High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

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A High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

UPDATED 12/17/2014

Build this wi-fi antenna when you want results FAST and have just a few inexpensive tools and supplies available
your ability to reach wi fi access points - well beyond the limits of the dipoles supplied with most routers and som
When connected to a USB wireless adapter the performance is excellent. When connected to a high powered wi
performance is astounding! Forget about building those overly hyped wi-fi cantennas - they don't perform anywhe
antennas depicted here. This antenna works best when connected to a wi fi adapter, and it works very well as a s
extend the range of an access point). Read more below for instructions and a narrative of how they were designe

Be aware that if your goal is to get wireless internet from another location and use it indoors, you should instead
bridge. If you want to provde strong wireless internet coverage to an area, but cannot provide a fiber optic or ethe
wireless router, again consider using a wireless bridge to substitute for the unavailable cable, and connect the br
better solution for situations such as:
1. Providing internet connectivity from one building to users in a remote house or office.
2. Providing internet connectivity from one highrise building to another across town.
3. Providing internet connectivity from an onshore location to users on an island.
4. Sharing connectivity between two locations which can't be linked by cable.

Connect through concrete walls!

Reach hotspots via window mounting.

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High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

https://www.ab9il.net/wlan-projects/wi6.html

The 15 element yagi wi-fi Antenna

dimensions in the W9CF java applet.

The antenna modeler also

lists element lengths and positions.

The yagi wi-fi antenna design depicted here can be built in just an hour or two, and it works great! It is computer
and wire, and provides high gain and directivity. It is directional - favoring wi-fi signals in one direction and rejectin
sides or behind the antenna. The 15 element wi-fi antenna provides over 15 dB of gain (multiplying your effective
while the larger 20 element wi-fi antenna provides over 17 dB of gain (multiplying your effective radiated power p
ratio for both antennas is about 22 dB.

Yagi wi-fi antennas can be rather difficult to build, but it can be done if you measure precisely and cut precisely. T
design work for the wi-fi antennas shown here was accomplished elegantly using a yagi antenna modeler, create
(W9CF) and Michael Lee.

The on-line antenna modeler initially starts with several examples tailored for operation in the amateur radio band
designs is the classic K1FO yagi. By following a few steps, the antenna can be scaled for the 2.4 Ghz wi-fi 802.1
1. Start with the 15 or 20 element K1FO 70cm example.
2. In the "units" menu, select "Radians."
3. In the "conductivity" menu, select "Copper"
4. In the "frequency" field, enter 2450 (MHz) for the center of the wi-fi networking band.
5. For "Element Diameter", enter 0.08729 (radians).
6. Click the "calculate" button.
7. In the "units" menu, select "millimeters."
8. Note that the element diameter perfectly matches 14 gauge wire!
9. In the file menu, select "list elements."

The elements list will show each antenna element, from the reflector (element 1, position zero mm), to the last di
different metal or a different diameter of metal for the elements, or performance will suffer. Changes in element d
design frequency will need recalculation and the generation of a new elements list. These dimensions work quite

Below is a graphic, meticulously adapted by AB9IL from the modeler, which shows element lengths and positions
measured from the reflector (location zero millimeters). Note that the driven element is depicted in green, and for
be a folded dipole. Why a folded dipole? It provides a good impedance match to coaxial cable when used as the

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Element data for the 15 Element Yagi Wi-Fi Element data for the 20 Element Yagi Wi-Fi element. In free
a 300 ohm imped
Antenna.
Antenna.
the impedance d
parasitic elemen
proximity.

Print and use this plan view when building the 15 element yagi wi-fi antenna.

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High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

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Print and use this plan view when building the 20 element yagi wi-fi antenna.

This high gain wi-fi antenna can be constructed in a couple of hours and requires some measuring, cutting, bend
Use caution around the sharp edges. When finished, put it up and enjoy a very durable antenna that provides ou
performance.

There are crap copies of this antenna, pimped on crap peddling websites, which fail to perform. The plagiarists p
the wi-fi antenna design do not understand antenna theory and make silly changes that reduce performance. Use
here and avoid those cheap imitations!

