megahertz
|  Wireless Internet link to site .5 miles away
Hi,
I live in a rural area without DSL, cable, etc and we do have a wireless Internet company that I tried to get access from. We did not qualify since our home sits in the valley, but our neighbors 1/2 mile up the hill can get excellent signal.
So, they agreed to install it there, but it's now my responsibility to connect from their 2.4 GHz canopy system to my home.
The radio has a CAT5 POE which would normal plug into a router or PC, but here is where I need help. I think I need to buy a pair of radios (one is the AU and plug the CAT5 POE into a switch or daisy chain into the AU) and then have the SU down at my house and from there to my router and/or PC. Does this setup make sense and if so, where can I find the hardware to buy this and what price range should I be looking at? I have a small bit of trees that I may have to shoot through, would the 5.3 GHz radios work through that?
Thanks for the help in advance!! |
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RevMortis
I Hear Dead Silicon
Premium
join:2005-05-10
Saint Paul, MN
 ·Qwest.net
| First, you'll need to get above the trees. The leaves will degrade the wireless signal.
You can lengthen the range of wireless devices by utilizing a directional antenna and adding a passive microwave filter.
My suggestion is to get/buy a pair of DDWRT compatible routers (like the WRT54GL) and install DDWRT on both of them.
Acquire an old Satillite Dish. Make a Cantennas.
Mount Cantenna as in »www.wwc.edu/~frohro/Airport/Prim···tar.html
Install Dish on a building at the Neighbors. or what not to get above the trees. Point dish at your house. Put the router in a weather protected location.
Set wireless to client mode on Router B. Repeat setup and point at the second Dish at the above location.
You should get a nice link. With DDWRT v24 you can set up a second SSID. |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON
| reply to megahertz
Get a pair of Ubiquity NS5 outdoor radios with integrated antennas. Just hang them and you're done. No messing with consumer routers in tupperware and external antennas.
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Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it. -- Stephen Vizinczey |
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megahertz
| LLigetfa,
Thanks for the reply. Will it be safe to install on other side of a few trees (a small line of trees maybe 3-4 deep, but can jsut about or see our house through the leaves), or do I need to run a CAT5 trench under ground until I get a clear view in a space between the trees?
Also, is this the product you reference? »www.wlanparts.com/product/NS5?me···ampaign=
Is this 5.3 GHz, or what exact 5.x is it? Do I run CAT5 from the SU at my house to a router/PC and that's it?
I am a bit of a newbie at this type of setup, more with desktops and servers.
Thanks!! |
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SipSizzurp
Fo' Shizzle
Premium
join:2005-12-28
Hilo, HI
 ·RoadRunner Cable
edit:
July 22nd, @10:54PM
| reply to megahertz
The few trees you describe would probably be ok with 2.4 Ghz. 5 Ghz has more trouble getting through trees. Here is the 2.4 Ghz version with high gain antennas. These will very likely provide a good link for you since you are so close and have so few trees.
»www.wlanparts.com/product/PS2-17···17D.html
Edit - This is a nice looking radio, but there are several other comprable products on the market, some of which may be of better design and / or price. I wouldn't buy these without some more product review.
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I spent most of my money on Women and Beer, and the rest I just wasted ! |
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megahertz
| If I get these radios or something similiar, how do I make them talk with the canopy radio that the ISP left? Do I put the canopy in a switch and then run a cross-over cable from the switch to the AU radio that will point down to my SU radio at my house? Also, regarding security, what is your guys' recommendation on how to make sure this link is secure? |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON
| reply to SipSizzurp
said by SipSizzurp  :The few trees you describe would probably be ok with 2.4 Ghz. 5 Ghz has more trouble getting through trees. Here is the 2.4 Ghz version with high gain antennas. These will very likely provide a good link for you since you are so close and have so few trees. » www.wlanparts.com/product/PS2-17···17D.html Actually, that link is to the PS2. The 2.4 version of the NanoStation is the NS2. Some of the earlier PS2 were reported to under-perform but the NS2 has had good reviews.
5GHz would work through sparse trees but you might get some rain fade. Likewise with 2.4 but a little less fade. If you can shoot under the worst of the foliage that might do it. If the rain fade is too bad, then trench to the other side of the trees if need be. At my house I had to trench 300 feet to get a signal before a new tower went up.
