If you want to spend a little bit more time for a better result (while learning a bit) you can homebrew a more solid solution. Directionals are pretty easy and

If you want to spend a little bit more time for a better result (while learning a bit) you can homebrew a more solid solution. Directionals are pretty easy and fun to make out of everyday items, which do the trick quite well. Here's some examples (http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html) and here's one you can do in maybe 30 minutes (http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html) Those antennas are good for long-haul point-to-point links, but can also do a pretty good job in point-to-multi, if it's close by. I gave a neighbor internet access for a few months with one of these pointed at his house, without any special gear on his end. Omni-directionals are a bit more advanced, but there are some good designs out there. I built one similar to this once (http://wireless.gumph.org/articles/homemadeomni.html http://wireless.gumph.org/articles/homemadeomni.html). Because these are a lot more sensitive to flaws than directionals, it's important to test. Sector antennas are a good compromise between omni and directional, as it gives you a nice wide area of coverage (http://www.grynx.com/projects/wide-angle-sector-antenna-14-dbi/ http://www.grynx.com/projects/wide-angle-sector-antenna-14-d...) Keep in mind that just installing DDWRT and cranking up the juice doesn't always result in a better wifi experience (though sometimes it can give access to that one dark spot), and is probably screwing up everyone else's experience. Hooking an ipod up to a bullhorn gives you nice range, but there's a lot less fidelity.