The only place in our house that ever gets any Wi-Fi signal is the kitchen. For some reason, we were only able to install our router out in the office, which is detached from the house like a garage on the back of our lot. Being a student, it’s hard to concentrate in such a high-traffic area, but there’s nowhere else to connect my laptop to the internet.
So I was searching for remedies which would not require moving the router. Results ranged from buying a better antenna, buying a Wi-Fi repeater, or making my own with an old router (which is beyond my technical ability). Then I stumbled upon this little guy, thinking “Yeah right, like that cheap thing will ever work?”
This is an antenna extender called the Windsurfer. The template can be found at freeantennas.com. Despite my skepticism, this actually worked! I have been blessed with a strong signal in my bedroom, which is on the opposite side of the house and competes with plumbing in the adjacent bathroom. A normal router broadcasts its signal in all directions, but putting this reflector on it can bounce the signal in the direction of my choice (towards the house), thus strengthening it.
I had my nerd moment and a chance to get into a little bit of crafting! It was really easy to make, you will need:
- cardstock
- scissors
- exacto knife
- glue
- tape
- Print the template, preferably on cardstock. Make sure you do not distort the proportions of the template, but making it a full-size print is okay.
- Cut out the two pieces, using an exacto knife to cut the slots.
- Cut a piece of tinfoil for the square reflector, and glue it on (I used gluestick, which worked just fine).
- Recut the slots in the reflector with the exacto knife.
- Insert the tabs into the reflector, and secure with tape.
You should end up with an arched reflector, which you can simply slide onto the top of the antenna. Point it in the direction of your house. Voila!