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Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it. -- Stephen Vizinczey |
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megahertz
| LLigetfa,
It would not matter that I alraedy have a 2.4 radio that my ISP is using to get Internet if I got the NS2 radios, would they conflict with each other?
Also, how do I connect/make them talk to my ISP setup 2.4 canopy radio, with a switch or crossover cable and how about security? |
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jkrusel
join:2003-04-12
Leslie, MO
| said by megahertz :
LLigetfa,
It would not matter that I alraedy have a 2.4 radio that my ISP is using to get Internet if I got the NS2 radios, would they conflict with each other?
Also, how do I connect/make them talk to my ISP setup 2.4 canopy radio, with a switch or crossover cable and how about security?
Simplified roadmap:
Make sure you use a 2.4Mhz channel that least 3 channels away from the ISP's channel to avoid interference.
Up at the Canopy, set up the router as an AP, plug the Canopy into the router's WAN port with a straight through cable.
Down at your house set up the router as a Client Bridge. Hook your LAN to one of the LAN ports on the router.
This is exactly the setup I am running right now except my ISP's CPE is a 900Mhz Canopy.
Jerry
WOOF!
--
Wireless from ISP 11 miles away via Motorola Canopy 900MHz, then over a 1200ft. wireless bridge of 2 WRT54G routers with 15db panel antennas|HP pavilion 2.1Ghz P4 XP-Home-|LAN:Belkin F5D5130-5 switch|Clients:2 ea. HP Pavilion XP-Pro/2.2GHz Acer laptop |
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megahertz
| Thanks jkrusel,
When you say set up the router as an AP, which piece of hardware are you talking about, the AU radio? Then, down at my house have the SU setup as a bridge and hook my LAN into the actual radio? Or, do I actually need to be some WRT54G router to connect into each radio pair that I buy to connect into my ISP's radio they left me?
I am a little new at this and want to make sure I understand since I have gotten a few different ways to go here. Sorry to be a pain to have to have it spelled out so simply, but I guess that's how we all learn. |
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jkrusel
join:2003-04-12
Leslie, MO
| said by megahertz :
Thanks jkrusel,
When you say set up the router as an AP, which piece of hardware are you talking about, the AU radio? Then, down at my house have the SU setup as a bridge and hook my LAN into the actual radio? Or, do I actually need to be some WRT54G router to connect into each radio pair that I buy to connect into my ISP's radio they left me?
All of the equipment discussed so far by Liggy, Sip, and others, like the WRT54GL, comprises a radio and a router, typically capable of being configured in several different ways. Some already have high gain antennas as a part of the package, like the Ubiquity, and others like the WRT54GL would probably need an external antenna(and external enclosure) for a link like this. Even though I went another way with my setup, I like something such as the Ubiquity recommendation made by Liggy. Already all built and designed for outdoor use. Just configure them and point them at each other, one at each end.
The radios themselves talk to each other over your wireless link at 2.4Mhz. The built in routers talk on each end, as required by their configuration, to the ISP on the one end and your LAN on the other.
Hope that helps.
Jerry
WOOF!
--
Wireless from ISP 11 miles away via Motorola Canopy 900MHz, then over a 1200ft. wireless bridge of 2 WRT54G routers with 15db panel antennas|HP pavilion 2.1Ghz P4 XP-Home-|LAN:Belkin F5D5130-5 switch|Clients:2 ea. HP Pavilion XP-Pro/2.2GHz Acer laptop |
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megahertz
| It helps lots.
OK, so final picture drawing to lay this out to help me understand.
1. Canopy 2.4 GHz radio is alraedy installed by my ISP.
2. I need a router like a WRT54GL that the POE CAT5 from the Canopy plugs into the router WAN port.
3. The AU radio NS2 plugs into the same WRT54GL router that the canopy is plugged into, and I just plug that into one of the regular ports? The AU is pointed down to the house.
4. The SU other NS2 other radio is plugged into another WRT54GL router that I then connect my LAN to?
What router settings do I need for the one at the canopy and the one at our home? What radio settings do I need on the pair of NS2's and do they need to be in a bridge mode?
Finally, what grounding for electrical strikes do I need to have in place?
