Crazy Wireless G Claim...

[BrackMontgomery]

Ok, so I was telling my friend, who is a computer nut, about my idea of maybe just going wireless after all in hooking up the two computers in our home. I told him I've been persuaded due to the new wireless G specification, as it's much faster than the other wireless standards before it, which really got me thinking of going wireless for the first time...

Well, here's the kicker: my friend claims that he can access a wireless G connection from up to a few miles away (not hack, but access with permission)! I called BS on that, as from what I've heard you can only do such a thing up to about 150-200 feet, although I had read that about one of the prior wireless standards and not G. My friend claimed that you can share bandwidth from that far with ease using this new standard, but that sounds fishy to me. Do any of you know if this is even feasible using the G standard? I think he's talking out his ass, personally...

 

[Stugots]

yea, thats pretty much BS. those figures in the 100's of feet are in direct line of sight situations, no obstructions or interfearence. you would need a massive anteana to detect a 802.11 network from a mile away. my wireless network in my house goes for maybe 50ft away from the AP, thats with walls, and all sorts of electrical equipment in the way.

 

[df12]

Sounds like he might be talking about the "3G" wireless digital cellular service/standard... I suppose to a non-technical user, they slap a card into their PCMCIA slot and it works.... WiFi, CDMA, TDMA, what's the difference...

 

[Dethtoll]

A company recently discovered that it was possible to boost the range of conventional 802.11 networks by miles. I can't locate the news sources now, but I got the impression that the technology was mainly intended for large corporate use (or municipal city-wide networks for wireless users), rather than for home usage. Apparently, they're not far from getting it working. Maybe your friend is talking about this?

If he claims that he has ever personally accessed an 802.11 network from a mile away, then he is full of sh.t

 

[SilverMK3]

Actually, 802.11 connections over a range of 1+ miles is not out of the question. All you need are powerful antennas (preferably at both ends) and you can go VERY far.

Remember that the information is transmitted as radio waves, the same as your cell phone, favorite radio station, or satellite TV signal (albeit at 2.4GHz). As long as your antenna is sending a powerful enough signal, and is sensitive enough to pick up weak signals, there is absolutely no reason why you can't set up VERY long range networks.

The antennas don't have to be very expensive either. Here are a few wifi antennas that are proven to go over 1 mile:
- Chines Cookware parabolic reflector for a USB wifi adapter
- Pringles Can Yagi style antenna
- Juice can + satellite dish Waveguide antenna
- Retail Patch Antenna with a conservative 1mile range

You can do even better when you get into the professional radio antennas.

I'm sharing my home network with the house across the street (~150M or 450ft) with a simple $40 antenna upgrade to my router. Its pretty easy.

Check out on old [H]er's coffee can setup that he used to find access point from an AIRPLANE Eyecannon: Warflying, Warpuking, Slick Rick, and Me (pics)

 

[BobSutan]

When you consider that a couple of teens from Ohio just set a record of a 55.1 mile 802.11b connection, then one or two miles seems like cake in comparison. Assuming he knows what the hell he's doing I see no reason he cannot do a 1 or 2 mile hop with some of the new COTS antennae arrays that are available. Pick up the Extremetech WiFi Toys book. You can do wonders with 802.11 with a little imagination, tin-foil, and some duct tape.

 

[draconius]

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64440,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

While attending the DEFCON 12 convention this past weekend I had the chance to see the standing ovation a group of 19 year olds received for establishing a 55.1 mile unamplified WiFi connection!" A snippet from the Wired story linked there: "Mobile warriors having trouble making a wireless connection across the hall might want to give some Ohio teens a call. This weekend they were able to make a 55-mile Wi-Fi connection. ... They might have achieved an even greater distance, Justin Rigling said, "but there was no road left.