Because of the careful placement of the probe, the reflected wave superimposes the wave which naturally got radiated towards the open end of the can; combining the radiated power in one direction.

His proposals include things from selecting a central position for the router to installing a repeater unit along with some other soft tweaks.

You may check the tips by Googling some appropriate keyword along with his name.

Although all the tips seems to be helping in increasing the reception one way or other; one idea seems notably viable for the purpose...

Replacing the ordinary antenna with a high gain antenna.

A directional gain is the antennas ability depicting its increased signal receptiontransmission by receivingtransmitting the signals in a compelled direction.

The ordinary antenna radiates the supplied power equally in all directions, whereas the directional antenna radiates it more in one specific direction than other (radiation direction is governed by antenna design, plus, no practical antenna can radiate in purely one direction nor perfectly equal in all directions).

Reception is affected in equal proportion when switching about the two types.

But seeing as there cant be any free lunch, this comes with a price; the antenna is directional obviously, and needs alignment for proper operation.

A Cantenna is simply an open-end cylindrical waveguide (waveguide is a hollow metallic tube used to carry high frequency radio waves), constructed from widely available tin cans.

The diameter of domestically available cans (which are mostly containers for tinned eatables) supports waveguide propagation at frequencies of order of couple of GHz.

Because of its easy construction and optimum operation frequency centered at 2.4 GHz (as used in Wi-Fi wireless networks) it is domestically constructed by armatures for extending range of their wireless connection; sometimes reaching to up to 6-7Km.

Additionally they also find applications for Wi-Fi war drivers, free net operators, and system administrators to run Wi-Fi assessment tests.

Cantennas are very inexpensive compared to commercially available Wi-Fi repeater units, but are just as good and some people would argue that they are better.

Because of the stated advantages, they are employed in the following applications around the globe.

The necessary parts and general approach to construction are described below.

The optimum length and diameter for a particular frequency can be calculated using mathematical functions discussed later on.

N-Type connectors are most popular at frequency Wi-Fi operates (2.4GHz).

For the frequencies we are going to use Cantenna, the wire should ideally be of gauge 12 (which is about 2mm in diameter, but minor deviations from the size shall not be a problem).

With these dimensions, the element can be made using a piece of an ordinary copper wire that can be taken out from a three phase high power cable.

Pigtails are readily available at electronic shops dealing in radio equipment (its technical name is RP-SMA cable).

Applying some basic laws of antenna theory, the length of the active element is calculated to be 30mm approx for an operating frequency of 2.4GHz.

Wavelength for a 2.4GHz signal is 124mm.

But obviously, we are not going to communicate satellites over it, minor deviations from ideal dimensions of the Can wont make a significant impact.

However, the length and placement of the probe are critical factors and may directly affect its performance.

In the figure above, the probe radiates the electromagnetic waves spreading away from the source.

5Ghz Cantenna Calculator