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Build your own Cantenna – directional WiFi on a budget

Build your own Cantenna – directional WiFi on a budget

Wrap Up

And this is the whole thing, set up for playing online with the Wii. I have dubbed it “The Beacon”, as it’s a shining testament to the DIY’ers dream of getting the results you want at prices that make retail look laughable. Unlike a repeater, my laptop has various monitors to help me see exactly what my signal strength and speed is. and if I feel like being on the internet instead, I simply unplug the Nintendo Wifi chip and move the computer to my bed.

Yeah, definitely much better than what I was getting before. I think that the 11Mbps is the speed cap for the Orinoco card, but thats great for the internet and so far very well for the Wii. We shall see just how good it is on February 10th, when Super Smash Bros. Brawl comes out.


Price Breakdown

Cantenna:
Total cost: About $14 because I ordered the extra long pigtail.
Total build time: Approximately one hour.

Orinoco card:
Total cost: About $18
Total install time: less than 5 minutes

Biting your thumb at retail prices: Priceless.


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Comments

  1. lemonlime
    lemonlime Awesome project, Brad :)

    Good work!
  2. mammoth Can you send me everything on how to make "the beacon" i am trying to make one for my friend.
  3. ardichoke
    ardichoke Hrmm... thread is 3 years old.... way to zombie it.
  4. Kim M I just got the same Orinoco wireless card that you show here. My question is should the computer recognize it when the card is put in?
  5. Ryder
    Ryder That will depend on your OS and how old the system is. Windows 2000 and above should show that you have "New hardware added".
  6. erichblas2005
    erichblas2005 been there done that.
  7. the_technocrat
    the_technocrat
    been there done that.

    In 2008. Yeah, we know.

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