YAGI Wi-Fi ANTENNA PARTS LIST:

1. A 1.2 meter length of 14 AWG bare, solid copper wire.
2. One wooden square, 1 cm per side, 50 cm long (70 cm for the 20 element antenna).
3. Wire cutters.
4. Metric ruler.
5. Drill, with 1.6 mm (1/16") bit.
6. Printed or written template with antenna dimensions.
7. Ball point pen or fine felt tipped marker.

YAGI Wi-Fi ANTENNA CONSTRUCTION:

Assemble the yagi wi-fi antenna following the steps below, starting with preparation of the boom, followed by mou
the elements are mounted, a suitable connector is added, and the antenna is tested over-the-air. Keep in mind th
most usb wireless adapters by cutting the circuit board antenna trace and patching in a pigtail feeding the antenn

1. Draw a line as accurately as possible down the center of one side of the wooden boom.
2. Mark the boom centerline 5 cm from one end. This is the "zero location," where the director element will be
3. Continue down the boom, carefully marking the locations of each element on the centerline.
4. Carefully drill through the boom at each element's location. Make sure to drill straight through the boom, em
still centered and perpendicular.
5. For a no-drill alternative, carefully cut a perpendicular groove across the boom, to a depth of 2 mm.
6. Cut one element at a time, carefully measuring each element before and after cutting, trimming as necessa
the wire ends and make sure the lengths are as accurate as possible!
7. Press elements through the boom, centering each before moving to the next element.
8. If you cut grooves for the elements instead of drilling holes, press the elements into the grooves, and make
centered. Affix them permanently with epoxy.

Element positions marked

on the yagi wi-fi antenna boom.

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The reflector element

after mounting.

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High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

https://www.ab9il.net/wlan-projects/wi6.html

7. For the driven element, cut a 130 mm length of wire, and make a 180 degree bend 30 mm from one end. M
a bend 30 mm from other end. Adjust as necessary to create a folded dipole just under 59 mm in length wi
8. Double check all elements, making sure all are centered and parallel.
9. Attach a pigtail (or connector) to open ends of folded dipole.

Folded dipole prior

to mounting in antenna boom.

The driven element

before the last bend.

Two yagi wi-fi antenna

elements mounted in boom.

After all of the elements are measured, cut, and mounted, the antenna should resemble the finished yagi pictured
pigtail or connector to the driven element. Then connect the wi-fi adapter or wireless router to the antenna and st
signal strengths. Note that the antenna may be sensitive to polarization: when the antenna seems to bring in the
find the best polarization. Mounting the antenna is possible using commonly available hardware, such as 90 degr
bolts, or even velcro.

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High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

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The completed wi-fi yagi antenna.

Closeup of the wi-fi yagi feedpoint.
Keep the leads short!

YAGI Wi Fi ANTENNA TESTING:

For the most practical method of signal checking, consider using a wi-fi auditing utility such as Kismet
will produce a rapidly updated received signal strength indication that is useful for comparing or aiming wi-fi direc
set of measurements for any desired wi fi access points on the original antenna, then make a new set for the yag

The antenna should exhibit high forward gain and front-to-back ratio. A prototype in fact performed as well as the
antenna shown elsewhere in these pages. Indeed, the antenna exhibits near the theoretical 15 db gain, enabled
54 MB/S over a path that at best reached 11 MB/S on an unmodified wi-fi adapter. Again, for ultimate performanc
links, use a short version of the yagi to feed a parabolic reflector as well as a high powered wi-fi adapter

Watch a video the wi fi yagi antenna construction on Youtube:.

Egads! Someone made a very well constructed wi-fi yagi with a plexiglass boom! Their video adds some hip hop
to showcase this design. It retains attributions and links to this page, so the webmaster is happy to see it! There a
person, in China, built one and created a smart-phone access point covering a long section of street.

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High Gain Yagi Wi-Fi Antenna

https://www.ab9il.net/wlan-projects/wi6.html

Good luck building the yagi wi-fi antenna, and may you enjoy solid long range connections!

Tags: Wireless Access, Wi Fi Antenna, Wi Fi Booster, Wi Fi Extender, Wireless Yagi Antenna, Long Distance Wi
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