DIY a Wireless Repeater Router for Just 10 Yuan with ESP8266

This article is reprinted from the anywlan forum, author: rainbow_cnay

Currently, buying a wireless router with a repeater function costs around several dozen yuan, but you can DIY a wireless repeater for only 10 yuan. Of course, you will need some additional peripheral components.Let me introduce some relevant things.ESP8266: The ESP8266 is a Wi-Fi chip designed by Espressif. Although it is positioned as a Wi-Fi networking solution, it is more like an IoT solution. It is not only small—about 5*5 mm—but also inexpensive, with an integrated board costing only a few dozen yuan. In comparison, similar chips like WRTNode cost over a hundred, and Particle (Spark Core) is even more expensive. The core of the ESP8266 is a Diamond Standard 106Micro controller, a low-power 32-bit RISC controller. It has modules such as GPIO, I2C, ADC, SPI, and PWM, allowing you to perform various tasks that microcontrollers can handle. It also supports AP (Access Point), STA (Station), and AP+STA coexistence modes, and uses efficient AT commands.According to the official website, the wireless power of this chip can reach 25DBm, which is about 300mW. Based on foreign evaluations, the onboard antenna or external antenna can reach three to four hundred meters in unobstructed conditions (actually through car glass). If using a directional antenna, it may reach kilometers.This is the ESP module from Ai Thinker: Shenzhen Ai Thinker (www.ai-thinker.com) has launched a module based on the ESP8266 that can work simply by connecting to 3.3V power.For example, the ESP12E has an onboard antenna, while the ESP07 has an external antenna interface. If you find the pins too cumbersome, use the ESP01, which has standard pin headers.However, this module needs to connect to a TTL-level serial port for development. Currently, on certain online platforms, this module costs 10.6 yuan each.NODEMCU Development Board: NODEMCU is a development board that uses the ESP12E, featuring a USB serial port that can be directly connected to a computer for development. It supports original firmware, SDK development, and also LUA scripting language.Currently, it costs about 20 yuan each online.The standard firmware supports AP+STA coexistence but does not allow data forwarding and NAT conversion.Some experts have modified the software so that the ESP8266 can be used as a wireless repeater.YT Tutorial:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM2FqnMFCLwSource code and firmware download:https://github.com/martin-ger/esp_wifi_repeaterI bought a NODEMCU board last year, played with LUA, and then flashed the downloaded NAT firmware, which can now successfully be used as a wireless repeater.However, the main frequency of the ESP8266 is only 80M and 160M, so the processing speed is not fast. It can reach a rate of about 3-4 megabits, which is about 300K-400K bytes per second for downloads. If used for simple browsing and watching small videos, it is still acceptable.It only requires very simple setup commands to get it working. You can also connect to the module’s AP via your phone to configure it through TCP. Generally, when operating wirelessly, the module consumes 80 mA.Those interested can try it out.

Reposting a distance test summary published by foreigners on YT; it feels quite powerful:

Some screenshots:

This article is reprinted from the anywlan forum, author: rainbow_cnay