Extending WiFi network

[BobT]

I haven't checked into it yet but I wonder if cell phone companies offer pay-as-you-go broadband. All I would have to do then is get the adapter for the laptop(s).

[upnorth]

You could call and ask, but my gut says no.

[Valv]

I haven't checked into it yet but I wonder if cell phone companies offer pay-as-you-go broadband. All I would have to do then is get the adapter for the laptop(s).

I believe T Mobile is the only company that offers non contract service (month by month), you can try calling them and find out. Be sure you are in a 3g or better 4g coverage area, otherwise it will be painfully slow, especially if you download lots of pictures, movies, animations, podcasts, etc

[BobT]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[fisherman-andy]

What your asking to do 100 yard+ your gonna need a whole lotta router/repeaters just to give proper coverage in a zoned area. Best you can do is set a repeater on your end and hope its connectivity is strong enough to catch the one from the Church which it likely wont. Typically a repeater for every 25 yards would be a good basis to start off on. But you may not have that luxury. Good luck.

[upnorth]

There are some wireless solutions out there that are good for miles not feet, but the price is pretty prohibitive for home use. Looking at 2 new devices that will talk to each other about $900 a pop = $1800, and that is good for about 1 MB over 30 mile span, there are those that will go 10 MB, but start at 3200 a pop. The technology for distance is out there, but it just ain't cheap.

[fisherman-andy]

I think I have your solution and its affordable also.

Amped Wireless SR600EX Pro Smart Repeater

Its possible to boost signals up to 1.5miles all for the price of $180.

[spearchucker]

I think I have your solution and its affordable also.

Amped Wireless SR600EX Pro Smart Repeater

Its possible to boost signals up to 1.5miles all for the price of $180.

How will you get communication back? You will also need one on the other end as well, so double the price.

[fisherman-andy]

[spearchucker]

They have both Pro Smart router and repeater models. If its already 3X the distance it may already be broadcasting far enough without the need of a repeater. This should be in theory strong enough to reach 300ft or 100yrds. If not spending another $180 isnt so bad to achieve up to the 1.5 mile mark. Either way your spending under $400 which is a big + in my book.

You are missing my point. Your PC or router/Access Point at the other end has to have enough power/distance to talk back across to the high powered repeater. There needs to be 2 way communication for the link to work.

[delcecchi]

The high power repeater must have a better receiver or antenna as well as a juiced transmitter or it would be useless for extending range beyond like 100 feet, the normal range. If they are claiming a mile, then either it is a two piece point-point deal or maybe just a directional antenna. I wouldn't think that the receiver sensitivity could be improved enough to get to a mile on electronics alone.

[fisherman-andy]

[

You are missing my point. Your PC or router/Access Point at the other end has to have enough power/distance to talk back across to the high powered repeater. There needs to be 2 way communication for the link to work.

Explain what I a missing here? If your typical router/AP puts out 50mW which may give the coverage of up to 300ft +/- which is equal to about 100yds. Obviously there will be signal loss and dead zone, UPD packet drops etc. as this most standard wifi devices would easily connect at about 30-60 yards away, possible up to 100 yards already.

The AP600EX AP is putting 600mW at claims 3X the signal strength or coverage I would assume in theory then that would estimate or equal up to 900ft, or 300yards possible coverage without the need for their repeater. (For reference: 1 mile is 1760yrds/5280ft) To get coverage that far you would need their repeater. They also sell their hi-powered usb wifi adapter because a regular wifi device would not have the same extended range at 1.5mi. As you said a standard wifi device is not going be able to catch or broadcast that far.

Remember he's only looking for about 100yrds or so of coverage length, not 1.5 mi.

This would be more enough through put to reach even a standard wifi device maybe not at maximum length but strong enough at 100yrd+ depending on the device itself own broadcast strength without the need for repeater.

My iPhone 4S picks up my Wireless N Cisco router at 40yrds+ out already with weak 1,2 bar signals. Im almost thinking it may be able to pick up at about 100 yards away with just their AP without the need for their repeater or their hi-power usb adapter.

[spearchucker]

I'm sure that the high power unit that you mentioned will get the signal across 100 yards to the church with no problem, but chances are that the device receiving the signal will not have enough transmit power to make the 100 yard trip back to the house. That is what I meant about 2 way communications and is what Del was pointing out as well. I would guess that a higher powered device would be needed on both ends to make the link work.

