Actually, the coffee can is the simplest antenna to build since there's nothing too critical about its construction:
Drill a hole in the can a quarter-wavelength from the end. Solder a coaxial connector there. Solder a quarter wavelength of solid wire as the radiator. And you're done.
I built some 30 years ago at 2155 MHz for picking up MDS TV channels and they were as effective as a 22 element loop yagi, and almost as good as a "real" 24 inch dish. I used 16 oz coffee cans.
Don
The wireless part.
That gives a more reliable coverage than with one.
They're normally both transmit and receive.
Yes.
Hi Dave Platt,
You made me laugh when I read this just now. Yes, it would be "up a tree" somewhere. Maybe I could put it next to the Hummingbird feeders so they can nest on it!
I have to run to a holiday BBQ right now so I'll try to respond later.
Thank you all for the help, I'm still confused if I can just use a second wired router ... but with your help, I'm working on that. Beverly
Yes.. Daisy chaining the wrt54g ('s ((plural)), NOT to be confused with the GS) is that easy.. I have the main one for the house (in the house), and the second (third and maybe soon a fourth) up a ways (a metal snow roof on the house, so the 2nd/3rd etc are actually in an upstairs closet with power, and the semidirectional antennas are outside (other side of the steel roof/up higher((about 13ft, on the antenna pole for my cell/sat/etc)).. No need to run an extension cord, idea is to have them both in the house, one with an omnidirectional antenna for inside the house, and the second cabled to the first and a semi-directioanl antenna aimed at the outbuilding..
Make sure the router output goes to the WAN input of the second (wap/router) device..
The jury is out on whether you want the same ssid/same channel, for me, I just wanted one big area covered so I could walk around and be connected, so just made it the same, some people want to know which router they are on and use different channels.. (I figger hey if I am connected, I don't really care to which, I just want it to work automatically)
In your case, the main floor and attic/upstairs windows, with the one upstairs having a semi-directional antenna sounds like a reasonable idea...
As an aside, when I travel, I use a device called a WiFlyer
I'm at my sisters right now connected to her system (basically cable internet and a wap/router upstairs cabled to a second wap/router downstairs, that covers the downstairs and backyard.. I was writing from outside, but it's too hot, so I came in to finish this post.. never lost connection when I moved from the backyard to my study on the top floor ((two different wap/routers))..
As for hardwire or wireless bridge, if` the units are near each other, then a hardwire for 10-20 bucks is a whole lot less than two more wap's and extension cords... In your case, I'd suggest hardwire..
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 09:12:44 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote in :
Also the Hawking HWU8DD
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 17:57:22 GMT, "stephen" wrote in :
One of those other details is not to run Ethernet and power in the same conduit. ;)
There is one point that the salepeople NEVER mention.. Range extenders have to be plugged in for power.. Doubt you have a plug in your yard 1/2 way to the shed, nor power in the shed for a 2nd ap, so consider multiples at the house, same bat time, same bat channel (sorry, watching TVland on cable, old batman shows.. meant ssid and channel :)
On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 18:06:56 GMT, Beverly Erlebacher wrote in :
No. A wireless router is a combo of (a) wired router and (b) wireless access point. That said, a wireless router can be used as a wireless access point -- see the wikis below.
No. It needs to be a wireless access point. This is covered in the How To wiki below.
On Tue, 4 Jul 2006 15:28:28 -0400, "Peter Pan" wrote in :
Different bat channel! Preferably channels with minimum overlap (1, 6,
11). Putting them on the same channel adds nothing but risks interference."Peter Pan" hath wroth:
Solar powered wi-fi repeater? |
For 300ft through the trees, I would run outdoor (gel filled) CAT5 cable. About $150/1000ft. If power at the shed is a problem, use PoE to run whatever's at the end.
An access point is a device with an ethernet port on one side and a wifi port on the other. In technical terms it would be called a "bridge". It "bridges" two seperate network segments, although in this case they use different topologies (100Base-T and WiFi).
