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I have a project to boost a wireless signal but without touching the router and its antennae.

1st of all the router is above the cabinet which we can't reach.
2nd we are not allowed to touch the router which means we can't add extender or any other wires.
And 3rd we were asked to boost the signal in order to reach the targets and be creative. here's my illustration:

initial illustration

Plan A would cost less but the risk failing it... I think would be high.

I am planning on using aluminum card board, foils and tin cans as reflectors and to save money. so I plan to make a parabolic dish and some reflectors made up of aluminum.

Can my dish reach the targets or my reflector(s)? I don't know how analog/digital signal works but i think it would bounce in a strait line when ever it reflect.

Here's my illustration: plan A
Plan A illustration

Plan B would cost a lot but lower the risk... and unfair

and that is buying a repeater and install it at the center of the hallway.

Plan C is 50 50

and that is make an antenna that runs in battery's. but I don't know how to make one like a biquad wifi antenna.

I think using reflectors would be fun. any idea?

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  • Can you put anything behind the Wifi router? How much space is over and how much space behind the router?
    – Stan
    Sep 9, 2017 at 19:14
  • hello. we are not allowed to touch the router or add behind the router like windsurfer etc. Sep 10, 2017 at 4:12
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    Relevant to the consideration of reflection is whether you are using 2.4Ghz or 5.0Ghz connections.
    – Mooseman
    Sep 10, 2017 at 16:57
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    The aluminum foil reflectors are a good idea. I'd add a cantenna on the receiving side for the farthest devices(s). See jacobsalmela.com/2013/09/07/… . A parabolic reflector might be difficult to focus, and its beam might be too directional. Sep 10, 2017 at 22:51
  • Good day and thank you for the response. I would like to ask however, does this cantenna necessarily has to be connected to the router? Because we are not allowed to touch the router at all, Sep 11, 2017 at 3:04

2 Answers 2

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A reflector would be difficult to get right. A parabola at the location you've drawn does not help: it'll just increase the interference. A parabola only works if the transmitter is in the focal point of the parabola.

Making an antenna that runs on batteries isn't going to work either. You'd need to build a repeater. This is a radio transmitter, and you need a decent background in electronics to build one that works instead of making the situation worse. It'd be easier and cheaper just to buy a repeater instead.

A cantenna is a possible solution, because you can set this up at the receiver side. You'd have to buy an external Wifi receiver, and connect this to the cantenna and your computer. Or instead buy an external wifi receiver with a good antenna. But this has to be done for every computer in the '2nd target' area.

A repeater (also known as a range extender) is the easiest to set up. You can buy range extenders that do not need to be connected to the router (random repeater linked for reference): they receive the signal from the router, and transmit it again on another channel. Place the repeater near 'target 1'.
Repeaters are common items, and can be bought for about US$7-50.

You can build your own repeater using 2 wifi access points, or with a computer with 2 wifi cards (1 internal, 1 USB, for example). If you use a Windows computer, I think you can use the built-in 'connection sharing' to extend the network through the second wifi card.

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  • good day to you. thank you for your response. i believe i found my answer thanks to you. using a repeater is a good choice in solving this problem but is there a way to build it rather than using old routers? because all the tutorials on you-tube used router? please place a link if found something. Forgot to mention that we also not allowed to touch the targets which is out teacher's laptop so no cantenna. sorry for not mentioning it. Sep 16, 2017 at 14:07
  • good day to you. thank you for your quick response. I am glad to see that i can modify my laptop as a repeater using only third party software. wish me luck in this project. Sep 17, 2017 at 14:38
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I bought a TP-Link AC750 Dual Band WiFi Range Extender, for my Airbnb unit - it plugs into the electric outlet in the extended area, and picks up and reinforces the signal which is from the front of the house behind several walls. Seems to work well and no wires are required. The only small drawback is that it takes up a fair amount of space on the outlet. I think I held it close to the router to set it up, then moved it to its location and it has worked great! Here is the model I bought - it is now $30 at amazon.com https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NR2VMNC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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  • good day. thank you for the response. does this extender needs to connect to the source router? if yes we can't use this. we are not allowed to access the router. also we will discard plan b because of this and any other reason but thank you for sharing your thoughts. Sep 14, 2017 at 13:19

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