Wi-Fi the right way

Tips for getting the most out of your wireless notebook - how to easily find an available network and once found, how you can extend it with an antenna

Tip 1: Find all available wireless networks
Tip 2: Find available networks in Mac OS X
Tip 3: Add laptop antennas

Tip 1: Find all available wireless networks

So you have a laptop. You have a wireless card. The card might even be built into your laptop. You know there are wireless networks in your area. How do you find them? Happily, all of the major operating systems have integrated software that allows you to discover wireless networks and obtain some status information about the currently connected network.

Windows XP
If a wireless access point is in range of your wireless card, Windows XP will, by default, attempt to automatically connect to the access point. It will inform you using a pop-up above the Taskbar that says, "One or more wireless connections are available." Clicking the network icon opens a window titled Wireless Network Connection, which lists any wireless networks that are in range of your wireless card.

• In order to join a network, double-click its name in the dialog. If the network requires a password (otherwise known as a WEP key), you'll have to enter it, then confirm it. Once done, you click Connect. The window will close, and the network icon in the Taskbar should say "Wireless Network Connection network name." The icon also displays the wireless network's speed and signal strength.
  
  
• If you have difficulty connecting to any of the listed networks, you can click the Advanced button, which opens a Wireless Networks window. This window again shows the available wireless networks. It also shows a list of preferred networks that you can add yourself. For example, if your home wireless network doesn't broadcast its network name (SSID), you can enter it here. That saves you from having to type in the otherwise invisible network name each time you want to connect.
  
  
• At the top of this window is a check box that reads, "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings." If this box is checked, Windows will automatically attempt to connect to any wireless networks listed in your preferred networks. If none are available, it will provide you with a list of alternative wireless networks.
  
  

Tip 2: Find available networks in Mac OS X

For Apple notebooks with a built-in AirPort card, all wireless configuration is handled through System Preferences (System Preferences > Network).

• You will likely have two available network cards. Click the Show pull-down menu for a choice of adapters, including Built-in Ethernet and AirPort. Select AirPort. To get to the wireless network settings, select the AirPort tab.
  
  
• Right now, you should be mostly concerned with the Show AirPort status in the menu-bar setting, which should be checked. Once you check this box and close the configuration window, you'll see a new icon in the menu bar. The first thing you'll want to do is click the menu-bar icon and select the option to turn on the AirPort card.
  
  
• Once the AirPort card is on, you'll be able to see a list of available networks; you can select any of these. If a WEP key is required for the selected network, you'll be prompted for it.
  
  
• To connect to a network that is not listed, click Other. You will be presented with the Closed Network box. Here you can enter the SSID of the wireless network you want to join and the WEP key, if one is required. This is how you can join networks that do not broadcast their SSID. Once you've either selected an available network or entered information for another network not listed, you can use the AirPort menu bar to see which network is currently connected.
  
  

The AirPort software offers a signal-strength meter, though it is rather limited in its granularity. To use it, click the AirPort icon in the menu bar and select Internet Connect.

Tip 3: Add laptop antennas

If you have a wirelessly equipped laptop, you've probably asked, "How can I make it go farther?" Most people think of adding an external antenna to their access point or replacing the existing antenna with a better one -- but that ignores the need for a good antenna on your notebook. While some laptops (such as the Apple iBook and the Sony VAIO, to name two) ship with antennas embedded in the laptop screen, many people are using add-on wireless cards.

These cards leave an annoying little lump sticking out of the side of the laptop, parallel with the keyboard and very close to the tabletop. This is the laptop's only antenna, and in most cases, much better options are available.

While adding a proper external antenna will almost definitely increase your range (as long as your wireless card will accept it), not all antennas are especially convenient. Here are three popular antennas that are quite small and unobtrusive.

• Poynting, a South African antenna manufacturer, produces a number of inexpensive antennas, including a 3.5-inch-square, 8dBi sector. It sells for about US$22. It is small enough to Velcro to the back of a laptop but offers surprisingly high gain for the size (and price).
  
  
• If you use a Lucent/Orinoco/Avaya/Proxim card (or a derivative, such as the AirPort), you might have luck with the Orinoco Range Extender, although I think it's a bit overpriced at about AU$150. It looks like a rectangular white Popsicle stick with a heavy rubber base and a long feed line, and it's advertised as a 5dBi omnidirectional model. The Range Extender is available here.
  
  
• Finally, if cost is an issue, you might consider recycling a discarded rubber ducky antenna from a WAP11, WET11, Cisco 350, or another access point. These are small, rugged black omnidirectionals or dipoles that offer 3dBi to 5dBi gain. Some antennas even sport right-angle elbows. A simple adapter or pigtail will let you use these low-gain antennas with your laptop, which is certainly better than leaving them to collect dust in a drawer.
  
  

Pick a pigtail with as much flexible feed line as you need and connect it to your laptop card. As always, be sure to check on the type of connectors you need for both ends of the pigtail (the laptop card and the antenna will have unusual connectors). When in doubt, check the manufacturer's specs online.

Submitted by: Rob Flickenger, Author, Wireless Hacks

Rob Flickenger is the author of Wireless Hacks, Building Wireless Community Networks, and Linux Server Hacks. He is a former sysadmin for the O'Reilly Network and an editor of books in the popular Hacks series. He is a regular presenter and speaker at technology conferences, and he enjoys spreading the good word of open networks, open standards, and ubiquitous wireless networking.

This material has been adapted from Wireless Hacks by Rob Flickenger, published by O'Reilly Media. Copyright O'Reilly Media, 2003. All rights reserved. O'Reilly makes no representation as to the accuracy of the materials provided by them.