Having worked with many parabolic antennas I can tell this isnt highly directional And I suspect it is too deep for a proper focal point.. It still works better than the laptop... A more efficient and better designed antenna would be
this one especilally for a longer range..
I live in a high rise in the se corner on the 8th floor. With this antenna pointing west and against the window Im picking up from a building to the west of the high rise. In a room that is west of the elevator shafts it picks up 40-50 % thru the walls at maybe 3/4 of a block...
It surprises me how many hotspots are around now I can go out to the farm and detect a half a dozen but they are too weak to connect..A chap in wellington has an antenna on an old grain elevator and provides wireless to a few. With this antenna I could hook up with him Its about a mile..
All my life Ive played with experiments like this (since the mid fifties)and if the broncos were playing in the super bowl today I could fashion an antenna out of bed springs
Linux has a wireless assistant that beeps like a gieger counter and the beeps get louder and higher in pitch as the signal strength gets stronger,, Now imagine a bare foot old gray haired man waving a food strainer at the window and listening to the beeps,, I got to laughing so hard I had to sit down.. I tell this story to the college kids and they come unglued with hysterical laughter..
Usually I get more but here a scan I just made..
![Image](http://cabaret-karaoke.info/ants/scan.png)