deploy on the 5 GHz frequency is the much better option as you have more channels to use to isolate yourself from other networks and there are far fewer interference sources.

But the radar and military frequency is also 5 GHz, so 5 GHz wireless may also have some interference, and many countries require that wireless devices working on 5 GHz should support DFS(Dynamic Frequency Selection) and TPC(Transmitting Power Control).

Summary:
5 GHz has a shorter range compared with 2.4 GHz;
The 2.4 GHz frequency is way more crowded than 5 GHz, devices on 2.4 GHz suffer much more interference than the ones on 5 GHz;
Fewer devices are capable of using the 5 GHz channel than the 2.4 GHz channel. (that is changing with time - Gadget)
If there is too much interference around and your clients support 5 GHz, it’s recommended to use 5 GHz wireless network, otherwise you’d better select 2.4 GHz.

I'm sorry if I posted dated data, not trying to confuse or inhibit anyone from buying newer technology.

 

[ArtW]

ok my eyes ar slowly uncrossing, I'll reveal my lack of knowledge
My PC is an Acer from WM, my internet is provided by my cell phone via usb tethering
Is this maybe why I can't upload photos to the 'bucket? It'd be faster if I somehow figured out how to link my PC via my wifi hotspot in my phone?
now if only I had a tablet instead of a PC, tablets all have wifi receivers in them
LOL

 

[iamk]

I've used this one for the past year and am happy with it:
CC Vector RV Long Range WiFi Receiver System 2.4 GHz

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I had it built directly into my van conversion.[/font]

I also have one of their radios that I'm happy with.

 

[crofter]

Where did you mount it?
-crofter