wireless networking (not in car)

mutilator · 08-23-2004, 06:56 AM

how far can you get with a wifi network? i need to network like 600yards away...

i got broad band.. but my friend whon lives like just down the road cant cus he is on a diff exchange, i just wondered how far wifi would go. also i guess it should be noted i live in the country and there woulndt be any real inteferance.

also what kinda connection speeds could i expect?

thanks,

tom.

erazor · 08-23-2004, 11:39 AM

hm normaly its range isabout 300meters at the field (no walls or trees in between) but if you use a satelite dash and an external antenna that point to each other it maybe could even beat that distance

JayKaye · 08-23-2004, 12:27 PM

Its all dependant on how you set it up. If you get a high gain external antenna and mount it on your roof (or somewhere high up giving the best 'line of sight' to your mates house) then you should get a decent signal strength. It works both ways so make sure your mate has something similar.
The thing with frequencies used with WiFi (2.4GHz) is that they are more prone to being reflected from objects rather than go through them. So having something as simple as a thin wall between you and your mate could severly reduce signal strength. The aim is to have as much signal leaving your WiFi (and his) as possible so that by the time it reaches your mate (or you) the gain is still strong enough to be of use.

EDIT: Also, this may be obvious, but make sure you keep both your antenna's vertical.

hydraulix · 08-23-2004, 12:32 PM

look into a Yagi antenna, Ive heard with the proper setup, they can go up to a mile line of site with full signal strength, 600 yards is only like 1800 feet. so you should be good. theres info out there on building your own hi gain antennas also.

JayKaye · 08-23-2004, 12:34 PM

ohhh I completely forgot about Yagi. Yes that would be a great idea. Dont bother building your own unless you dont mind failing a couple of times first. Getting the length of each rod would be hard with such a high frequency. Cheaper just to buy 2 along with a motorised base and your in business

mutilator · 08-23-2004, 01:12 PM

ok, well i should be able to get line of sight... what sorta money are we talking, and what kind of hardware?

thanks for all the info so far, im lookin into yagi antenna as we speak

thanks,

tom.

eatyummypuppies · 08-23-2004, 03:19 PM

If that doesn't work out, you can always put a repeater (ie. just another access point) somewhere between the two points.

mutilator · 08-23-2004, 03:27 PM

problem is there is just fields, a stream and a lake inbetween :P

gareva1 · 08-23-2004, 03:46 PM

you can build a waveguide antenna, affectionately called a cantenna online for about $4 or $5, just an n connector mounted in the right place, with a wire element of the right length, and people are getting anywhere from 1-10 miles from these, depending on the hardware you are using (quality of cards, links, and whether or not you use an amp in the setup)

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

this site tells you how to build one, and has a wonderful calculator to tell you exactly where to mount the element in your can.

much cheaper, and worth trying if you are considering dropping a bunch of $ on a set of yagis....

erazor · 08-23-2004, 04:01 PM

yah yagi would do it too sth like satelite dash is maybe oversized for that distance :P

gareva1 · 08-23-2004, 04:03 PM

cisco yagis can go 25 miles, at least thats what cisco says (meaning I bet they go further); I'm not disputing the reliability of yagis, I'm saying that if it can be done cheaper, why spend the extra money?

mutilator · 08-23-2004, 04:45 PM

well what kinda money are we talking? im guessin id need to WAPs, and then 2 antennas? would the WAP plug strate into my switch?

thanks,
tom.

smack · 08-25-2004, 10:24 AM

The problem doesn't sound too difficult, especially if you can see between the two locations. I would reccommend using orinoco usb cards - they can be had for about 35USD on ebay, but you might not want to mess with shipping, etc to the UK. A couple friends and I recently used them to make a 55 mile link without amps... we were using 9 foot satellite dished though. We also had success using a cheap SMC AP, modified by putting an N connector on it. Using an AP would let you plug it straight into a LAN, however, the orinoco cards can also be configured as APs, or used alone in peer to peer mode (we used them in AP mode for our link). I don't know how easily the usb ones could be used on a LAN, we didn't really mess around with that aspect too much. However, USB is nice to use because you can locate the adapter at the antenna and really cut down on RF loss in the coax. I think there is a relatively short (~20 foot/6m?) limit on USB cable length though. If you do get one of the USB orinocos, make sure it is a Lucent or Avaya branded unit, I have heard of problems with the Proxim branded units (the newer proxims use a single PCB w/ no antenna connector while the others actually have a PCMCIA card with a USB converter... the PCMCIA card had an antenna connector).

There are a number of antenna choices that should all work. I would lean toward the 18" dish antenna, but mainly because I have experience with the bigger dishes and like them... a cantenna would probably be easier to make. There are also plans for simple yagi antennas using threaded rod, nuts, and washers. This should give a bit more gain than a cantenna alone.

Hope this helps,

Andy

l9nux · 08-25-2004, 10:32 AM

More to the point, how much are you charging your friend for broadband?

mutilator · 08-25-2004, 11:46 AM

figured id take some money and upgrade to onemeg.

tom.