[fisherman-andy]

I'm sure that the high power unit that you mentioned will get the signal across 100 yards to the church with no problem, but chances are that the device receiving the signal will not have enough transmit power to make the 100 yard trip back to the house. That is what I meant about 2 way communications and is what Del was pointing out as well. I would guess that a higher powered device would be needed on both ends to make the link work.

Why not when a standard N router/AP or N wifi device can already broadcast up to 300ft, 100 yards range +/-? You still have to factor in packet loss, interference, walls etc but again in theory it be close. I didnt say it would exactly work.

If not like I said you can always pick up their repeater or hi power usb adapter. Either way your spending less than $400. A way cheap solution to get range that far up to 1 mile. Problem solved. Care to add anymore or a better solution?

[upnorth]

The key is "upto 300 ft" and that is with no obstructions. He is looking for an occasionally used solution not something that will be used daily. $400 is a stretch for something like that.

[fisherman-andy]

The key is "upto 300 ft" and that is with no obstructions. He is looking for an occasionally used solution not something that will be used daily. $400 is a stretch for something like that.

Really $400 is pretty cheap solution if your looking to broadcast wireless that far. For the investment I think that's pretty fair. I deal with router installations all day long at work deployed in large retail stores and and malls. This is way cheap compared to what we deploy to get 100 yards of coverage working in the whole store area. Or he can pay Wireless 3G/4G or cable ISP at $50-$80 a monthly or just setup his own $20 DSL monthly. Or run a 300ft cable to his place. Which option would you prefer?

[spearchucker]

If not like I said you can always pick up their repeater or hi power usb adapter. Either way your spending less than $400. A way cheap solution to get range that far up to 1 mile. Problem solved. Care to add anymore or a better solution?

I never said that your solution wouldn't work, just that it would probably require more than the 1 $180 device which could potentially double the price. $400 may still be a good deal but it is more than the $180 price you originally stated. Thats all I pointed out. Now settle down and go fishing...

[upnorth]

I know $400 is not a deal killer if you are looking to use the solution daily. But go back and read his first few posts about how he plans on using it and I think you will see what I mean.

[fisherman-andy]

If not like I said you can always pick up their repeater or hi power usb adapter. Either way your spending less than $400. A way cheap solution to get range that far up to 1 mile. Problem solved. Care to add anymore or a better solution?

I never said that your solution wouldn't work, just that it would probably require more than the 1 $180 device which could potentially double the price. $400 may still be a good deal but it is more than the $180 price you originally stated. Thats all I pointed out. Now settle down and go fishing...

I more than agreed with that as I stated already in my post. When I mentioned the price I meant it more as the cost of the device. I was being sarcastic which im sure lead to the confusion. Just like how you can mention get a Sling Box and for $160 and you will be able watch cable TV everywhere you go. But no one mentions you still need to pay for cable TV, mobile device services, extra equipment etc. But if you wanna be able to leech of someone else's network daily from a considerable distance reliably this is as good as it comes for the price of $400 that I seen anywhere. If thats not a good deal then I dont know what is. Other options were already mentioned and they werent ideal either and may cost almost as much if not more.

As much as I like to take your advice and go fishing I work 3rd shift. So im going to bed instead.

[Shack]

I will start off by saying that operating on 2.4 gigahertz posses some hurtles and ideally going the direction of 5.0ghz would provide a better uninterrupted data stream, but cheaper solutions drive you back to 2.4.

Although I am not feeding a remote wifi hotspot but I do push and pull data via wifi broadcasting on 2.4ghz for a great distance which tunnel between networks for secure file transfer. I believe we do this similar to what Andy has brought forward.

First I am running my own version of firmware on my routers which is driven from OpenWrt, X-Wrt, DD-WRT, and Tomato. It is amazing how factory firmware restricts you when it comes transmitting wireless, so I ditch all OEM firmware the minute I get a router. This image is of my network room back when I was building it. It is nothing like this anymore, but this is when I had all the components in the same area:

The e3000 is on 5.0 ghz and is for my private WiFi home network and the Dell was a temporary firewall. This image was taken before I finished off the room and moved in my servers, switches and controllers.

