Connecting to neighbors wireless

Nov 02, 2007 2 Replies
W

I want to connect to my neighbors wireless (Linksys) who is about 300 to 400 feet away. I get a weak signal now but need to be able to boost it. I bought a Hawking Hi gain directional antenna that plugs into the laptop uing a USB port. This sucks as I feel like I have a ball and chain on my laptop and I am limited to one room. Is there a way I can boost the signal I am receiving and then boost that signal in my house? What products can I use?


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J

Wifithis hath wroth:

Did you get the nighbors permission to use their wireless system? In some jurisdictions, that's considered a crime.

300-400 ft is beyond the range where a simple antenna will work. As you discovered, a higher gain antenna will help. However, the walls of your house offer considerable attenuation to 2.4GHz. For example, if there is aluminum foil backed fiberglass insulation in the walls, nothing will penetrate. Concrete and anything containing water is also a barrier. Unless you can see the neighbors wireless through a window, I don't think you have much of a chance at maintaining a connection.

You might be able to get something to work using a repeater (range extender) located in a window, where it can see both the neighbors and your laptop at the same time. Compatibility is the major problem as a random repeater product does not necessarily work with every access point.

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J

On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:06:56 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote in :

Or with a wireless client bridge wired back to back to a wireless access point, ideally on different channels, which neatly avoids any compatibility issue.

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