Dirty hack to boost cell phone reception

Took a look at my aging Motorola V3i and realized that there is a rubber lid on the back of the phone which i found odd. After checking it out on Google, I found out that most phones have it and when removed, it is a point for an external antenna. I embarked on creating a makeshift external cell antenna for next to nothing. It would come in handy when needed.

Items needed:
1) Insulated wire
2) Wire Cutters
3) Ruler
4) Skewer


                 1. Cut out 20cm of wire


                      2. Measure out 5cm of wire and bend it to a 90                                        degree angle


                      3. From the bending point, wrap 5 times on the skewer


                      4. Pull the wire out


                      5. Measure and bend 2cm from the end


                      6. Remove the insulation


                      7. Your makeshift cell antenna is ready


                      8. Remove the rubber lid


                      9. Insert the end of the makeshift antenna to the antenna                        jack


                      10. Antenna mounted


                      11. Signal before mounting the antenna


                      12. Signal boost after mounting the antenna

Wardriving )(

Went out Wardriving earlier with my girl. It was a Saturday night and we needed to get out. It was either this or smacking my head with either a stone or a chisel (kinda symbolic with respect to where we are). Got the car hooked up for the drive. The 9db antenna was mounted at the back. There's one thing I have to point out is that with a 500mW Alfa(RTL8187) wireless adapter, being in close proximity with the antenna can seriously mess you up(ex: headaches,nausea). Which is why the antenna is mounted outside. Got my power inverter powered on in case the battery gives up. Took a few snaps with my Nikon for shits and giggles. We didn't expect this municipality to have that many access points powered up on a Saturday night. We drove up to a few spots before ending the session. All in all, more than 60 access points were found which I found pretty darn impressive for an area where Google dosen't give a crap about to map out in Google Maps. What makes it scary besides the open access points found is that more than 40 of the access points detected are on 64-bit WEP keys.

Setting up the wireless adapter

Where the laptop would reside. Power Inverter located below the seat.

Backseat Layout (Didn't really use the Pringles Bluetooth Directional Cantenna)

My girl helping me out to monitor the results

Airodump-NG in action

Nokia Ngage Schematics

A few years ago when i got my Nokia Ngage, it was no doubt a fun device. As it turned out, I wasn't really much of a gamer and ended up scripting on the phone. With that, i started cultivating interest in Bluetooning and even messing about the EEPROM. The s60 crusade died down after switching phones. It would be great to hear something refreshing about the scene. I've uploaded the schematics of the Nokia Ngage for your reference.