Wi-Fi Cantenna Advice Wanted
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Posted by Howie on March 26, 2006, 11:22 am
Please log in for more thread options Hello to all and thanks for reading. I am an absolute novice to the world of Wi-Fi and find the home made "Cantenna" appealing to me but have not found any info on the net as to how well this type of antenna really works. I have hopes of going point to point 1400' to a friends house and sharing his broadband internet. Since this will be an experiment I am trying to keep expenses low. Should I get "dismal" results, that will give me the go ahead signal to spend what is necessary to do it right. Any advice for a websites for a complete newbie? Thanks, Howie | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by David Taylor on March 26, 2006, 11:51 am
Please log in for more thread options Seriously? You can't have looked far, there's plenty of field shoot outs and so on that describe peoples experiences. They work well. > I have hopes of going point to point 1400' to a friends house and
> sharing his broadband internet. If you have clear line of sight that will be no problem whatsoever. David. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by David Taylor on March 26, 2006, 11:52 am
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> Any advice for a websites for a complete newbie?
Sorry, forgot that bit, seriously.... Google "cantenna" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Jeff Liebermann on March 26, 2006, 1:17 pm
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>I am an absolute novice to the
>world of Wi-Fi and find the home made "Cantenna" appealing to me but >have not found any info on the net as to how well this type of antenna >really works. How well is measured in decibels of gain. The more gain, the better the antenna works for increasing range. 6dB increase is double your distance. 12dB increase is 4 times the distance. >I have hopes of going point to point 1400' to a friends house and
>sharing his broadband internet. It takes two to tango. If your friend also has a directional antenna on his wireless router, and you have clear line of sight, then it probably will be quite an easy link. However, if your friends wireless router has the insipid stock antenna, or has located his router where you can't directly see it, you'll have problems. Get line of sight first. >Since this will be an experiment I am trying to keep expenses low.
>Should I get "dismal" results, that will give me the go ahead signal to >spend what is necessary to do it right. Since you don't want to spend any money, I'll assume that you have more time than money available and are interested in building your own antennas. See: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.internet.wireless/msg/dd0f9c414b913355 for a list of antenna construction articles. Another biquad article that I like: http://www.vallstedt-networks.de/?Fotogalerien/quad2 Simple reflector, see: http://www.freeantennas.com >Any advice for a websites for a complete newbie?
1. Get line of sight. It's not going to work if you have trees, building, hills, or junk in the way. 2. Start with a simple reflector. That will tell you if you have a chance. 3. I recommend building a biquad instead of a coffee can antenna. 4. Avoid long coax cable runs especially with very small diameter coax cables. The coax losses are horrible. 5. Building antennas does require some precision. If you're not familiar with construction techniques, buy a commerical antenna: http://www.fab-corp.com 6. You may need to calculate if the link will work depending upon your selection of equipment and antennas. See the FAQ at: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FAQ_for_alt.internet.wireless/Wi-Fi#Link_Calculations 6. Next time you ask a question, please include what equipment you have to work with. At both ends of the link. Maker and model. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Bob on March 26, 2006, 6:25 pm
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Jeff Liebermann wrote: >
> >I am an absolute novice to the
> >world of Wi-Fi and find the home made "Cantenna" appealing to me but > >have not found any info on the net as to how well this type of antenna > >really works. >
> How well is measured in decibels of gain. The more gain, the better > the antenna works for increasing range. 6dB increase is double your > distance. 12dB increase is 4 times the distance. > > >I have hopes of going point to point 1400' to a friends house and
> >sharing his broadband internet. >
> It takes two to tango. If your friend also has a directional antenna > on his wireless router, and you have clear line of sight, then it > probably will be quite an easy link. However, if your friends > wireless router has the insipid stock antenna, or has located his > router where you can't directly see it, you'll have problems. Get > line of sight first. > > >Since this will be an experiment I am trying to keep expenses low.
> >Should I get "dismal" results, that will give me the go ahead signal to > >spend what is necessary to do it right. >
> Since you don't want to spend any money, I'll assume that you have > more time than money available and are interested in building your own > antennas. See: > > http://groups.google.com/group/alt.internet.wireless/msg/dd0f9c414b913355 > for a list of antenna construction articles. > > Another biquad article that I like: > http://www.vallstedt-networks.de/?Fotogalerien/quad2 > > Simple reflector, see: > http://www.freeantennas.com > > >Any advice for a websites for a complete newbie?
>
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FAQ_for_alt.internet.wireless/Wi-Fi#Link_Calculations
> 1. Get line of sight. It's not going to work if you have trees, > building, hills, or junk in the way. > > 2. Start with a simple reflector. That will tell you if you have a > chance. > > 3. I recommend building a biquad instead of a coffee can antenna. > > 4. Avoid long coax cable runs especially with very small diameter > coax cables. The coax losses are horrible. > > 5. Building antennas does require some precision. If you're not > familiar with construction techniques, buy a commerical antenna: > http://www.fab-corp.com > > 6. You may need to calculate if the link will work depending upon > your selection of equipment and antennas. See the FAQ at: > > >
> 6. Next time you ask a question, please include what equipment you > have to work with. At both ends of the link. Maker and model. > > -- > Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us > 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com > Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com > Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 Take a look at my web site tin cantenna info: http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/Documents/Tin%20Cantenna%20Made%20With%20Compact%20-%20Dongle%20USB%20Wireless%20Adapter%20.htm http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/my-tin-cantenna2.htm Bob | ||||||||||||||||||||||
> have not found any info on the net as to how well this type of antenna
> really works.