As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I had read about the simplicity of Yagi antenna construction, and saw no reason that I could not attempt to create one with the tools I had on hand. Certainly the omnidirectional antenna I was working with was not doing the job, so I figured what I needed to do was convert it from omnidirectional to directional, and that seemed more or less straightforward. I even got an improved signal reading (on my computer, using a free software program) with my first attempt to create such an antenna, which boosted my confidence in being able to construct a more powerful one with a few more directors. If my first attempt had failed miserably, there would not have been a second. In that sense, a little success is as dangerous as a little knowledge, and the two together spell certain doom.
My apologies for having used up your time with this. I have learned that I understand far too little to move forward from here, no matter what the YouTube and Instuctibles may say about how easy it is to create an antenna like this and improve my wifi reception (and transmission). I don't suppose finally getting the Yagi antenna I have ordered will do me any good without a corresponding card that anticipates that kind of signal. There goes my career as an antenna designer. Thank you for helping me understand this before I wasted any more of my own time or resources on the project. That in itself is valuable, if in a disappointing zero-sum kind of way. :-\
