271

Microwave Intensifies (mander.xyz)

submitted 10 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 220 points 10 months ago

[-] Goun@lemmy.ml 106 points 10 months ago

I sell fans, this is true

[-] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 95 points 10 months ago

Makes download speeds great, but upload drops off a cliff

[-] Goun@lemmy.ml 5 points 10 months ago

You another fan behind your phone facing towards the router

[-] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 5 points 10 months ago

not if you mount the fan on the ceiling, and let it lift up the air

[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

...never stops buffering.

[-] Redfox8@mander.xyz 4 points 10 months ago

I sell the truth, that is my fan. Mits off! You now owe me $5.

[-] Gyroplast@pawb.social 56 points 10 months ago

I still have a soft spot for troll physics. Needs more magnets, though.

[-] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 11 points 10 months ago

How do they work‽

[-] Sidyctism2@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 10 months ago

would you be interested in talking to a scientist?

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[-] cmgvd3lw@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 10 months ago

What astounds me is despite being a crappy drawing, the person drew that fan with proper perspective and proportion.

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Yeah, but that makes the waves more choppy and stormlike which increases degradation of the equipment on the other side as the waves collide more strongly against it.

[-] jlh@lemmy.jlh.name 6 points 10 months ago

The moving parts could disturb MIMO

[-] Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 10 months ago

So better use a fanless Dyson fan? 🤔

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[-] agegamon@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago

NSFW

~~Only~~ Wififans 😳

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[-] zxqwas@lemmy.world 102 points 10 months ago

It will probably reflect some of the radiation. Wifi reception will be poorer behind the aluminium and possibly better in front.

A cheapskates version of a directional antenna.

[-] raltoid@lemmy.world 43 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Indeed, although this type of thing was more common with older wifi generations, so I'm not surprised kids these days wont know.

For example: We cut the top off an old beer can, poked a hole and stuck it onto the antenna to have stable download speeds across a courtyard.

[-] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

I remember like 15 or 20 years ago the popular thing was printable papercraft doohickeys that you'd cut out and glue together with aluminum foil on the backside that were like little satellite dishes that mounted on the antennas that were supposed to boost/aim your wifi signal. I gave them a try, but if they made a difference it wasn't big enough to be noticeable.

[-] Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 10 months ago

Reminds me of the diy antenna made out of copper wire, an empty CD spool and a single CD on its back. Those antennas could work as far as 1km if there was no obstruction, or 400m through light obstructions. It was awesome.

[-] clot27@lemmy.zip 3 points 10 months ago

We used to do this with antennas for tvs (those circular ones) It used to work in rains too

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[-] Clearwater@lemmy.world 78 points 10 months ago

I unironically do something similar to this. In my area, the only options are a dogshit local WISP, Starlink/other satellite, or (where possible) cellular.

I am one of the "lucky" people who are able to use cell for my internet, however whether it's the cell company having a craptastic network, software/hardware bugs on the my customer equipment, or a combination of both, there is only ONE cell tower I can connect to which yields a useful connection.

All other towers result in the equipment failing to connect to the tower, connecting but failing to get an internet connection, or only yielding download speeds 5Mbit of less.

I have found that by shoving sheet metal around my ISP's equipment, I can quite easily block off the non-functional towers and ensure they're never connected to. I don't think speeds are any better, but it does help with reliability.

[-] justme@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 10 months ago

I wonder if it's not only boxing the other towers but also boring the signal to the one you are aiming at, because you put a big mirror behind

[-] knightly@pawb.social 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Both to some degree, realistically. I used an old collander as a signal reflector for a wifi dongle on the end of a USB extension cable and was able to boost the signal up to about 4x, or maybe half the range of the purpose-built and highly directional Yagi antenna I eventually bought to replace that kludge.

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[-] fartographer@lemmy.world 42 points 10 months ago

Long live the Pringles cantenna

[-] fullsquare@awful.systems 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

~~pringles can is too small for 2.4ghz cantenna,~~ it's near cutoff frequency but just barely, you need 10cm-ish diameter can or shorter 16cm-ish can

[-] Pencilnoob@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

I once made one of these with a bigger can and mounted it on an old 10' satellite dish. Managed to get Wi-Fi across several thousand yards without issue

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[-] fubarx@lemmy.world 29 points 10 months ago

Keeps out the conspiracy-based posts and only lets facts through.

[-] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 25 points 10 months ago

On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study

[-] Etterra@discuss.online 5 points 10 months ago

I can't tell if this is legit or an elaborate troll.

[-] roserose56@lemmy.ca 18 points 10 months ago

I did this back in 2010-13, to get better internet in my house! It was a video from a youtube, where he used cereal box with aluminum.

[-] Zerush@lemmy.ml 18 points 10 months ago

I have put my router in a 4 m parabol antenna, with this the signal has also improved somewhat, it only prevents me from using the sofa that is next to the router.

[+] LostXOR@fedia.io 17 points 10 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

[deleted]

[-] zout@fedia.io 49 points 10 months ago

To actually be beneficial as a reflector, the foil would need to be a specific distance from the antenna, which should be a certain fraction of the wavelength. Source: I used to make parabolic reflectors out of milk cartons about twenty years ago.

[-] Zacryon@feddit.org 7 points 10 months ago

This is basic interference physics.

[-] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 36 points 10 months ago

I am 80% sure this is a net loss with modern mu-mimo radios, and it will absolutely trash your phy rate

[-] Evilsandwichman@hexbear.net 6 points 10 months ago

wat

[-] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 19 points 10 months ago

MU-MIMO (Multiple-User Multiple In Multiple Out) does [math] to assist in directing signal to multiple clients at once via multipathing, which this reflector would fuck with the math of in (I think) a detrimental way. Regardless of its impact on that technology, higher-end wifi phy rates (the negotiated modulation rate between 2 stations, i.e. the wifi access point/router and your phone) would get shredded by having a reflector bouncing signal between the multiple antennas, forcing clients into artificially lower speeds for a [potential] marginal boost to gain.

This stopped being a helpful thing to do somewhere around the transition between wifi 4 and 5 (802.11n --> 802.11ac)

[-] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 11 points 10 months ago

I remember going to a LAN that got its wifi from a local library via collander-boosting. Those were the days, and carrying around CRT monitors was sort of like exercise

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[-] three@lemmy.zip 17 points 10 months ago

Directs the wifi.

[-] Geodad@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

In all different directions...

Back in my day, we used a Pringles can.

[-] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 19 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

When I was a kid we would connect a coat hanger to the TV to get the news from 2 towns over

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

We still do. It's a fun trick.

[-] Geodad@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

I still go war-driving from time to time. 🙂

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[-] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Remember windsurfers? You put them on the single antenna of your old linsky router.

[-] loomy@lemy.lol 5 points 10 months ago

uh, is this real?

[-] Evilsandwichman@hexbear.net 12 points 10 months ago

That is indeed a photograph of something someone has done

[-] loomy@lemy.lol 3 points 10 months ago

fake.

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[-] Etterra@discuss.online 5 points 10 months ago

Not as effective as the anti-5G wire cages.

[-] Glitterbomb@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

I stumbled onto these on Amazon last night actually. The user submitted video reviews are insane. I was screaming. I got to the head scarf that blocks the 5Gs and I had to stop.

EMF BLOCKING BASEBALL CAP