Wireless Equipment Purchase

There are three unsecured wireless networks that are all just out of
range to my house. I currently have a linksys travel router (small
and cheap) that can detect them but cannot connect, because their
signals are all under 5%. I'm only going to stay in my current
apartment for the next few months and all of the broadband packages
are yearly contracts, so it makes more sense to buy a piece of
equipment that will allow me to connect to one of these free
networks. What kind of equipment should I look at to expand the range
of my current laptop? Should I buy a wireless card with antenna for
my laptop, or should I buy a router that's going to relay the signal
of one of those wireless networks to my laptop so I can connect?

Any advice would be appreciated.

so it makes more sense to buy a piece of
> equipment that will allow me to connect to one of these free
> networks.


$10 rebate
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...70&dcaid=17070

On 01/22/08 09:47 am (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> There are three unsecured wireless networks that are all just out of
> range to my house. I currently have a linksys travel router (small
> and cheap) that can detect them but cannot connect, because their
> signals are all under 5%. I'm only going to stay in my current
> apartment for the next few months and all of the broadband packages
> are yearly contracts, so it makes more sense to buy a piece of
> equipment that will allow me to connect to one of these free
> networks. What kind of equipment should I look at to expand the range
> of my current laptop? Should I buy a wireless card with antenna for
> my laptop, or should I buy a router that's going to relay the signal
> of one of those wireless networks to my laptop so I can connect?
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.

Apart from the ethical issues involved in freeloading on someone else's
connection, keep in mind that the connections *may* be secure to some
extent. E.g., even if I were broadcasting my SSID (which I'm not) and
thus making my connection visible, you'd still have to know the
password/key and have a permitted IP address and/or MAC address.

I can take my notebook down to the local college campus and see many
wireless networks, but I don't know the password to take advantage of
any of them.

Perce

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> There are three unsecured wireless networks that are all just out of
> range to my house. I currently have a linksys travel router (small

If you have the tiny WTR54GS router, I have heard of some users making a
corner reflector out of a folded piece of aluminum, or cardboard covered in
aluminum foil. This would be placed on a desk with the travel router in
the fold, somewhat like the EZ-10 corner reflector on the
www.freeantennas.com website.

I don't know where the antenna is inside the box, so adjusting the location
of the router in the corner would be trial and error. If you supplied the
FCC-ID from the box, I could look at pictures.

You might also ask your internet host if you could add the EZ12 Windsurfer
reflector to the router/WAP that is providing your signal.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5