Extending my WiFi network spending no cash.

i want to be able to allow others in my area to use my internet connection (some cant afford their own) i have done a bit of research on antennas and ariels and beleive i can do it easy enough, however i dont think i am willing to spend my money to enable them to get something for free so i wanted to use household stuff to create my own free/cheap antenna from stuff i already have, i thought some usesr may have experience in the practical side of this rather than just my theory so that i may save some time and lots of mistakes, for instance in theory i see no reason why a TV ariel cant be used an a directional antenna. yes i am aware of the differences in directional and omnidirectional etc etc, a directional one will work just fine as i live on a terrace and the people i wish to share with all live within a quarter of a mile from me. any ideas will be accepted gratefully.

IMHO: The better idea would be to just ask the people in your area to give $10 each (one time only) and buy a good WiFi antenna. This way they get the WiFi and you don't spend anything and don't risk damaging your hardware. Again JMHO. -WS

however half of the point that i missed out in my first post is that i feel it will make an intesting project (to further expand my skills) so buying one would be the easy route but not half as interesting.

Great point. :)

I can't help in this area, maybe there is someone with WiFi Antenna knowledge here can help. -WS

Others may have better experience with WiFi than me, but expecting folks to be able to connect to an access point a quarter-mile away is a LOT to expect -- especially without special hardware -- like unidirectional antennas and signal boosters. I have a hard enough time getting my laptop downstairs to get a decent signal from my wireless router upstairs -- and I have one of the newer Cisco (formerly Linksys) routers, I using 80211.n, and I'm using the 5GZ band -- all of which should give me great reception.

thanks for your input Mark, however i dont think that a homemade device will not be able to perform, anyway i have some equipment now (donated) and will try to sort this problem.

the first i am going to try is ariel from a wifi access point and a SKY dish to use as a parabolic reflector

I am not sure how it works over there for accountability, but over here in the US if any illegal activity is done on a users internet account, the account holder is held responsible, unless you can prove that someone else had illegal access to your network.
Since you are voluntarily giving permission to users to use your internet access, you may be held liable for their actions.

i had not thought of that, i guess it could be an issue, i will have to look into the legalities. i think there should be a way around it though because if librarys, coffee shops and pubs can offer free wifi without the worry of illeagal activity then there must be a loophole somewhere

Organizations that provide WiFI generally require logging into a website, and that includes a legal disclaimer that you have to agree to in order to login.