Adversarial Science Laboratories Wins DefCon WiFi Shootout

If you have used a WiFi (IEEE 802.11b) 2.4 GHz wireless access point, you may have thought about improving the antenna and increasing the range. If so, take a look at the antenna the folks at Adversarial Science Labs used to win the WiFi shootout at Defcon in Las Vegas. The antenna, which was constructed on-site using readily available materials, is a huge pyramidal horn with gain calculated at 27 dBi or more. The ASL team won the shootout with a link distance of 35.2 miles. One problem that arose during the final part of the contest was the 100+ degree F heat in the desert that melted the duct tape holding the amplifier to the antenna! For an interesting account of the contest and details on the antenna, take a look at the Adversarial Science Labs web site.