WiFi FAQ

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Originally Posted by freestyler

albeit somewhat correct that statement isn't 100% correct.

wardriving is "The benign act of locating and logging wireless access points while in motion"

has nothing to do with locating access points for accessing the internet, it's merely a statistical data gathering method.

and your "typical" use is incorrect, it doesn't grab ANY K's of data, it merely notes where a radio beacon is being broadcasted.

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What's with the lawyerspeak? War driving is finding APs, there's nothing wrong with my description. You sound like you're daintilly trying to avoid the fact that some people who war drive use the connections to connect to the internet.

In regards to marking my description of one typical use as 'incorrect', you're a raving looney. I didn't say 'This is the word of god, all war drivers do this one thing'. I said 'one use is to xxx x xxx'.

Lighten up, Francis.

The two types of antenna are (omni-directional, directional)
HomeBrews will tend to focus on the directional types.
PRO:
<> higher gain/distance for signal, stronger signal for given distance
<> stronger signal can == higher bandwidth
<> W/ a directional (and a known WiFi HOTSPOT), you can keep the ant. inside the car.

CON:
<> Directional ant. make for poor choices when wardriving.
<> If you don't KNOW the location of the wifi ant. you 'could' be close enough to get a signal w/ a omin. but still miss it with the directional.

Extra Reading:
http://www.wi-fi.bz/wifi/how_to_star...sp_802.11.html
BUY a directional ant. :: http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi...ction&key=LPY2
MAKE a directional ant. :: http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448
More on homebrew wifi ant. :: http://www.freeantennas.com/.

thought id add a site, http://www.fab-corp.com/ i've bought a few things from them, good stuff. guys that handles there ebay selling is a clown and i dislike him.

Ok, what would be the best Adaptor? I'm still not hired with this Wireless Internet company yet, but for now I'm using a Linksys Wireless-G USB Adaptor. from one end of my house to another, I'm only getting 1mbps.

You guys said the antena must be mounted outside, well ok....Which Adaptor, prefibly USB, can we use, and hook up an antena to it, so having the adaptor inside wont hurt the signal...

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/ar...714017,00.html

Some great info for a blue tooth adapter from a 15 dollar antenna....

Looks like ill be ordering those. The adapter is avaliable for $43.95 from Dell with a 10% discount ($4.40) and free shipping and no tax in some states, including mine! Comes out to be $39.56.


http://i.timeinc.net/popsci/images/h...th_485x652.gif

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Originally Posted by nFiniteTuning

Ok, what would be the best Adaptor? I'm still not hired with this Wireless Internet company yet, but for now I'm using a Linksys Wireless-G USB Adaptor. from one end of my house to another, I'm only getting 1mbps.

You guys said the antena must be mounted outside, well ok....Which Adaptor, prefibly USB, can we use, and hook up an antena to it, so having the adaptor inside wont hurt the signal...

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nFiniteTuning, I recommend you a book called Wi-Fi Toys (I own it) It explains the basics and it has different projects, even how to extend your coverage area.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...31960?v=glance
http://wifi-toys.com/

Hey i am little far off owning a car yet, but i thought i might as well learn now because i am into this stuff...
what would be the most popular wardriving card? and antenna?

thanks

also, since this doesn't seem to come up much, but I think many people would find it interesting:

how to set-up a connection so that you can controll your carPC with your PDA wirelessly....anyone?

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Originally Posted by jrtf83

Seems we need a WiFi FAQ, I might not be the one to start this but here goes. Firstly:

What's the difference between the different protocalls a/b/g and such?

(From: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/8/802_11.html)


Where can I mount my antenna?

You should really mount your antenna outside your car, metal will block the high frequency WiFi signal pretty easily. Glass will interfere some but not as much as metal.

Can I use my car's AM/FM antenna to recieve wireless?

No, as antennas must be tuned to the proper length depending on the frequency of the signal. Radio signals are a much lower frequency than WiFi and as such require a much longer antenna. Also, WiFi antennas send as well as recieve so they must be powered, powering an AM/FM antenna with your wireless card can fry things so be careful!

What else? :confused:
What's the best antenna?
What's the best wireless card?

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WTF is a "protocall" ? And why should we listen to an analphabet like you ? :confused:

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Originally Posted by NRGZ28

WTF is a "protocall" ? And why should we listen to an analphabet like you ? :confused:

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sjees ... give the man a break ... i think this thread is a good idea.

The only thing i miss is a bit on adapters
- which ones are good
- how to connect USB/PCI/PCMCIA ???
- how to connect an antenna to a USB dongle

anybody got some links ?