Can I boost my WiFi antenna for better signal strength?

Does the length of a wifi antenna cord affect the signal strength?

• on my computer,i have a pci wifi card installed,i've noticed the two antennas i have get different signal strength,my aluminum yaga gets two bars on 5 foot wire, while my other has a 10 foot cord and gets one bar of signal,while my laptop Has an Internal card with no cords getting 3 Bars Of signal.does the length of a wifi antenna cord affect the signal strength?

• Answer:

  The cable between the antenna and card is prone to creating losses in signal strength. Generally speaking, shorter, stiffer cables result in higher signal strength. Antenna size and position will also determine signal strength. Your laptop uses a simple dipole antenna system with some very small gauge wires running around the chassis of the laptop; The desktop cards typically uses a moderate gain multi-directional complex antenna and shielded cabling between the antenna and card in your description. The cables can cause excessive loss if damaged by shearing (excessive bending) or tension (excessive pulling) resulting in breaking the center conductor or the shielding. There are also higher gain and uni-directional antennas that can provide better signal strength. In your case, sounds like a bad cable.