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SlimyPizza1
join:2002-12-28
Roswell, GA

SlimyPizza1

Member

[wireless] How to?: Long range 802.11g

Ok. Summer is here and the kids are out of school. That means taking them to the pool but I still need to conduct business on the computer when my wife is out. It would be nice to figure out a way to have wireless access from the neighborhood pool to my house which is about 500ft away. Right now I have a WRT54G and a WPC54G. Works great in and around the house but what can I do to get access while at the pool? Any (sane) ideas?
truemobile
join:2002-02-06
Danbury, CT

truemobile

Member

If you have a PCMCIA laptop slot, try an extended range card. Such as the Engenius/Senao EL/SL 2511 CD PLUS (it's Engenius in the U.S. and Senao outside). Make sure you get the PLUS, as that is the modifier which indicates extended range (greater sensitivity on receive and greater power on transmit).
whos_the_foo
join:2003-03-01
Silver Spring, MD

whos_the_foo to SlimyPizza1

Member

to SlimyPizza1
Well, get a really powerful antennea, (maybe) a directional one.

Point-to-point systems can also work, but that could involve setting something up by the pool.

You also have security issues with a 500ft radius.

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD

Premium Member

54g would probably degrade to much slower throughput at 500 feet.

Maybe there is a "hot spot" near the pool.
[text was edited by author 2003-05-23 21:56:56]

pandu
@mindspring.com

pandu to whos_the_foo

Anon

to whos_the_foo
I don't think the 54g has the capability of transmitting up tp 500ft. It's more like 300ft at best.
SlimyPizza1
join:2002-12-28
Roswell, GA

SlimyPizza1

Member

said by pandu:
I don't think the 54g has the capability of transmitting up tp 500ft. It's more like 300ft at best.
Right... not without help anyway. So I'm wondering what I need to do to extend the range of my network to 500-600ft. Use an extra antennae at my house? Put in a WAP at the poolhouse? I just don't know what options are out there. I don't care if others would be able to use my network. It might be kind of cool to have a little poolside internet cafe My main objective though is to allow me to have access while watching the kids at the pool. (We have a lifeguard btw. It's not like I'd be jeopardizing the kid's safety trying to do some work)

Asterix
Premium Member
join:2002-09-18
Nazareth, PA

Asterix

Premium Member

you can use a wireless repeater.. WET54G if u have the money, and use another AP near the place you want to be outside (500 ft away). The gateway would still be the main WRT54G router inside your house.
SlimyPizza1
join:2002-12-28
Roswell, GA

SlimyPizza1

Member

said by Asterix:
you can use a wireless repeater.. WET54G if u have the money, and use another AP near the place you want to be outside (500 ft away). The gateway would still be the main WRT54G router inside your house.

I can understand the suggestion to use the AP at the pool but I don't know why I need the WET54G. Is the WRT54G not able to communicate directly to the WAP? Is that why I'd need the WET? Also, would the WET/WAP combination give me the range I need? Thx.
truemobile
join:2002-02-06
Danbury, CT

truemobile

Member

I have achieved a distance in excess of 500' line of sight... but not with linksys. Using a Zywall 10W with the aforementioned Engenius EL 2511 CD PLUS (the extended range 200mW PCMCIA card plugged into the Zywall). At 500' signal strength is 42-46% (this with a regular Dell TrueMobile card). If I wanted to gain an extra couple of hundred feet I'd try to put another extended range card into my laptop.

There are cards such as the Engenius which are designed to add range to wireless for laptop users. Linksys unfortunately doesn't make such a card (heck any card providing more than 100mW isn't Wi-Fi certifiable, the limit is 100mW for Wi-Fi cert, but 1000mW per the FCC on the spectrum). Engenius solves this in a way by making 2 versions of the card, one Wi-Fi certified but limited to 100mW (the non-PLUS) and the 200mW version which is identical in all respects but power output.

Before going to additional access points and what not, consider just slapping in an extended range card (there are other 200mW cards for laptops, you can avoid Engenius/Senao if you wish). These ARE the laptop solution for extending range