The wireless kit site is operated by members of Consume.net, a group of amateur enthusiasts who share broadband Internet connections with their neighbours and friends.

Simon Gunning, who works for Digilog doing anti-hacker software during the day, sells antenna boosters that are within the law in the UK, at night.

The site has a pretty full catalogue; it's worth asking for prices, though, because they keep changing. But (for example) a "pigtail" to connect your wireless card to a co-ax LMR-400 cable would cost about £20 to £25; while an omnidirectional rooftop antenna to attach to the cable would be around £250-£300 now, but likely to drop rapidly, he says, as new designs come into the market.

And a laptop-extender antenna would be about £ 20, compared to £80 for a commercially-available "brand name" device.

Prices to consume.net members will be much lower, too; so it's worth joining that first.

Another example of "how to" information is at Turnpoint's latest article (August).