DIY Wifi Antenna: Why Not Use What's Around The House?

Are you looking to increase your wifi reception? Or maybe you're trying to hijack your neighbor's connection? Whatever the reason, you can make your own wifi antenna and you can do it using everyday household objects you have laying around the house. For example, did you know you could make a diy wifi antenna out of a regular old Pringles or coffee can? That's right. You can even make a diy wifi antenna using a coke or other soft drink can. With a little know how and a lot of creativity, you can boost your wifi connection and have a lot of fun doing it.

Got Your Can?

Ok, you have your Pringles or coffee can, now what? Well, you want to first make sure you have the right coffee can for your diy wifi antenna project. Is the inside of the can smooth or are there ridges, as some coffee cans have. If the inside is ridged, this can scramble radio waves and can work against what you're trying to accomplish, which is to boost your wifi connection. Once you have a smooth coffee can, drill a hole in the side for your N connector. An N connector is a threaded connector that's used to connect coaxial cable, similar to your TV or cable box at home.

Next, solder a 1.2 inch piece of twelve gauge copper wire into the N connector. Make sure the wire side goes inside the can. The other side of the wire will go outside of the can. Next, solder or use screws to fit the N connector to the can. If you wish, drill an additional hole in the can so that rain water has a way to escape incase it gets inside the can. The extra hole shouldn't affect your diy wifi antenna's performance.

Now, connect a Male N connector to the female end of the connector already attached to the can and connect the other end of the Male wire to your wireless network card. When you have everything hooked up, you should play around with the direction of the diy wifi antenna to determine where the strongest connection lies. Be careful about pointing the device at yourself as some believe there can be negative health effects.

And, there you have it. Once you're finished with your diy wifi antenna, you should be able to boost your connection and keep it boosted by placing your can on a tripod, or by screwing it to a post or some other object to keep it stationary. Then, you can surf the internet to your heart's content with your new found, extremely fast, connection.