802.11n range boost to 5 miles?

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undertheradar

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 26, 2004
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I have older relatives that also happen to live within 2.5 miles of each other... there are some trees and a river (which would help I suppose), but the land itself is flat. I wanted to know what you guys might think I should do if I wanted to boost a 802.11n signal so that both of them could use just one router/dsl line?

What can I use to boost the signal like that? I figure if I want 2.5 miles, I should go for 5 to make sure the speeds and everything are good.

Am I making something myself out of metal bowls, or is there something out there that I can buy and use to get this range?
 
That smells very unlawful.. Same thing as people running cable lines to neighbors.
 
I don't think there's anything you can do to make a home wireless signal go over several miles.

The solution to your problem is to get some line of sight infra red network equipment. I've no idea what or how much that will cost, but it probably won't come cheap.
 
You should ask your ISP about this first :D lol :D

oh and good luck going 5 miles on 802.11n :rolleyes: Had to sit next to my router to get 300mbits connect, go 100ft away and it was just as fast as 802.11g :rolleyes:

My router was a draft n but still 5 miles is a LONG FReAKING ways
 
"Distance records (using non-standard devices) include 382 km (237 mi) in June 2007, held by Ermanno Pietrosemoli and EsLaRed of Venezuela, transferring about 3 MB of data between mountain tops of El Aguila and Platillon.[40][41] The Swedish Space Agency transferred data 310 km (193 mi), using 6 watt amplifiers to reach an overhead stratospheric balloon."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi

go for the record!!!
 
You can probably make it that far using a pringles can antenna:

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html

But are there other houses over the course of this 2.5 mile journey? You might get drowned-out by their own wireless access points. But if the airspace is relatively clear, I don't see why you can't go that distance with a directional antenna.
 
http://insidecomputer.stores.yahoo.net/mscyagi.html

Anyone use one of these?

I seem to remember years ago that some guy made a dish out of a metal food strainer and got something like 10 miles out of it.

Here, Im not going to be stupid and list actual addy's, but I can give a rough idea if some of you just want to look at it on google maps...

Lets say Im looking to boost from this area: 12290 County Hwy W, Mequon, WI

To a location near here: 11600 N River Rd, Mequon, WI

The distance between the two houses is suburban, most likely a good deal of wireless networks in between, at least a few dozen. But there is a river (good thing) and dense trees (so so) with a relative flat landscape. The river clears out a good portion of the area that is in between both houses, with only trees being in the way, so...???

I dont think there is any legal implication here... if a person wants to boost their signal or use their network from a neighbor's back yard for example... cant say much. Sure, another line might be a solution, but even the $10 a month is overkill... the one who would piggyback travels alot (you know, retired with alot of money and nothing to do but see the world). We may go this way in the end, but I wanted to see how hard it would be to just boost the range of the one router and call it a day.
 
"Sure, another line might be a solution, but even the $10 a month is overkill... the one who would piggyback travels alot (you know, retired with alot of money and nothing to do but see the world)"


"$10 a month is overkill... the one who would piggyback travels alot (you know, retired with alot of money "


"$10 a month is overkill..." "retired with alot of money"


:confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
The fact that you dont get that statement says something about you perhaps more than anything.

Do you know how 'rich people' get that way? Sure, some are just very productive or make it big, but all too often we still hear about those with loads of money who still end up broke somehow. Many people who are rich are that way because they are wise with spending (or rather, not spending) their money. They dont buy crap that they dont need... can you claim that? Some of the richest guys I know wear ratty jeans and stained t-shirts and drive old cars... understating who they are for multiple reasons, but mostly because they have nothing to prove to anyone, so why bother? Why buy a $100,000 car when a $20,000 one does the same thing? A person's wealth or income level should not influence their wisdom and judgement when it comes to money. If I make $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year, the fact that I may or may not use enough internet to justify a $10 a month bill doesn't change... the value just isnt there. For me, its well worth it, but for others I know who dont need to check their email frequently, or who just dont use the computer for much anyways... well... You forget that 40% in the US still dont have broadband, and of those, many just dont need it. When my one relative really wants to check her email, she goes to the other's place, or to a wifi hotspot... Im just thinking about making it even easier... and who knows, maybe she will figure out that internet thingy enough to use it more and see the value in it... as I mentioned... older & retired, which often means not as interested in the interweb until they get a chance to play with it on their terms.

Otherwise, you could say that people should buy expensive cars and expensive wine just because they have the money to do it... but buying a Ferrari is still a waste of its value if you aren't going to drive it. Even if its just a $500 junker, its still a waste if you aren't going to use it. Im tellin' you, $10 a month just isnt worth it for some people still... along with 40% of those in the US that also dont have broadband. These relatives retired at 50 as bankers because no matter how much money they had or made a year, the value of money didnt change to them.
 
undertheradar said:
The fact that you dont get that statement says something about you perhaps more than anything.

