A cantenna (a portmanteau blending the words can and antenna) is a homemade directional waveguide antenna, made out of an open-ended metal can. Cantennas are typically used to increase the range (or discovery) of Wi-Fi networks. This wi-fi antenna design is a much simpler DIY project than the pringles cantenna. Basically there are 3 parts to a build-your-own 2.4 Ghz cantenna kit: a pigtail, an N-female connector and a metal coffee can.
Build the 2.4Ghz Waveguide Cantenna Antenna This article is a little bit of a departure for me. Typically I write about VHF/UHF communications, but I’m dipping my feet into the microwaves and have thrust headfirst into the world of. Broadband-Hamnet, formally known at HSMM ham radio, is a high speed mesh data network running on off the shelf 802.11b/g routers with a custom firmware. The mesh is a self discovering, self healing, redundant communications system that offers internet protocol (IP) services over the air. What makes the mesh attractive to ham radio operators and emergency communicators is that the first six channels of the 802.11b/g protocol fall within the 2.4 GHz amateur radio band. 
That means amateur radio operators may modify the routers with custom firmware, add high gain antennas, and otherwise experiment to squeeze more range and capabilities out of off the shelf wireless networking equipment. So what got my attention of broadband-hamnet was a video produced by the ARRL called the. One segment showed hams deploying a mesh network at the Dayton Hamvention. I thought to myself: this could be the answer to networking our Field Day site. I proceeded to get a few more hams interested in the concept, one thing led to another, and this spring we have our first node on the air with the goal of a citywide ham radio mesh network.
I like being on the bleeding edge of technology, back in 2000 mine was the second APRS station to go on the air in our community. Like APRS I see the potential for emergency communications that broad-band hamnet provides and know it takes one or two stations to get on the air to create the excitement necessary to build out our network. With that, I’ve been researching antenna designs looking for something inexpensive and easy to build, so that mesh stations can get on the air with a minimum investment. My Waveguide Cantenna antenna is the answer. You may remember the Pringles 802.11b Cantenna from years back. Well, those antennas really didn’t work, the diameter of the tube was too small for 2.4 Ghz and the foil lining didn’t make the best reflector. I’ve seen other cantennas made out soup cans, coffee cans, and other types of recycled materials; but things didn’t come together until I found a blog post.
I liked the design and decided to try my hand a building a 2.4 GHz Waveguide Cantenna Antenna. So how does the Cantenna work? The Waveguide antenna is a relatively simple principle. Inside the tube is a 1/4 wave radiator positioned 1/4 wave away from the rear of the antenna.
In front of the radiator, the tube is approximately 3/4 wave long. The signal emits from the radiator, is reflected off the back of the antenna and guided or directed by the length of the tube. The result is a highly directional, high gain signal.
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A cantenna (a portmanteau blending the words can and antenna) is a homemade directional waveguide antenna, made out of an open-ended metal can. Cantennas are typically used to increase the range (or discovery) of Wi-Fi networks. This wi-fi antenna design is a much simpler DIY project than the pringles cantenna. Basically there are 3 parts to a build-your-own 2.4 Ghz cantenna kit: a pigtail, an N-female connector and a metal coffee can.
Build the 2.4Ghz Waveguide Cantenna Antenna This article is a little bit of a departure for me. Typically I write about VHF/UHF communications, but I’m dipping my feet into the microwaves and have thrust headfirst into the world of. Broadband-Hamnet, formally known at HSMM ham radio, is a high speed mesh data network running on off the shelf 802.11b/g routers with a custom firmware. The mesh is a self discovering, self healing, redundant communications system that offers internet protocol (IP) services over the air. What makes the mesh attractive to ham radio operators and emergency communicators is that the first six channels of the 802.11b/g protocol fall within the 2.4 GHz amateur radio band.
That means amateur radio operators may modify the routers with custom firmware, add high gain antennas, and otherwise experiment to squeeze more range and capabilities out of off the shelf wireless networking equipment. So what got my attention of broadband-hamnet was a video produced by the ARRL called the. One segment showed hams deploying a mesh network at the Dayton Hamvention. I thought to myself: this could be the answer to networking our Field Day site. I proceeded to get a few more hams interested in the concept, one thing led to another, and this spring we have our first node on the air with the goal of a citywide ham radio mesh network.
I like being on the bleeding edge of technology, back in 2000 mine was the second APRS station to go on the air in our community. Like APRS I see the potential for emergency communications that broad-band hamnet provides and know it takes one or two stations to get on the air to create the excitement necessary to build out our network. With that, I’ve been researching antenna designs looking for something inexpensive and easy to build, so that mesh stations can get on the air with a minimum investment. My Waveguide Cantenna antenna is the answer. You may remember the Pringles 802.11b Cantenna from years back. Well, those antennas really didn’t work, the diameter of the tube was too small for 2.4 Ghz and the foil lining didn’t make the best reflector. I’ve seen other cantennas made out soup cans, coffee cans, and other types of recycled materials; but things didn’t come together until I found a blog post.
I liked the design and decided to try my hand a building a 2.4 GHz Waveguide Cantenna Antenna. So how does the Cantenna work? The Waveguide antenna is a relatively simple principle. Inside the tube is a 1/4 wave radiator positioned 1/4 wave away from the rear of the antenna.
In front of the radiator, the tube is approximately 3/4 wave long. The signal emits from the radiator, is reflected off the back of the antenna and guided or directed by the length of the tube. The result is a highly directional, high gain signal.