How to boost a wireless signal

[snopes]

Comment: This is a video I found on www.break.com

It shows how to increase your wireless networking by wrapping an ethernet
cord around your cell phone. Then by plugging it into your network port.
This is suppose to increase your signal. It goes against everything I know
of computers, but it seems so sincere its hard to wonder if its true or
not.

Here is the link:
http://break.com/index/how_to_boost_...ss_signal.html

[hambubba]

I saw this about a week ago.

Amazing, isn't it?

Fake for two reasons:

1. If you're expanding the range of your wireless card, where are you plugging the ethernet cable? A wireless card won't have an ethernet jack because, well, it's a wireless card. (It may have an external antenna adaptor.)

2. Assuming you're plugging the ethernet cable into your network adapter, the other end of the cable isn't plugged into anything. Since your network card isn't designed to work with an antenna, then you will not be getting a signal.

[Troberg]

This is so stupid and goes against everything we know about radio, physics and digital communications. It's so far from everything rational that it's out of reach from the rational viewpoint.

1. The phone is not some kind of relay station. It does not send signals it picks up.

2. The phone and WiFi does not work on the sam frequency bands.

3. Ethernet cables are shielded.

4. The low level protocols used for wired and wireless are completely different.

5. Communications need to go both ways. The phone has no way of sending to the wire.

6. It's bloody stupid.

7. Ethernet cabling use twisted pair symmetrical transfers, specifically to make them resistant to interference.

8. If the cable is only plugged in on one end, the computer will not recognize it as plugged in and will ignore everything it gets on it.

9. Did I mention that it's bloody stupid?

10. The cell phone is not really sending anything (except for some occasional "I'm still here"-package to the base station) when a call is not being made. Having to make a call would make it cost ineffective and awkward to use.

11. The fact that anyone can actually believe this makes my head hurt. Is it really too much to ask that the Nobel Committee starts an armed branch which is given the task of hunting down and killing people who comes up with ideas this stupid?

Wires can be used to increase range and stability of a network connections. Just run them between the machines that need to connect and plug them in at both ends.

[hambubba]

Originally Posted by Troberg

3. Ethernet cables are shielded.

No they're not.

Other than that, everything you say is true.

It's obviously a spoof. The problem is compounded by the fact that he has produced other, very helpful and informative videos about computers and technology.

It's a good spoof.

[Troberg]

No they're not.

Some are, you can usually spot them because there is metal around the plug. I prefer them if I need really long cables.

And, technically, the old coax cables were also ethernet and were all shielded as well. Another good thing to know about them is that you should not strip those wires with a knife while watching TV...

[hambubba]

How many stitches?

[Troberg]

How many stitches?

No stitches, but if the cut had been an inch deeper, I would have lost my finger.

[guruwan2b]

Unless you have really thick fingers, it was just a paper cut....

[Troberg]

Unless you have really thick fingers, it was just a paper cut....

OK, it wasn't that deep, but it really hurt. A lot.

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by Troberg

Some are, you can usually spot them because there is metal around the plug. I prefer them if I need really long cables.

And, technically, the old coax cables were also ethernet and were all shielded as well.

Actually, not all coax cable is shielded either.

[bjohn13]

Ironically, this was just passed around work today as "geek humor".

[Wolf333]

Originally Posted by bjohn13

Actually, not all coax cable is shielded either.

Could you show me an example of coax that isn't shielded? Not wiring that ends in a coax or RCA connector, but coax cable that is not shielded.

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by Wolf333

Could you show me an example of coax that isn't shielded? Not wiring that ends in a coax or RCA connector, but coax cable that is not shielded.

I'm sitting here, holding a piece of unshielded coax cable that one of our service techinicians pulled out of a home a couple of days ago on a trouble call for their modem service, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get a picture of it on the internet (I've got no scanner or digital camera).

This cable (not talking about the connector) is composed of three parts. The outer jacket is rubber, and dialectric is clear plastic, and the center conductor is copper. There is no metal (shielding) whatsoever between the dialectric and the rubber jacket.

[TrekkerScout]

Originally Posted by bjohn13

This cable (not talking about the connector) is composed of three parts. The outer jacket is rubber, and dialectric is clear plastic, and the center conductor is copper. There is no metal (shielding) whatsoever between the dialectric and the rubber jacket.

[certified technician speak] If there is no shielding, then it isn't a coaxial cable. Coaxial cable is defined as an insulated central conductor (solid or stranded) surrounded by a solid or braided shield (AKA grounded) conductor. By definition, ALL coaxial cable is shielded.

