Sunday, April 24, 2011

DIY- Signal Booster/Antenna for 3G Data Cards

Hello Dear Readers,

Today I have come up with a simple way to create an Antenna/Signal Booster for your 3G Data cards. After implementing this project I found a gain of almost 10-15db.

The signal strength before implementation was -87db....
Signal Strength before implementation

now after implementation the signal strength is -69db, since the number is negative  the smaller the number the better signal.

Signal Strength after implementation


So lets begin and build a signal booster antenna.

Material Required:
  1. An empty plastic bottle, You can use an empty bottle from Pepsi, Coke, or any drink of your choice. 
  2. A scissor
  3. Some Aluminum foil.(You can find some in your kitchen)
  4. A Cello Tape
  5. An USB Male-Female extension cable (as long as you wish).
Data Card, Male Female USB Extension cable


Lets begin constructing out antenna.
  • Cut the plastic bottle in a shape as shown below.
Bottle With the Cut and Aluminum Foil Attached.


  • Now you can either paste or staple the Aluminum Foil inside the bottle as shown above.
  • Once done insert the the data card inside the bottle, and use the extension cable to connect your data card to your system.
  • The end result would be as shown below.
Antenna/Signal Booster
 Once done connect the data card to your PC and check for signal strength. Move the the antenna as required to get a maximum gain.
It might not look so cool, but the results are cool. You can put in your creativity and make it look cool as well.

I hope you enjoy building one of your own and find it helpful.

Please do share your experience and any ideas you might have to improve this project, and I'll happy to consider some great ideas.

Thank You !