Introduction: Yet Another Laptop Wifi Antenna Mod
Add range to your laptop's wifi card by installing a removable antenna which is connected to your internal wireless card via the PCMCIA card slot.
questions: anliekxandrov@yahoo.com
Step 1: Peices Parts
You need:
An antenna, size matters
A short pigtail connector
A pigtail to RP-TNC connector (can be anything that matches your antenna)
A "blank" PCMCIA card, comes with most dell laptops to fill the PCMCIA slot
Epoxy
optional: copper wire (pulled out of some old Cat5)
Most of these peices came out of one of the many burned up Cisco Aironet 1200 routers I have sitting in my closet
Step 2: Put It Together
Epoxy your connector to the blank PCMCIA card
I added skrews which i tied down with the copper wire for stability
Run the pigtail connector through your PCMCIA cage to your internal wireless card's AUX antenna connector.
Step 3: Done!
Very Nice!
20 Comments
14 years ago on Introduction
wow that laptop of yurs is an antique! porbably from the 1900's you should sell it, you probably will get bout $5000- 10000 dollars from a crazy antique collector. LOL
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
i have an oldet one, no touch pad only the ball smaller screen aswell, 4gb hard drive replaced to 20gb replaced to 10gb
128mb ram, 2.5 mb video, 400mhz cpu, good cd drive no bluetooth or wifi runs xp slowly
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Heh, its got the XP Sticker on it mate. ;) Pretty Modern.
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
IBM makes a good solid laptop. I've been eyeing an IBM for awhile, but have never had the money.
11 years ago on Introduction
Ok for the obviously ignorant 3 people at the top, its not a phone antenna...its a router one. Also, thinkpads have ALWAYS looked like dinos...even the new ones still do, its just their style, its a work laptop, not one to play warcraft in your mothers basement with. And yes this works, I made a similar one just not utilizing the pci slot. Mine simply comes out of the top of my screen though its a different model. Nicely done!
12 years ago on Introduction
OMG!!!! I did this and I could get a good signal off my wifi from 15 miles away!! You are a god!!! Lol, this is an awesome instructable. I throught it was real for the first 3 seconds.
13 years ago on Introduction
Looks to be a 850mhz bag phone antenna
Don't think that would work too well at 2.4ghz LOL
13 years ago on Introduction
You could try to add an antennae to an external card because most laptops are not meant to be tampered with on the inside. This is why they have torx screws.
14 years ago on Introduction
:P thats an ibm
14 years ago on Introduction
Beefy lol
14 years ago on Introduction
Sorry!The add got missing when you sign in. Regardless what makes the signal stronger using this method? I am very interested?
14 years ago on Step 3
is this a joke? I am new to here,but why am i seeing an add?
14 years ago on Introduction
Clever! If you have the laptop apart again, could you get a picture of the internal connection? Presumably you had to take apart the laptop to get to the antennas?
14 years ago on Introduction
Well DONE !!! great idea,
15 years ago on Introduction
I've been reading a LOT of this WiFi stuff here on our extraordinary Instructables.com and was wondering if anyone has tested the strainer method against the coffee can or pringles method and also against using an old directv satellite and such. Which one would give me the best reception? I'm guessing the satellite dish but I am new to this. TIA!
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Definitely the sat dish. I have an 8' sat dish I plan to try.
15 years ago on Introduction
WOW. Does this REALLY work? really, it looks a bit unbelieveable :P
16 years ago
xD nice work questions tho do you leve this card in your laptop or do un plug it somehow and what kind of signal upgrade do you get when you doo this? luke
16 years ago
Already hackadayed...
16 years ago on Step 3
Great Sucess