MOBILE

The Belkin card’s external antenna has a plastic cover that comes off easily, revealing the dipole inside. To assemble the cantenna, just solder the outer part of

the dipole to a hole drilled in the side of the can and let the inner wire stick straight into the center. Then add the mount of your choice.

4"-diameter coffee can, the dipole element needed to be 1. 12" tall, and placed 2" from the back of the can. When I hacked into the cheap Belkin card and measured the inner wire of its antenna, I was happy to find it was just about the right length.

Build It

1. Acquire a 13-ounce coffee can, or similar metal can ( 4" diameter).

2. Drill a 6" (or so) hole, 2" from the back of the can, measuring from the inside, not the outer lip. The hole should be about the size of the dipole antenna you’re modifying. 3. Cut the plastic covering off the antenna, to reveal a metal tube surrounding an inner wire. These are the 2 elements of the dipole. 4. Insert the antenna into the hole so that the inner wire sticks in about 11". Use rosin-core solder to connect the antenna’s metal tube, the shielding element, to the can. Solder from outside, making a good, thick solder bead around the edge of the hole. I used “helping hands” alligator clips to keep the antenna in position. 5. Add a mount of your choice. I made a simple

one by cutting up the original antenna cover and adding a zip tie.

 

NOTE: You can use this same design on the router side. My Linksys WRT54GS has 2 dipole antennas, and you could cantenna-fy it by unscrewing one of them and substituting a can-enhanced pigtail antenna with a Linksys-compatible connector.

 

Will O’Brien pulls espresso and modifies innocent kitchen appliances somewhere in middle Missouri.