Do you know how 'rich people' get that way? Sure, some are just very productive or make it big, but all too often we still hear about those with loads of money who still end up broke somehow. Many people who are rich are that way because they are wise with spending (or rather, not spending) their money. They dont buy crap that they dont need... can you claim that? Some of the richest guys I know wear ratty jeans and stained t-shirts and drive old cars... understating who they are for multiple reasons, but mostly because they have nothing to prove to anyone, so why bother? Why buy a $100,000 car when a $20,000 one does the same thing? A person's wealth or income level should not influence their wisdom and judgement when it comes to money. If I make $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year, the fact that I may or may not use enough internet to justify a $10 a month bill doesn't change... the value just isnt there. For me, its well worth it, but for others I know who dont need to check their email frequently, or who just dont use the computer for much anyways... well... You forget that 40% in the US still dont have broadband, and of those, many just dont need it. When my one relative really wants to check her email, she goes to the other's place, or to a wifi hotspot... Im just thinking about making it even easier... and who knows, maybe she will figure out that internet thingy enough to use it more and see the value in it... as I mentioned... older & retired, which often means not as interested in the interweb until they get a chance to play with it on their terms.

Otherwise, you could say that people should buy expensive cars and expensive wine just because they have the money to do it... but buying a Ferrari is still a waste of its value if you aren't going to drive it. Even if its just a $500 junker, its still a waste if you aren't going to use it. Im tellin' you, $10 a month just isnt worth it for some people still... along with 40% of those in the US that also dont have broadband. These relatives retired at 50 as bankers because no matter how much money they had or made a year, the value of money didnt change to them.
Click to expand...

Fine. Go spend $220 on a pair of Yagi antennas *that might not work* so you can save 10 dollars a month :rolleyes:

I would be fully behind you on this project if the second home had no cheap internet options, but this is just getting silly.
 
undertheradar said:
I have older relatives that also happen to live within 2.5 miles of each other... there are some trees and a river (which would help I suppose), but the land itself is flat. I wanted to know what you guys might think I should do if I wanted to boost a 802.11n signal so that both of them could use just one router/dsl line?

What can I use to boost the signal like that? I figure if I want 2.5 miles, I should go for 5 to make sure the speeds and everything are good.

Am I making something myself out of metal bowls, or is there something out there that I can buy and use to get this range?
Click to expand...
With 2 directional antenna's it's completely possible. Just make sure you do your site survey in the summer when tree's are fully leafed so you can make sure you have a good LOS.
 
yes, rich people are cheap and thats part of the reason why theyre rich. it doesnt mean they have the right to cheat, that is exactly the type of attitude that also comes along with being rich- the 'entitlement' is bullshit.

i would have went with it if you just said your grandparents are on ss, and they dont do anything but check email. then im sure we all could have thought up something to make this work. but this is for rich people? people who are lucky to have the money to have services like this? ones who would just pay their way out of any possible criminal action? i dont feel compelled to help at all for some reason
 
undertheradar said:
I dont think there is any legal implication here... if a person wants to boost their signal or use their network from a neighbor's back yard for example... cant say much. Sure, another line might be a solution, but even the $10 a month is overkill... the one who would piggyback travels alot (you know, retired with alot of money and nothing to do but see the world). We may go this way in the end, but I wanted to see how hard it would be to just boost the range of the one router and call it a day.
Click to expand...

you are correct. i think all you gotta do is call the FCC and register your amplified connection- 1-888-CALL-FCC just give them a ring and theyll take care of you really well.
 
Very doable if you have a good line of sight. You will almost certainly need to elevate the antennas to avoid structures in the signal path, but a pole strapped to the roofline is probably good enough. Is there a reason you want 802.11n? It doesn't seem like you need the bandwidth.

The easiest route IMO would be to buy two Ubiquiti PowerStation5s. They should easily cover the distance provided you have good LOS. Though keep in mind that the costs for such a solution quickly add up. Budget at least $20-50 on each end for mounting hardware, another $20+ for outdoor Cat5, $20+ for a lightning arrestor on top of the cost of the radios and antennas, and your time climbing the roof and setting it all up. If you don't like the all-in-one device route or want to save a bit of money building your own antennas, get Bullet5's (also Ubiquiti) instead and attach to a 15+dBi antenna, though working with a known-good antenna system in a nice small relatively attractive form-factor is a huge advantage especially if you're a noob. If you're doing homebrew you're going to need either a dish or yagi to get sufficient gain I expect, though some other types may be sufficiently good as well, though typically harder to build; there are plenty of good designs online, one popular approach being to repurpose an old 18" satellite dish (here is one such 'design'). I would stick to the 5GHz 802.11a band (though make sure you use a matching antenna), it's generally a lot more reliable and should get better performance as well, plus the antenna components will be smaller. Also keep in mind that at this distance with antennas this directional properly aiming them becomes quite critical and can be rather difficult especially without experience.

Though I also question the wisdom of doing this, the several $100 you will spend setting it up will take a while to pay off if they're just sharing Internet, not to mention the time you will spend getting it working. It makes sense where you need a reasonably fast point to point link for other purposes, but for Internet it really doesn't.
 
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