Connecting to my college across the street using my router?

Hey folks,

Just curious but I would like to connect to my University which my wife works at across the street from me. I am using the following router...

formatting link
As it is now I have wireless with my ISP to my modem in which I have a cable to my wireless router. From the router I have a direct link to my PC and use my laptop wirelessly to the router.

I would like to disconnect from my ISP and hook up to the University across the street. I will use an external antenna but where on the router will it connect? The antenna has an "N" female connector on it.

I would think I would have to go to the "WAN" port on the router... is this correct? Just not sure how to go about this connection. The antenna would go up on my roof with a dish and is probably 150' run.

Thanks guys

Pete

Reply to
Knight
Loading thread data ...

Unless the stock antenna can be removed there really isn't any place externally to hook it up to. You would NOT use the WAN port. You would use the router as an access point, if it's capable of this. You then become a client on the college network.

Reply to
Pen

e

Pen,

Oh ok cool. Kind of checking this out for a friend, I'll let him know. What if he had a WRT54G with two antennas, both removable though? How would you go about doing it then but still be able to use your laptop inside your house?

Pete Thanks buddy'

Reply to
Knight

Knight wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@l42g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

Note: With such a long coax run, you would need super-low-loss coax, LMR400, which will run $1/ft terminated with connectors on both ends.

The other option is to mount the AP in a weatherproof NEMA enclosure as close to the antenna location as possible and use less expensive coax on a MUCH shorter run.

Have you ever run 150' of coax ? Not fun.

With that cost, and the cost of an antenna, and the general PITA the whole deal is, you'd be better off to just buy something like this......

formatting link
An outdoor, fully integrated (includes antenna) unit that uses POE. It's a *LOT* easier, and in the long run, less expensive to run 150' of CAT5 cable (@ $65/1000 ft.) than coax. You would mount the device where you plan to put the antenna, and then just run CAT5 to where it will end.

You had mentioned connecting to the WAN port. IMO, with a 'regular' rtr this IS what you would want to do. That way, the U. would only issue 1 IP address thru DHCP, and the rtr would NAT your local inside LAN to the U., just as it currently NAT's to your now ISP. AND, you would be isolated from all the other U. WLAN traffic, which, again IMO, is the best way to go. There's absolutely no reason for the U.'s other WLAN traffic to get inside your LAN. You don't want that. That's almost as bad as being connected directly to the internet.

Now, if you were to use something like the device I linked above, you would set it to ClientMode w/NAT. What that means is that the device would become a client on the U. WLAN, AND provide NAT for the internal LAN. That device would then just uplink to the existing AP and you could also use the wireless at the off-campus location, NAT'd.

I don't know the policies of connecting to the U. WLAN though, so I can't help you there.

Reply to
DanS

You're "checking it out for a friend" now? Not your wife any longer?

It's often best to use TWO routers. One to make the connection to the distant source and the other to provide local wireless coverage. No, you generally cannot just sling and antenna off the second connector, that's not how it works. There's only ONE radio in the router (in most anyway). So you'd need two radios, one local and one distant, to make it all work. Thus two cheapie routers with an ethernet wire between them is often the best 'route'.

Reply to
Bill Kearney

Not my wife! My friends wife! LOL

Hmm all sounds very interesting. That piece of hardware above is nice!!! I told this dude that I'll be posting this here for him, I just hope he's taking it all in.

Ok cool, thanks guys!!

Pete

Reply to
Knight

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.