That's it! Thanks again for each of your help! Very much appreciated. |
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jkrusel
join:2003-04-12
Leslie, MO
| There is a small breakdown in understanding that might bring everything into focus if we fix it...
The NS2 or the WRT54GL is a COMBINED radio AND router.
You need only a single NS2 or a single WRT54GL and each end, not both! If you use WRT54GL you will need an external antenna and enclosure. The NS2 already has external antenna and outdoor enclosure.
hope that helps...
Jerry
WOOF!
--
Wireless from ISP 11 miles away via Motorola Canopy 900MHz, then over a 1200ft. wireless bridge of 2 WRT54G routers with 15db panel antennas|HP pavilion 2.1Ghz P4 XP-Home-|LAN:Belkin F5D5130-5 switch|Clients:2 ea. HP Pavilion XP-Pro/2.2GHz Acer laptop |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON
| said by jkrusel :You need only a single NS2 or a single WRT54GL and each end, not both! This is true for the PtP link, but it may be that the OP wants to have a wireless AP at each end to provide local wireless access.
Since there are basically just three non-overlapping channels with 802.11 in 2.4 GHz, and since the Canopy will consume some of the spectrum, that leaves just enough spectrum with no wiggle room. It was for that reason I suggested the bridge be done with 5GHz but if the spectrum is clean it won't be an issue. If there is no plan to have local WiFi at either/both ends, then there is probably lots of spectrum.
There are other options like WDS to reuse spectrum should the need arise and with dd-wrt available for the NS2, WDS should be a walk in the park.
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Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it. -- Stephen Vizinczey |
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megahertz
| One final question....do you recommend the NS2 or the NS5 in my situation with having a 2.4 canopy and trees, or does it matter. Either way bpass the trees and dig a trench?
Thanks so much. I learned quite a bit. |
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jkrusel
join:2003-04-12
Leslie, MO
| said by megahertz :
One final question....do you recommend the NS2 or the NS5 in my situation with having a 2.4 canopy and trees, or does it matter. Either way bpass the trees and dig a trench?
NS5 would be a better choice for a lot of reasons - EXCEPT - you have some foliage to go through. Generally the 2.4 will blow the signal through foliage better than a 5. Case in point, I am going through about 300m of trees at 2.4Ghz and still maintain a 54 Mbps link rate.
But... the NS5 would probably be a better choice IMHO.
Jerry
WOOF!
--
Wireless from ISP 11 miles away via Motorola Canopy 900MHz, then over a 1200ft. wireless bridge of 2 WRT54G routers with 15db panel antennas|HP pavilion 2.1Ghz P4 XP-Home-|LAN:Belkin F5D5130-5 switch|Clients:2 ea. HP Pavilion XP-Pro/2.2GHz Acer laptop |
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megahertz
| So Jerry,
In my case I just have a very small band of trees to get through (3-4 deep) and rest is open. Should be safe to get the NS2 since I am using for just Internet and make sure I have at a different channel than the canopy? Since I am supposed t have 768K down, will I lose speed with this setup and will I lose speed with the NS2 vs. the NS5. I would not think so since I don't need 54MB for Internet, of course. |
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jkrusel
join:2003-04-12
Leslie, MO
| Can you answer the question that was posed about wireless service up at the Canopy? Do you (or your neighbor) expect to have wireless access up there or not?
Also, do you want wireless access down at your house?
The less other 2.4 GHz you have floating around, the more stable will be your primary 2.4GHz. link from the mountain down into the valley.
Jerry
WOOF!
--
Wireless from ISP 11 miles away via Motorola Canopy 900MHz, then over a 1200ft. wireless bridge of 2 WRT54G routers with 15db panel antennas|HP pavilion 2.1Ghz P4 XP-Home-|LAN:Belkin F5D5130-5 switch|Clients:2 ea. HP Pavilion XP-Pro/2.2GHz Acer laptop |
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LLigetfa
join:2006-05-15
Fort Frances, ON | reply to megahertz
Here is a one mile shot with a bit of foliage.
»5.8 through trees (foliage) |
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megahertz
| reply to jkrusel
Jerry,
No, we do not want wireless up where the canopy is installed at the neighbors. We just want wireless access down at our house. So, you do think that go ahead with the NS5 in this example and probably to be safe dig a trench for a perfect line of sight to our house?
Thanks!!!!! |
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