Houseboat repeater

Mike Easter · 2008-12-10T07:47:39+00:00

A friend of mine has a lake 'cottage' which is a manufactured/mobile homeon pontoons at a compound with a clubhouse, RV park, marina, campgrounds,etc. The houseboat is some 75 meters from the facility clubhouse which isequipped with fiberoptic access to the internet and some kind of wifirouter and antenna signal distribution of unknown type.Inside his houseboat.he has problems with weak signal and poor thru'put tohis Dell laptop LT. He does OK when he's at the clubhouse with it andothers do OK in their similar hosueboats with their various LTs such asMacs. I don't know the modelno of his Dell, but it doesn't have any kindof external antenna connector for its builtin wireless.I've had good luck around my house with cheap Airlink devices which I'vebought on sale at Fry's, and I am currently using an (Airlink) AP421Wethernet wired to my AR325W router to extend my LAN's wireless range to aroller unit with two KVMed computers which are using wireless PCI cards.So, I recently bought a AP431W which was on sale at Fry's to give/help himwith his problem by using it as a repeater, but I think I want to enhanceit before traveling to visit him there on the lake to help him install andconfigure it.My idea is to get a longer/taller omni antenna to replace its 4" and toenhance that with a reflector which is aimed at the clubhouse signalsource. Here's a picture^1 of a simple reflector which has been slippedonto a taller omni antenna than the one which comes with the AP431W. I'mlooking for a source for such a reflector which hopefully comes completewith taller antenna replacement. I'm also looking for any input hereabout ideas to contradict or support my notion for the AP431W as arepeater. This Airlink gizmo only cost $18 on sale.The reason I'm trying to go with a repeater rather than somethingunidirectional is because he wants to be able to use the LT wirelesslyfrom one end to the other of the houseboat, including its decks front andrear. By using an omni which is reflector...

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Mike Easter 17 years ago

Separate from my plans to learn more about what kinds of equipment this facility is using to project its wireless signal and making efforts via the HOA and (later) the owner/operators to influence some revision of how internet connectivity is done, my current temporary, workaround plans are to:

- acquire a taller/longer omni antenna for my AP431W - fabricate a little parabolic reflector for that antenna - also take my AP421W & 25' of ethernet cable with me when I travel to visit

Then I could locate the 431 on the east end toward the signal with the taller antenna and the adjustable reflector on it positioned for maximum signal strength, connect the ethernet cable and extend it westerly toward the middle and west section of the boat and connect it to the 421 to act as an access point for the laptop.

The airlink illustrations and overview of the two multipurpose devices I have are here, which include illustrative Product Diagrams:

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There are also product manuals and quick install .pdf/s for them, but they don't actually offer much more

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I would prefer to use just the 431 as a repeater if possible, and not give up my own 421 which I am currently using at home, and not give up the spare 25' cable -- and also I would prefer to not have to figure out how to run the cable -- he isn't going to be happy with it simply running down the hallway.

I also don't know much of anything about what I'm trying to do with the

421-431 ethernetted together.

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John Navas 17 years ago

On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:36:19 -0800, "Mike Easter" wrote in :

Be warned that higher gain means smaller vertical beam angle, making alignment more critical, possibly a problem if the houseboat rocks much.

A corner reflector is probably a better bet.

Can be configured as a wireless Ethernet client bridge -- good.

Then start with just the high-gain omni, no reflector -- if that works for the remote connection, it might also be enough to illuminate the houseboat wireless clients in (ugh) repeater mode.

The setup is described in

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Mike Easter 17 years ago

:-) Seeing how much you love the repeater concept, you'll probably be ecstatic to learn that this wireless signal is without any password security/encryption - neither WEP nor WPA. It is just hanging out there.

Fortunately its location is rather remote in every direction from anyone except those who have access to the grounds thru' its gates. Even the lake part itself is kindofa created slough, not where general lake traffic is located.

And maybe this repeater will benefit those other houseboat laptoppers alongside who are also having significant signal troubles.

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John Navas 17 years ago

On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:33:32 -0800, "Mike Easter" wrote in :

Then of course you'll want to use VPN.

Or maybe it will reduce the speed of those now getting service.

If you really want to benefit the neighbors, use two radios (wireless Ethernet client cabled to wireless access point on a different channel): potential win-win for everyone.

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Mike Easter 17 years ago

Oh good. :-/ Something else I have no experience with. I understand the concept.

I'm pretty sure I don't understand that properly. Maybe it has something to do with interference, but I don't have a picture of how that might work. Maybe it would be based on what you said earlier about cutting the thru'put in half and (prior to the repeater) someone was getting 'full' thru'put unhalved until the repeater signal came along and was stronger and took over, but with only half as much data. Or something like that.

Out yonder at his home near this houseboat, my friend has an unused wireless router I'm now inquiring about. Besides my idea of taking along these extra experimental/ trial&error/ pieces consisting of the 421 and cable and reflector in addition to the 431, I'll get him to bring the router to the houseboat. There's also another sale at Fry's today - it's Friday - for an Airlink wireless router for $15.

AR430W - so-called SuperG 108

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Hmmm. Having a spare router around isn't such a bad idea. My current router replaced a previous linksys wired one which got sick about 3 times and had to be firmware flashed until its last illness/death episode which wasn't accessible to flash/fix. The current little airlink has never had any problems.

Buying any of this stuff where he lives doesn't (seem to) give access to any of these good deals.

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John Navas 17 years ago

On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:19:14 -0800, "Mike Easter" wrote in :

Something like that. :) You'll be doubling traffic. If a couple of boats are networking over the Wi-Fi they will immediately see their speed cut in half.

You don't need a router, just an access point -- the 431 and 421 will do fine.

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