Using Your Cell Phone To Expand Your Wireless Network

Most wireless networks can only be accessed if you are within a couple hundred feet of the source of the signal. The latency of wireless network signals degrades quickly, so if you are farther away, you may have a difficult time maintaining a connection. Wouldn't it be great if you could somehow use your cell phone to give the wireless network card in your computer that extra boost that it needs? Well, you can, and it isn't difficult at all. Follow steps below :


- Coil the ethernet cable around the cell phone, sort of like when you were making an electromagnet as a kid and coiled wire around a nail. The tighter you coil the cable around the cell phone, the better the reception on your computer will be. This process seems to lose its strength once you've gone through about 20 feet of ethernet cable, so wrapping more cable than that around your cell phone is futile.

- Plug one end of the ethernet cable into your computer's ethernet jack.

- View your computer's network connections. This is usually achieved by clicking Start, then clicking "My Network Places". If you see a new item listed that looks like it may be your cell phone, then you're probably ready to go. This normally happens with 3G enabled cell phones. If you do not see anything listed, do not panic. Your computer is most likely already utilizing the connection without listing it.

- Check your list of available wireless networks. Before adding the cell phone antenna, this computer had six wireless networks within its range. After adding the cell phone antenna, there are more than double the number of wireless networks available, and some of the ones that previously existed now have a stronger connection signal.

- Take a medium mixing bowl, and cover the inside of the bowl with aluminum foil. Now, using ordinary clear packaging tape, suspend your ethernet wrapped cell phone over the center of the bowl. You have just made a primitive satellite. It's not going to give you access to pay per view events or provide you with free calling, but it will boost the signal strength of the wireless networks that are available to you.