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Researchers discover aluminum foil actually does improve your wireless speed
Researchers at Dartmouth University have found that a 3D printed shape covered in aluminum foil can improve wireless range and increase Wi-Fi security. The project, which appeared on Eurekalert, involves placing a reflector on and around a Wi-Fi router's antennae to shape the beam, increasing range and preventing it from passing through to unwanted spaces.
"With a simple investment of about $35 and specifying coverage requirements, a wireless reflector can be custom-built to outperform antennae that cost thousands of dollars," said Xia Zhou, a Dartmouth assistant professor.
In their paper, Zhou and his colleagues tested multiple styles of directional antennas and also tested an "anecdotal" solution that involved sticking a soda can behind a router to shape the radio waves towards a target. After a few iterations, they were able to create specific shapes to increase Wi-Fi reception in specific rooms. They then created a program called WiPrint that 3D prints the exact shape needed to form the beams for better coverage and security. Once printed all you have to do is cover them in aluminum foil.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by pTamok on Thursday November 09 2017, @08:14AM (1 child)
I know the hacker community in general (using hacker in the original sense) doesn't care much for restrictive rules, but just in case anybody cares, there are FCC rules (and equivalents in other countries not covered by FCC regulations) about EIRP [wikipedia.org] (Effective/Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power).
A summary randomly found by an Internet search engine is here: http://www.bitstorm.com/fcc-regulations/ [bitstorm.com]
By shaping the beam you are increasing the gain in certain directions, so to be legal, you might* need to reduce your transmitter power output.
Feel free to experiment, but if you break the rules, don't complain if someone comes and punishes you. Equipment seizure and/or a (large) fine is a distinct possibility.
*If you are in the midwest, and your nearest neighbour is several miles away, you are unlikely** to cause other people a problem. Doing the same thing near an airport or military base might well get you visited.
**Isolation is good for some things, but can also make you stand out like a sore thumb. To use an optical analogy, lighthouse lamps are not particularly powerful, but they use optical beam-forming (aka lenses) to make a beam that can be seen many, many miles away. Antennae 'simply' form the radio beam in an analogous fashion to lenses with optical sources - this is good if you are trying to get range, but might not be so good if you are trying to be unobtrusive. Making your home on the prairie the radio-equivalent of an unlicensed lighthouse isn't necessarily smart.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday November 09 2017, @05:13PM
Which is all another way of saying: "this is why there aren't commercial solutions on the market for this already."
🌻🌻 [google.com]