Wi Fi

Over the last month or so I've been trying to extend our Wi-Fi signal out of my “man cave,” around a corner into the living room so we could watch You Tube, Hulu, and streaming video on the big screen TV.

I bought a “Wi-Fi Extender” on the internet which turned out to be a complete waste of plastic, time and money.

Discouraged, but not defeated I turned to Google and started digging. I found a lot of Do-It-Yourself articles about extending Wi-Fi signal strength, one of which showed how to make a “parabolic reflector” out of cardboard. There was a printable template included on the website and I started to download it but I canceled it when I had a brainstorm (as opposed to a 'brain fart' which is usually just the opposite, but not always.)

I remembered cutting up a 5 gallon plastic bucket to make a higher back rest in my kayak and it was shaped pretty much like a parabola. It was a failure as a kayak seat but with a little help it might make a dandy parabolic reflector.

I dug through the piles of good stuff in my workshop until I finally spotted what I was looking for. It wasn't easy because I had painted it with camouflage paint to match my kayak, making it almost invisible. If it had been in the forest I never would have found it!

I cut a couple of inches off of one end and covered it with some aluminum foil that Carol had set aside for something. (She'll never miss it!)

I put my creation on the shelf behind the router and took my laptop into the living room to check the signal strength. I was happy to discover that it had increased from “poor “to “excellent!”

Now I can sit in the recliner with my wireless keyboard and mouse and do email, write, play PC games, and watch streaming video.

There was an episode of the Simpsons where Homer built a custom recliner for watching TV with a built in beer cooler and Porta Potty. Maybe that could be my next project?