Adding External or Internal WireLess LAN Antennas for Laptops & Notebooks

Do you want to build an (external) wireless antenna for your laptop or notebook? Here are links to free do-it-yourself instructions. If you have written a repair guide yourself (or if you know of a report not linked here), please submit a new entry.

Adding an External WireLess Antenna to a Laptop or Notebook

Apple PowerBook G4 12''	Just a few quick cuts to modify a 12" Powerbook to take an external antenna.
Apple PowerBook G4 Aluminium (AlBook 1.25GHz)	Collinear WiFi antenna: external miniature collinear WiFi (802.11b/g) replacement antenna for Apple Powerbook (Al, 1.25GHz).
ASUS A2H	Homemade laptop Wi-Fi amplifier (external) review.
DELL Latitude C840	How to add an external antenna SMA connector.
ECS DeskNote A530	Replacing the orginal antennas by an external one, replacing the big BNC connector by a smaller "N" connector.
Fujitsu P-5000	How to upgrade the RAM, the hard disk and access WiFi [video].
Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100	Opening the case to add an external wireless antenna.

Adding or Changing an Internal WireLess Card (miniPCI, PCI Express, USB) or Antenna to a Laptop or Notebook

Acer TravelMate 426LC	How to add a Intel 2200BG miniPCI WLAN card and an internal antenna (in German)
Apple iBook Dual-USB	How to refit an iBook without AirPort card, with a Senao 200mW wireless PCMCIA card. With some dremel work on the antenna connector, the card just fits.
Apple iBook G3 Clamshell (Indigo)	PCMCIA mod: how to use a cheap Orinoco Silver PCMCIA card (or any other card with Lucent chip) instead of an AirPort card. An illustrated explanation.
Apple MacBook Pro Core Duo [2006]	How to Upgrade a core Duo-based MacBook with a PCI Express 1x card to support WiFi 802.11n. Tools, parts, pictures and disassembly tips to get the switch done easily.
COMPAQ Evo N620c	Disassembly manual about adding a wireless miniPCI card (based on Atheros chipset) and better antenna (in German).
DELL Latitude C840	Improving wireless reception by replacing the Dell 1150 miniPCI card with an aftermarket model (Netgate 5354MP) and the addition of a 2nd antenna.
HP Pavilion ZE 5400EA	A complete disassembly with four objectives: clean fans and exhaust airways of dust to improve air flow and cooling - investigate poor wireless performance - investigate faulty power switch - investigate broken floppy drive.
IBM ThinkPad T23	Picture gallery about an installation of an internal WLAN miniPCI card and antennas (in German).
IBM ThinkPad T23	Wireless internal antenna installation instructions.
Panasonic ToughBook CF-29	How to replace and upgrade the internal WiFi antenna.
Sony VAIO PCG-SR31K	Integrated WIFI laptop hack: use the space left by the PCMCIA slot to fit a USB WiFi adapter in and wire it up to the USB port internally.
Sony VAIO PCG-U101	Manufacturer promotion pictures from the inside, showing e.g. where to find the wireless antenna (in Japanese).
Sony Ericsson GC83 Wireless Network Card	Make a new antenna to replace the one broken off inside the PCMCIA card.
External WiFi Antenna in PCMCIA Slot	Add range to your laptop's WiFi card by installing a removable antenna which is connected to the internal wireless card via the PCMCIA card slot. You need: an antenna, a short pigtail connector, a pigtail to RP-TNC connector and a "blank" PCMCIA card.

How to Build External WireLess Antennas, Boosters, Extenders & Signal Reflectors

802.11b Homebrew WiFi Can Antenna Shootout	Build your own Tin Can Waveguide WiFi Antenna (Cantenna).
Laptop Mini Wireless Antenna	The antenna uses thin RG58 cable and is only 2 sectors long. The size was chosen so it could be housed inside the tube of an old pen, to provide rigidity and protection to the antenna.
Easy Homemade 2.4 Ghz Omni Antenna	An easy step-by-step guide go making a homemade wireless antenna, for a fraction of the cost of commercial antenna. Uses readily available parts, and requires no specialist tools or knowledge.
4km WiFi Range w/ $5 DIY Antenna	Make 2.4GHz parabolic mesh dishes from cheap but sturdy Chinese cookware scoops & a USB WiFi adaptor.
Cheap DIY Parabolic Antenna	Here is a cheap DIY parabolic antenna (more of an antenna add on or extender or reflector) that boosts a wireless signal in one direction by at least 50%. The antenna is made from Mylar instead of tinfoil and cardboard. The guide includes a cutout for the cardboard.
Wide Angle Sector	Homebrew 2.4 GHz 14 dBi Wide Angle Sector antenna.
Circular Waveguide Antenna	An antenna for 2.45 GHz / 802.11b / WiFi / WLAN made from a whiskey tin.
Cheap Cantenna	Building a cheaper self-made wireless cantenna (in Italian).
AirTux	Building a 2.4GHz vertical collinear omnidirectional antenna.
BiQuad	The construction of a BiQuad 802.11b Antenna 11dBi, wide band.
Extend Your Signal	Different do-it-yourself wireless antenna guides.
SteerCan	How to build a steerable 802.11 cantenna.
Discone Antenna	These antennas are omnidirectional with a donut type of coverage pattern as opposed to the more directional "Cantennas".
Pen Antenna	A 2.4Ghz vertical collinear antenna for 802.11 applications.
BiQuad Dish	How-To: Build a WiFi biquad dish antenna.
WiFi Antenna Extender Hack	Turn your standard WiFi antenna into one just like the $30 range extender antennas for about 5 cents.
Satellite Dish Wireless Extender	A DIYer's quick guide to cheap wireless extension. Think old satellite dishes, USB dongles and plastic bags and you'd be on the right tracks to upping wi-fi signal by 4 bars.
0-Euro-Yagi-Uda-Antenna	How to make a zero Euro styropor-yagi-uda antenna from some discarded waste (in German).
Weber Grill Antenna	Howto build an antenna from grill equipment.

Antennas for PCMCIA & PC-Cards

SMC-2632 PC-Card

Transceiver modification to add an SMA connector for external antennas. This is an inexpensive (under $100 US Dollars) 802.11b wireless ethernet card. The thing that makes this card remarkable is the fact that the manufacturer left mounting holes in the PCB to accomodate a PCB mount SMA RF connector. With a little patience, soldering skills and crafty x-acto knife handiwork, you can modifiy your card to accomodate any antenna you deem necessary to close that RF link. The maximum output power of this card is 50mW.

CNet CNWLC-811-3V Wireless PC-Card

External Antenna Mod. This piece of surgery reveals the concealed PCB pads for an external antenna jack. A coalition of the willing was formed to expose the secrets of this PC-Card.

How to Build a WiFi-Meter

Wifi-Meter

A selfmade WiFi signal strength meter.

Troubleshooting in General

N.N.	Troubleshooting Laptop Wireless Connections.