11 replies to this topic

[Alexei]

Hi,

I've seen a variety of strange looking wifi antenna to increase the range, but never seen anything like this for bluetooth.

Because I'm a bit old fashioned I don't yet have a wifi-phone, so I'm restricted by the distance between PC and phone, and I definately can't go outside and hope the signal will get through the three foot thick granite wall.

So, are there any ways round this so I can surf and send mails in the sun? The simplest seemed to be a USB extension lead, and popping the dongle out the window, but is this feasible? And are there any other neater ways to do it, or will I always be defeated by the handset's limited range?

[mandt]

Bluetooth connections depend on a certain amount of 'line of sight'. you will always see dongles advertised saying '100m range' but in reality its optimistic at best, my dongle struggles if I go into the kitchen!
I use an extension and have blu-tacked my dongle high up on the wall which helps a little
Never heard of any range boosters but would certainly be interested  

[nevawlkalone]

Youd probably have to do some magic home hacking or something crazy like that!

Edited by nevawlkalone, 28 July 2006 - 07:31 AM.

[Shuflie]

I seem to remember something about bluetooth repeaters, think they were a combination of bluetooth and proper WIFI network that allowed you to give coverage to remote locations. Don't think they ever caught on though, or if they did it was so expensive for the benefit that only large companies bought them to keep tabs on their employees.

[nevawlkalone]

Shuflie, on Jul 28 2006, 09:27, said:

I seem to remember something about bluetooth repeaters, think they were a combination of bluetooth and proper WIFI network

WiFi repeaters caught on as i have them in my house and at work and they are ace...never heard of the bluetooth ones!

[Alexei]

Looks like a USB extension lead it is then. I don't mind that, I'm in the middle of doing up my house, so I could even take the advantage of wiring in the lead behind the plasterboard, as long as having the lead isn't going to result in signal degradation or anything.

Hmm, I've just had a thought, pre-wired in USB ports in every room.

[Samsonite]

you can get 'industrial' bluetooth adapters but they're not USB things, they hang off a COM port on the PC.  The max Serial speed is 155kBit so its not going to be the full monty for surfing and what have you but they come with a proper antenna that you can discreetly mount at the end of a longer feeder cable.

I used some of these for a work application and managed to get nearly a kilometre.. seriously!!   Not entirely sure that sending out 2.4Ghz like this was strictly legal but heyho!

i'm off work for a few days and all the details of where we got them are there so i'll try to remember to find it out and get back to ya.......

[Alexei]

Problem solved.

Stumbled across one of these today in my local supermarket

click me

It's one of those adaptors that turns your home ringmain into a network, this one has both ethernet and USB functions, so you could have a remote printer I guess. BUT, combine that with my USB Bluetooth dongle, and as long as I remember to plug it in in the right room, I've got bluetooth wherever I want it, even in the garden as I've got an external socket for the strimmer.

Price was €49.95, about £30 (which seems very reasonable) especially as I can also use it for USB speakers, VOIP handset, and if I ever get a laptop I can get an ethernet connection going too.

Not certain about how secure these things are, is the signal leaching out into the wires outside my house for instance? But as my nearest neighbour is about 500 metres away, I figure there's not going to be a big security risk (and anyway, how interested will anyone be in my msn-ing?).

The one downside? I still have to have the PC going for pass-thru net connections, and I still have to remember to go upstairs to turn it on.


PS- Any admins stumbling across this - I'd love to change the title from a question to something like - How to increase your bluetooth range (well sort of).

Edited by Alexei, 31 July 2006 - 02:29 PM.

[danwatson1974]

That looks awesome ... which supermarket was it? I am guessing Tesco or ASDA ..............

[Alexei]

Ah, didn't I fill in my location?

It's actually from Carrefour - I'm one of those ex-pats in France. Working a treat now, I'm sat in the sun in the garden typing this on my E200 with the flexible keyboard, with a glass of red, and my girlfriend waving from the hammock. Don't think I need to get any more advanced for a while.

[samspot123]

By the look of what you all have posted it seems to be that you do not have much experience in bluetooth field!!! You can easily increase the range of your bluetooth dongle.. It is infact the easiest way!

Ok now there is something called as a helix antenna. ok if you really wanna know about this I think you can contact me at [email protected]


I can give you very nice and easy tutorials which can increase the range of upto a 1km.....

Ok but there is something that I would also want in return but that is not a must but if you can provide me with info i would be grateful. I would want to know about the bluesnarfing method. I want info. Not the software!!!


Those who can please help!!

My email ID : [email protected]

[Droog]

The Bluetooth Booster is the cornerstone of most Proximity Marketing Campaigns with a range of external antennas that can be connected to it's SMS connector for even greater range www.mainlineimports.co.uk