o.k. class. raise your hand if you get excited when you read the following blurb from antenna on the cheap (er, chip) which outlines how to get a faster, farther, cheaper 802.11 link from a pringles can:

“By using PVC, all-thread, washers, some cheap copper tubing, a Pringles can, and some scrap cardboard, we were able to make a prototype shotgun yagi in a matter of hours. Having a couple of other excited alpha geeks around can help move construction projects along very quickly.”

“In about 45 minutes, we had the collector rod built, the locknuts on, and the whole thing in place. The result: A Pringles can that pulls about 12db!”

“Over a clear line of sight, with short antenna cable runs, a 12db to 12db can-to-can shot should be able to carry an 11Mbps link well over ten miles.”

the article is was based on – Yagi Antenna Design – For 802.11b Wireless Application – looks equally interesting. i’ll bet there’s an rf engineer or two at the ol’ workplace that would love to help me put something like this together. looks like another fun weekend project to keep me distracted from all those other supposedly important things that are vying for my attention.

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