[cruikshank]

I'm going on vacation in a week. The place were we go we get spotty
wireless internet connection from a few public and unprotected private
lans in the area. The signal is weak though. There is a device that
looks like a little satellite dish that work, my friend has one. Plugs
in the USB port and acts as a wireless G antenna. But it's like $70-90
bucks and fragile. Can I take my wireless G router along, maybe config
it as an access point, plug it into my laptop so I can use it's
antennas. I always encrypt plus lots of security software so I'm not
concerned about someone getting into my laptop. Would this work. The
device I mentioned is made by Hawking Technologies and sold by all the
main places including Amazon. Thanks for any feedback. Dave

[IvyR]

A week is rather short notice. An Access Point, to my knowledge, cannot become an Adapter. An 802.11 'Bridge' can be either or...but that's another story. What you need is a USB adapter with a good external (or cable-attached) antenna that you can plug into your laptop in place of the internal adapter. Many are available on the Internet. I did a "usb wi-fi antenna" search on Google and came up with 1/2 dozen at reasonable prices. One in particular that may solve your problem is an Airlink 802.11 g/wifi Wireless USB Adapter at http://dealmake.ecra...php?pid=1668819 for $36.90 and includes a 10dbi antenna. Another, lower cost, item is at https://www.gogofan....nna-p-1636.html $18.50 and consists of a USB adapter with a 5dbi antenna. Remember, your laptop may be the equivalent of a 2dbi antenna so a 5dbi antenna may be 2X more sensitive. Once you have an adapter with an external antenna connection, you can connect more powerful (more long range) antennas. The MFJ1800 (15dbi) http://www.gigaparts...file&sku=NW0054 is a good example of this and will give you about 1 - 3 mile range. Another thing to remember is that you should be line-of-sight to the network Access Point and higher is usually better as it helps provide the line-of-sight..

Hope this helps. Have a great vacation.