The WRT54G and WAP11 are used to broadcast a secure VPN tunnel stream of sorts to a similar setup over roughly 200/300 yards give or take. Never measured it. Using snmp commands I am able to change the output as desired on the WAP11. The high gain antenna has since been move to higher location and there is a lot more to this than explained but this setup could easily be configured to send and receive internet access. I say this as being in my current setup because actually these devices were originally configure from factory to do this, just not in the capacity for distance as I have configured them to span.

The idea is to push and pull data between only two points when spanning the major distance but allowing multiple device/nodes/computers to access on either end. Here is a crude drawing of what I am talking about:

I picked up a trunk full of Linksys and Cisco products which setup both ends for $50 from a Cisco rep who was having a garage sale. Most of this stuff can be purchased cheaply on-line used. You just have to modify some of it to broadcast wifi internet service in the way Bob is looking to. Main goal would be to provide a constant strong connection while keeping Bob's home network secure/separate. Bandwidth issues come into play and this depends on many factors.

[spearchucker]

I will start off by saying that operating on 2.4 gigahertz posses some hurtles and ideally going the direction of 5.0ghz would provide a better uninterrupted data stream, but cheaper solutions drive you back to 2.4.

If 2.4GHz can't make the distance, 5GHz will not make it any easier. In fact I would guess that it would have less of a chance.

[Shack]

I am not sure, but could be one of the reasons it costs more. I have not checked into this for the last 6-8 months but for conversation sake lets say you have a distance of 50 yards you are sending a WiFi signal. 5.0ghz is supposed to be a less used frequency in common house hold and business items and equipment. I believe cell phones and possibly microwaves can cloud or cluster 2.4ghz, wheres 5.0ghz they will not effect. Basically 2.4ghz is a commonly used frequency.

[upnorth]

Quote:

GHz and Network Speed

The GHz range of a wireless radio only partially relates to the speed of a wireless network. For example, 802.11a Wi-Fi hardware runs at 5 GHz but supports the same maximum data rate of 54 Mbps as standard 802.11g network that run at 2.4 GHz.

A 5 GHz network can carry more data than a 2.4 GHz network assuming the electric power to the higher frequency radios is maintained at a higher level. However, some 802.11g network products match and even exceed this potential speed advantage of 5 GHz 802.11a by utilizing a pair of radios instead of one, increasing capacity up to 108 Mbps under the right conditions.

Advantage: Both

GHz and Network Range

The higher the frequency of a wireless signal, the shorter its range. Thus, 2.4 GHz networks cover a substantially larger range than 5 GHz wireless networks. In particular, the higher frequency wireless signals of 5 GHz networks do not penetrate solid objects nearly as well as do 2.4 GHz signals, limiting their reach inside homes.

Advantage: 2.4 GHz.

GHz and Network Interference

You may notice your cordless phone, automatic garage door opener, or other home appliance also advertises 2.4 GHz signals on its packaging. Because this frequency range is commonly used in consumer products, it's more likely a 2.4 GHz home network will pick up interference from appliances than will a 5 GHz home network.

Advantage: 5 GHz

Typically A will carry more data, but over a shorter range with less outside interference. 2.4 will cover a longer distance and carry less data and also is susceptible to more interference. N is based losely on A but with a longer distance.

Some of the stuff have interfering with 2.4 is hand held phones, and microwaves and a list of other home based stuff.

[delcecchi]

OK, here is another suggestion. Tmobile has a pay as you go plan for 3 dollars per day which allows unlimited talk, unlimited text, unlimited data. They throttle the speed after the first 200 MB.

Sign up for the plan and have a dongle or tethered phone.

Or you can cheap out and get 2G speed instead of 4G for 2 bucks a day.

[spearchucker]

I am not sure, but could be one of the reasons it costs more. I have not checked into this for the last 6-8 months but for conversation sake lets say you have a distance of 50 yards you are sending a WiFi signal. 5.0ghz is supposed to be a less used frequency in common house hold and business items and equipment. I believe cell phones and possibly microwaves can cloud or cluster 2.4ghz, wheres 5.0ghz they will not effect. Basically 2.4ghz is a commonly used frequency.

Routers with 5.4GHz radio aren't that much more money. The reason that they cost more is that there are 2 radios, 1 for 2.4 and 1 for 5.4GHz. Since he is rural, interference is not going to be very likely.