WiFi network with 1600Ft between two buildings

Hi, what is the cheapest way to make a WiFi Network between two buildings with 1600ft in between? Thank you. GL

Reply to
G Lam
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In the 1600 ft between building are there any obstructions?

Do you have line of sight between the buildings?

What type of use are you trying to have such as a single computer on one end talking to an access point or do you plan on bridging networks? How important is quality and reliability?

Reply to
kbloch2001

Cheapest? Well, two USB radios with a 16ft max USB extension cable on the roofs. Setup the radios for Ad-Hoc mode so exactly two computers can talk to each other. No access point required (or useable). Older

802.11b USB radios go for as low as $15/ea. You will need a bit more antenna gain, so shoving the USB radio inside a 1 lb coffee can will help.

Of course, this is probably not what you wanted. It's kind hard to offer advice without known the nature of the path (any trees), what type of traffic you plan to move (speed), and what type of machines, broadband, servers, etc. are at each end.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Yes, we have line of sight between the buildings, no blockage. Wish to have 2 or 3 computer at one end talking to an access point at the other. If not possible, one PC talking to the access point is acceptable. Preferred to have 11mbs or above reliable connection. Thank you for your help. GL

Reply to
G Lam

Yes, we have line of sight between the buildings, no blockage. Wish to have 2 or 3 computer at one end talking to an access point at the other. If not possible, one PC talking to the access point is acceptable. Preferred to have 11mbs or above reliable connection. Thank you for your help. GL

Reply to
G Lam

Ok. What you need is either two transparent bridge boxes, or a "workgroup bridge". Since you want cheap, I suggest a pair of Linksys WAP54G boxes in "bridge mode". These will pass 32 MAC addresses which means you can have a total of 30 computahs on the bridge.

1600ft is too far to do with the cheezy antennas that come with the WAP54G. My guess(tm) is that you'll need want at least 14dBi dish or panel antennas at each end. Running some very rough calculations using:
formatting link
The receive sensitivity is *APPROXIMATELY*: * 54Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -68dBm) * 48Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -68dBm) * 36Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -75dBm) * 24Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -79dBm) * 18Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -82dBm) * 12Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -84dBm) * 11Mbps CCK, 8% PER, -82dBm) * 9Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -87dBm) * 6Mbps OFDM, 10% PER, -88dBm) * 5.5Mbps CCK, 8% PER, -85dBm) * 2Mbps QPSK, 8% PER, -86dBm) * 1Mbps BPSK, 8% PER, -89dBm) I would aim for about 24Mbits/sec, so I'll use -79dBm for receiver sensitivity.

Plugging into:

formatting link
Distance = 0.255 miles Tx power = 15dBm Tx ant gain = 14dBi Rx and gain = 14dBi Tx cable loss = 3dB (including connectors) RX cable loss = 3dB RX sens = -79dBm (for 24 mbits/sec)

I get a fade marine of 23.7dB, which is good enough. You could probably get away with slightly less antenna gain. A 24Mbit/sec connection should give you about 12Mbits/sec thruput, which is adequate.

Note that I assumed 3dB loss in the coax cable and connectors. However, you offered no information about the location of the radios and antennas, so this is just a guess(tm).

This solution may not be the absolute cheapest possible, but it will work.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

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