Use a Beer Can to Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal

Image from WikihowWhat do college students use more than internet and beer? Now you can combine the powers of these two great inventions to improve the Wi-Fi signal in your apartment or dorm. Wikihow has the plans for a beer can antenna booster (although I can't imagine it wouldn't work with a soda can too), and it looks awesome.

Basically you'll need to cut open the can to resemble a simple satellite dish, and place your router's antenna through the hole in the top. The design is undoubtedly directional, and probably wouldn't work very well if you were lucky enough to place your router in the middle of an apartment. If it's hidden away in the corner however, or you just want to boost the signal temporarily in a specific direction, there's no reason not to give it a try. Just don't cut yourself!

Unfortunately the router at my house doesn't have an external antenna, so let me know in the comments how well it worked. Once you've improved your antenna, see if the DD-WRT open-source firmware is compatible with your router, and check out Lifehacker's guide on using it to dramatically improve your network's performance. 

[Via The Consumerist]