Improving on internal antenna?

Hey guys, recently my old U.S. Robotics 8054 router died so I bought a Linksys WRT54G2. However, this has internal antennae whereas my old one has external antennae. When I'm a bit farther from the router, my wireless internet drops every so often (maybe 20 minutes). It will come back up after a couple minutes. I think it has something to do with signal strength because my router is on the third floor while I'm usually on the first. I'm not sure how far the signal travels horizontally (I'm a terrible judge of distance) but I know that it needs to go through about three walls. So, I was wondering: if I opened up the case and attached a wire to each of the antennae, to make them stick out a bit, would it give me an increased signal? Is that even possible, or would it be bad for the router? Here's a picture of the inside of the router. If it is possible but it didn't help at all, what if I then used those wires to attach a parabolic reflector, such as that found here, to redirect the signal to where I want it?

 

Have you tried updating the firmware first?

The link to the routers internal is incorrect

 

The firmware is fully updated. The link to the picture of the inside works for me...

 

Just a thought.....

Have you considered moving the router to the 2nd floor to give you better coverage when you're on the 3rd floor? If it's an older house and has metal in the wall, that's trouble. If not, going through 3 walls and floors, well, I've done it w/ G, but I get much better results setting up an N network for folks.

 

The only way to get a higher signal is using a booster and an antenna, you can get a product just for that from Hawking Technologies.

 

Here is a possible high-gain external antenna.

John

 

Everything suggested would work. I just used a DLink DWA-142 USB N adapter to finish setting up a new desktop build. We used it in our shop which is not attached to our house. It has good reception and the actual adapter has about a 2-2 1/2' cord on it, enabling you to set it where you get the best signal/reception.

We got it off EBay for about $20 and it's worked very well for us. This way we don't have to install a wifi card in the dt and from our experience, it get much better receprtion than the regualar usb N adapters.

 

I have thought of that, but the only way that it would be feasible would be to have several long ethernet cords running through the house, and I don't think the other inhabitants would like it. I'm not sure if the walls are metal, it's a house that my dad built about 25 years ago.

I know, I was hoping that the longer wires would act as an antenna. I can't really afford to buy anything.

 

Yes, it would work, it won't give you the gain as in John's seggestion, but i will help to spread the signal around.