What type of building material does not block a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi signal?

[A.Justice]

I'm trying to clean up my modem and router area, I'd like to put everything into a neat looking, low profile, wall mounted case. Most of the "pretty" cases are made out of metal, or some other type of material that blocks the ever-loving sh*t out of a 2.4 ghz signal. I'd rather not put everything in a case, and then stick the giant Wi-Fi router on top, sort of defeats the purpose for me. I am however, not opposed to relocating antenna, as long as it's not a ridiculously expensive antenna kit. I've already got coaxial antenna wire and connectors, so it would be DIY. I've tried building external antennas, it's surprisingly difficult to get the right length and angles to collect the proper wavelength. Any advice on that would be appreciated as well.

2.4ghz is an absolute must, going to 5G won't work for this application. 5ghz won't even make a connection through the trees. I need a reliable signal that doesn't drop packets everywhere like FedEx. The 5ghz is just too lossy for my application.

Does anybody know if there's a material, that's somewhat easy(ish) to work with, that would make a reasonably strong and cabinet that could contain a wireless router, and not block signal strength more than 1-2dbm? It does not need to be weatherproof at all either, it will be mounted inside.

Google gives me lots of results for how to block signals with material, but not to NOT block them.

Thanks for any help!

The photo is of the type of cabinets that I have saved from old pool jobs, it looks perfect, but it blocks way too much signal. Just a visual aid as to what I'm sort of looking for.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

I am however, not opposed to relocating antenna, as long as it's not a ridiculously expensive antenna kit.

You should be able to find a 2.4GHz antenna with an SMA connector or something easily and just route it out of the box (at a cost of a few dollars). Most routers (at least the ones I have here) have an SMA or similar connection for external antennae.

 

[hwy17]

The normal solution is definitely to not put the access point inside the network cabinet. I have slapped so many right on top and called it good.

 

[A.Justice]

You should be able to find a 2.4GHz antenna with an SMA connector or something easily and just route it out of the box (at a cost of a few dollars). Most routers (at least the ones I have here) have an SMA or similar connection for external antennae.

Is it really just as simple as extending the antenna out of the box? I thought that by adding wire it would add length to the antenna and mess up the signal.

Theoretically, would there be any issue with running them 5 ft up out of the case?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Is it really just as simple as extending the antenna out of the box? I thought that by adding wire it would add length to the antenna and mess up the signal.

That's what coax (and other) types of cable are for: impedance matching, so that it doesn't affect the antenna. Some WiFi routers like the one I use (Teltronika) have antennas on cables by default for this purpose. Like these:

 

[A.Justice]

That's what coax (and other) types of cable are for: impedance matching, so that it doesn't affect the antenna. Some WiFi routers like the one I use (Teltronika) have antennas on cables by default for this purpose. Like these:

Problem solved, thank you very much.