I would be willing to bet that the coax cable you have has a thin foil layer between the insulator and the outer jacket that serves as the shield. This is the cheapest type of coaxial cable, which I wouldn't recommend to be used under any circumstances.[/certified technician speak]

[Troberg]

This cable (not talking about the connector) is composed of three parts. The outer jacket is rubber, and dialectric is clear plastic, and the center conductor is copper. There is no metal (shielding) whatsoever between the dialectric and the rubber jacket.

That's not a coax, it's just a single lead wire with fancy isolation. Sometimes wires are made up like this to get better insulation, sometimes for better bend durability.

If there is no shielding, then it isn't a coaxial cable. Coaxial cable is defined as an insulated central conductor (solid or stranded) surrounded by a solid or braided shield (AKA grounded) conductor. By definition, ALL coaxial cable is shielded.

Exactly. Full story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial

[bjohn13]

Originally Posted by TrekkerScout

[certified technician speak] If there is no shielding, then it isn't a coaxial cable. Coaxial cable is defined as an insulated central conductor (solid or stranded) surrounded by a solid or braided shield (AKA grounded) conductor. By definition, ALL coaxial cable is shielded.

I would be willing to bet that the coax cable you have has a thin foil layer between the insulator and the outer jacket that serves as the shield. This is the cheapest type of coaxial cable, which I wouldn't recommend to be used under any circumstances.[/certified technician speak]

Coaxial cable, by definition, is "any cable that has a common axis point". That was a word for word answer on the basic installer NCTI course final test I took about seven years ago. I interpret that to mean that coaxial cable is any cable that is round and symmetrical.

I must reiterate that there is no shielding on the cable I was holding this morning (that has since hit the trash), and it was by no means the first time I have ever run across cable that has no shielding.

All of the unshielded coax I've run across in the past has been series 59 cable with prefabricated connectors. The only good thing about this cable is that our compression series 59 fittings won't fit on it. That means that our technicians, who are trained to replace all prefabricated connectors, have no choice but to replace the entire cable when they find that they can't get a new connector on. The stuff belongs in the trash anyway, as it has no practical application.

Of course, we use quad-shielded cable. In the world of high speed data and digital media, ingress is our enemy.

b "8 NCTI certifications and counting" john13

[TrekkerScout]

Originally Posted by bjohn13

Coaxial cable, by definition, is "any cable that has a common axis point". That was a word for word answer on the basic installer NCTI course final test I took about seven years ago. I interpret that to mean that coaxial cable is any cable that is round and symmetrical.

Your interpretation is a bit off. The definition of "cable" according to the NEC (800.2) is "A factory assembly of two or more conductors having an overall covering." Since the NCTI uses NEC definitions, the assembly you have cannot be a coaxial cable. It is simply an insulated conductor.

Terminology is extremely important and can be misleading.

All of the unshielded coax I've run across in the past has been series 59 cable with prefabricated connectors. The only good thing about this cable is that our compression series 59 fittings won't fit on it. That means that our technicians, who are trained to replace all prefabricated connectors, have no choice but to replace the entire cable when they find that they can't get a new connector on. The stuff belongs in the trash anyway, as it has no practical application.

I'm surprised that your technicians are even bothering to replace fittings on RG-59 cable. Unless it is solid copper core with copper braid shielding for use with satellite systems, it has no place in the modern world of high speed data transmission. RG-6 Quad is the only way to go (until fiber-optic becomes cheaper).

Trekker "EL-01 licensed journeyman electrician with 21 years experience and too many certificates to count" Scout

[Malruhn]

Originally Posted by bjohn13

I'm sitting here, holding a piece of unshielded coax cable that one of our service techinicians pulled out of a home a couple of days ago on a trouble call for their modem service, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get a picture of it on the internet (I've got no scanner or digital camera).

Well, DUH!!!

Just open up a new post, hold the cable up against your monitor screen and hit the "Submit Reply" button. Your screen is called a "monitor" because it monitors what is touching it!

Man, some people are really electronically non-advanced!
Here, I got it...

[Salamander]

Originally Posted by Malruhn

Well, DUH!!!

Just open up a new post, hold the cable up against your monitor screen and hit the "Submit Reply" button. Your screen is called a "monitor" because it monitors what is touching it!

Man, some people are really electronically non-advanced!
Here, I got it...

Lemme see if this works... I'm currently holding my middle finger up against the screen in a pose that is frequently described as "flipping the bird". Let's see if Malruhn gets it when I hit the "Submit Reply" button.