I’m sure logging into your internet connection from home wasn’t exactly what these companies had in mind when they advertised “free internet”, but hey, it seemed like an open invitation to me! So I accepted them. There are actually three companies that I can log into from home that advertise free internet. The closest one is just over half a mile away, the other two are a few tenths farther.

Now, you’re probably thinking… these guys must have a powerful router for me to pick up a WIFI signal from so far away. The truth is; they are not using off-the-shelf standard routers connected to the Internet through an ISP like everyone else. The trick to accomplishing this feat is on my side.

To get the maximum range on a WIFI connection, you need a powerful transmitter or a powerful receiver. The government limits the power of the transmitter, so to make this connection; it is the design of the antenna that is important.

This is not something new. Antenna shaping has been going on since Nikola Tesla began experimenting with wireless communication in the 1890s. WIFI is just an extension of that early technology. The range on most WIFI routers is only 300 feet. But with a good homemade antenna, this range can be greatly extended. My connection is solid as a rock.

For those of you who have trouble getting a good connection from one end of your home to the other, this may seem impossible, but with a custom antenna, it’s quite common. The current WIFI long distance record for non-amplified ‘stock’ routers is 238 miles! That’s just using antenna technology.

So how expensive are these antennas and where can you get them? You can buy them, but the commercial versions cost more than $100. The least expensive way to acquire one is to build one yourself. It’s easy and it will only cost you about $10 to $15. When you think about what you spend on Internet service charges each year… that’s a drop in the ocean.

There are two types of WIFI antennas you can build… Yagi and Waveguide. The Yagi is quite complicated for a beginner. The waveguide, or antenna, is something a ten-year-old can build in an afternoon. All it contains is a can and a USB internet adapter.

Of course, the can has to be a certain size and shape, and the USB adapter has to fit in exactly the right place for it to work properly. But that’s not a problem if you can follow simple instructions. It is also easy to increase the power of this antenna by adding additional parts. It is the advanced designs that are the most interesting.

The best place to find building instructions and more on WIFI antennas is to log into Amazon’s online bookstore and type “FREE internet” into your search engine. This will open several books that will show you exactly how to build these and even more powerful WIFI antennas. Book prices range from $5 to $20. The books at the top are the most popular.

Not only was this a fun project for the afternoon, but I estimate it will save me about $500 a year from now on. Or at least until they pick up the “FREE Internet” signal.