The usual WiFi router consists of a four port ethernet hub (LAN ports), a seperate single ethernet port (WAN port) and a WiFi access point. It is set up to "route" between the single (aka WAN) port and the other two ports, the LAN and WiFi. Most of what it does for routing is NAT (network address translation) and some sort of IP tunneling.
If you ignore the WAN port and just use the LAN ports, you have a four port hub and an access point.
Yes. Just make sure to use the LAN ports. It would be best to use different channels. Most WiFi clients are smart enough to use the channel that is the strongest if they have access points on more than one with the same SSID.
Make sure to use encryption. Encryption is NOT to keep your data safe, nothing can do that. If someone is intent on accessing your network, WEP encryption will not keep them out.
What it is for is to convince the guy driving down the street looking for an open network to send out SPAM, or "share" kiddie p*rn, to drive on. Unfortunately, most users don't even change the SSID of their network, let alone set an encryption key.
Having tuned in late, if you want to have an open network, look up PublicIP. It's a "live cd" that runs on a PII or better (x86) computer and provides all the functions you need to offer a secure and safe open network.
Geoff.
That's a shame. Here in Israel we are limited to 100mw EIRP, which severly limits the transmit antenna. There is NO limitation on the receive antenna.
Geoff.
A while ago I posted about an open (non-radome enclosed) yagi that claimed 15dbi for ~$30
(Is there a department of the government thats the slightest bit interested in chasing fraud like this? If the gas pumps were calibrated 5dbi short you can bet that the establishment would be shut down pretty damn fast.)
-wolfgang
The router
as a repeater
I was at the local Radio Shack yesterday and they had repeaters (range extenders) on the shelf (Linksys)
Why not run cat-5 to it then??? A 1000-ft spool of cat-5 is under $50. Wireless is wonderful for laptops that move around, but if you have a fixed point that is hard to get to because of RF blockage, then a real wire seems like the way to go.
-wolfgang
Perhaps a D5 cat would get the job of clearing a path through the trees?
Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote
A receive antenna has no EIRP, it doesnt radiate any real power.
"Wolfgang S. Rupprecht" hath wroth:
Ummm.... not just ordinary CAT5. She's in Toronto where is gets rather cold in the winter. Ordinary PVC jacketed CAT5 will become rather hard stiff and crack. It's also not UV stable and will develop a rather rough surface after a few years.
What's needed is gel filled, outdoor, and possibly shielded CAT5. The stuff is often also suitable for direct burial. For example:
However, the real problem is not freezing or UV. It's the critters. Squirrels in the trees and gophers in the ground. They seem to enjoy eating cables around here. I once tracked it down to the sweat from my hands during the install. Also the food that I was eating was transferred to the cable. I now wear latex gloves when doing installs. However, that was years ago. The squirrels like to bite into literally anything to see how it tastes, even if they know they won't like it. I have squirrel bites in my tree fruit, coax cables, and data cables. Even the fiber runs got chewed. If the critters weren't so cute, I would make myself a new squirrel hat or coat. Anyway, the shielded CAT5 seems to discourage them somewhat. I get bites into the jacket, but not past the foil.
If you have power at both ends of the link, do NOT ground one end of the drain wire or shield as it will create a ground loop.
Terminating the gel filled cable is no fun. The cable is stiff, doesn't bend well, and the gel is like sticky goo. It's not impossible, but it can be a mess. Plan on doing some trial and error, plus the requisite cursing.
Incidentally, one can go much farther then just 300ft with CAT5. The catch is that it has to be 10baseT-HDX (half-duplex). 100baseTX will not work. Full duplex is a crap shoot. I often take a 1000ft roll of CAT5, terminate the ends, and run it through a data error test (SNMP on a Cisco 1900 switch) or a borrowed certifier. No problems at
1000ft but things started to get weird at about 1300ft. Probably timing.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.