Boost Wi-Fi signal to Laptop

[doddsredoubt]

Could anyone on answerbank help me please,I have just been on holiday with my wife to Cornwall and Devon and like to do crosswords on our laptop but when we tried to get a signal in either Cornwall or Devon we could not get any signal at all.Is there anything we could buy to help us boost the signal,I did try something from Maplins like a television aerial to boost the signal but that was useless and returned it to Maplins,or is there a card I could put into the laptop to boost the signal.

Thankyou for any help given.

[m4rtyn_]

the best anser is to buy a stronger network card. depending what you have already I would look at a "N" sieries router its a lot stronger than a "G" series.

[Ethel]

What signal was you trying to connect to? Was you near a wifi hotspot?

[doddsredoubt]

m4rtyn_ thankyou for your reply,I am using my laptop away from home so have no router or phone line,I have a Dell laptop would it be easier to get this from Dell or PC World or where I am not very good on these things.

Thanks for your help.

[Ethel]

You can get on line away from home in two ways:

1. connecting to your mobile phone. Very expensive and slow (usually)

2. By connecting to a wifi hotspot. These are sometimes free - at Village Hotels, for example, more often you have to pay by using a service such as OpenZone.
http://www.btopenzone.com/
or Cloud
http://www.thecloud.net/About-us/

A third, illegal way, is to drive around until you pick up somebody's unsecured network and park outside their house. Not advisable.

I am assuming your laptop is wifi enabled. If it isn't you will need to by a wifi adaptor from any PC store or Maplins.

A very expensive way of connecting is via satellite broadband
http://www.brownstoneit.com/products/satellite /mobile_broadband_satellite.asp

[doddsredoubt]

Thankyou Ethel,I was in a caravan park in Devon and about ten to fifteen yards away from the caravan owners computer so was hoping I could pick up their signal from their router via my pro-wireless side of my laptop,sorry I am still learning??.

[Ethel]

You could have your laptop next to mine and you wouldn't be able to connect. Many have tried and failed.

So, assuming it was unsecured (and the router turned on) there are devices available, such as this from Maplin

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=2 21289&doy=30m9&C=SO&U=strat15

or this from eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-WIRELESS-Signal-Booste r-antenna-FOR-Desktop-LAPTOP_W0QQitemZ12016556 8183QQihZ002QQcategoryZ86720QQcmdZViewItem

I am sure there are others available.

I am not convinced of their effectiveness but have no practical experience of them.

My standard router is in my loft, and my standard wifi connects easily from any room in the house, in my neighbour's house and down the bottom of my garden.

So I am not sure such a device would help.

[doddsredoubt]

Thankyou for your help Ethel,and yes I am still learning.

Many thanks for your help much appreciated.