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DIY Patch antenna

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Korndog

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Location
California
I was thinking about adding an external antenna to my laptop because the wireless access points at my university are distanced so far apart, the only issue is i want it to be as small, or possibly invisible, since my laptop is annoyingly big as it is.

i found this antenna online, and i'm thinking about soldering it to an internal wireless card and possibly wedging it behind the lcd screen. i know its directional, but i guess it would still be beneficial..

has anyone tried using one of these?
 
Wow, never seen one so close to the backplane before, just a pcb width away.

Instead of killing your warranty on the lcd, can you get by with just painting it and sticking it on the outside of the lid? I know it kills your swagger and the free advertising the lappy maker gets with their big 'ol logo being covered...

It's easy as nuking a paint sample for 10 seconds to make sure it will pass the radio waves easily...if it warms up, no good. If it stays cool, it's good to go.
Microwave ovens are close enough to the same frequency as wireless to be a good test.

But yeah, never seen one like it. Best of luck.
Big dang help, eh?
 
hey diggrr, my laptop has been hacked up, and taken apart many times. the warrenty was long gone about 4 years ago, so i don't mind putting it there.
i just want to make sure it'd work before going though all the trouble/money to put it all together. Warms up, no good? i'm a little confused :-S
i don't think panel antennas are very popular since they're directional, but directional antennas are sooo large, i'm not left with many options.
 
Oh, okay. I just assumed it would be a new lappy because of Christmas and all...

And yeah, if an object warms up in a microwave, it's blocking/absorbing at least some of the 2.4Ghtz radiation, that's NOT what you want covering a 2.4Ghtz antenna.
If it stays cool, then all the radiation is passing through without interference. 10 seconds is all you need to tell (no metals, but you knew that).

The panel-tenna does have a huge surface area, and looks like it would work. I just can't swear to it as I've never tried one out.
Too bad my buddy Kevin is out of work, he's my crash test dummy for such things...I talk him into trying out new hardware all the time. :D
 
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oooo, thats a good point, i guess there would be some paints that wouldn't let it pass
 
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