[NLRS] 2.4 GHz antenna

[Ford Peterson]

I've got a problem looking for a solution.  It's my wireless network at the home QTH.

I get my high speed connection from the top of the water tank in Dassel, about 3.5 miles from the shack.  I use a 24dBi dish to gather about -60dBm of signal for the connection.  That one works FB at up to 1.5MB/sec.  Connected to my LAN in the shack is a 802.11G router with dual antennas.  A simple mag mount collinear on the outside wall provides a local hot spot for up in the house, some 200' - 220' away.  My XYL uses the link to access the internet and my LAN in the shack.  The trouble is, her connectivity on the laptop is poor.  Near a window she gets 2-3 bars of signal (whatever that means) but loses the connection from time-to-time.

So I'm looking for an antenna design that will provide decent gain at 2.4 GHz, but has a beam width of about 30 degrees.  The 3' - 24dBi dish is too narrow to illuminate the whole house.  Anybody got any ideas on a good design?  

Ford-N0FP
ford at cmgate.com