line-of-sight wifi for miles, and a wok

[GepperRankins]

http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/

i don't think anyone i can see from my house likes me. if they did i'd try it :ermm:

http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/roofscan.jpg

[GepperRankins]

bump.


my bro bought two usb 802.11b dongles (a bargain at £10 a peice(?)) to experiment with. pretty much pointless to just us considering they max out at 11mbps and our house is wired at 100mbps.


a mate of mine lives 500 metres over there ----->
so what i'm planning to do is make two "cantennas" out of pringle tins, and hopefully TV coaxial will work to link the dongles to the cantennas.

cantenna (http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html)


at the moment the biggest problem i have is working out if his house is actually in line of site. that and maybe trying to convince his dad to let me plug homebrew hardware into his PC :lookaroun




i'll keep you updated because i know you care :ermm:

[zaphodiv]

Typical coax for UHF TV is very lossy at 2.4GHz.
10dB loss per meter would not be surprising.

Pringle cans are a bit too narrow for optimum performance.

Due to the fresnel effect for a 500m link you need to get you antennas eight
feet above obstructions such as rooftops or the path loss will be much higher.

[GepperRankins]

you've done this before?


i read that TV coax was very lossy on someone elses page. i asked at the local hardware shop today if they had any really good coax, they looked at me funny and said they have white and brown :ermm:


i've figured at our end the cantenna only has to about 6 foot from the PC, provided 2.4ghz can go through windows without much loss. his end will probably be more complicated though :unsure:

[zaphodiv]

In the days when internet here cost lots of money per minute I had a fifteen mile radio link to an amateur radio bbs. I used to be in a couple of clubs that were allways doing projects, playing with microwave stuff from hilltop etc.

Seems ok through normal windows. The windows in a new office block seemed to have some sort of coating that totally blocked wifi. I picked up loads of AP's on a balcony and nothing from behind a window on the same level.

[GepperRankins]

omg ben's a n00b. he cut the probe wrong and soldered the stuff together. now i gotta melt it all and redo the stuff

[ApacNTS]

gonna upload any photos of your progress as time goes on?

[GepperRankins]

'k.

i'm in the best room in the house atm - i can see the highschool about a kilometer away and my pc is next to the window. i'm gonna have to fix the cantenna probe i think cos i can't detect shit. i'm thinking maybe i should make one of those thingies they put in pringles cantennas that have washers every half wavelength :unsure:

[lynx]

If you are using USB dongles, why not simply get a USB extension lead and put the dongle in the can. The signal is generated in the dongle itself so there should be no loss of signal that way.

BTW, if this system requires line-of-sight, what are you going to do when it is foggy? :ermm:

[Virtualbody1234]

BTW, if this system requires line-of-sight, what are you going to do when it is foggy? :ermm:
That's funny lynx. :lol:

[GepperRankins]

apparently it works without line of sight but it's a huge hinderence. some people at the original site claim to have made two mini dishes that send the signal 100 metres through many obstructions.
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/mk2wifi.jpg

a lot of people have mentioned poor signal in bad weather but i don't think it really matters that much. we only need enough for the internet and LAN games, and i'm patient enough to transfer files kinda slowly :01:


i fell asleep before so didn't do the soldering. now it's nearly 4am, should i risk freaking people out when they wake up to the smell of burning?

[GepperRankins]

'k i just went out and bought two colanders :blink:


hope this works. i have £2.50 change, so if i spend that on batteries you might get hwat pics :01: