BajaNomad

My Neighborhood WiFi

Russ - 12-6-2007 at 07:30 AM

These components work pretty well here. A friend about two miles down the beach is able to use it with the USB antenna shown. Buildings really lower or block the signal strength. I use Hughs/Direcway for satellite service.

WiFi setup.jpg - 49kB

taoswheat - 12-6-2007 at 07:44 AM

Another high gain WiFi rig is the Hawking HWU8DD Dish Antenna USB adapter. It gives 8dBi gain and can be pointed at the hot spot using signal strength LEDs.

Russ - 12-6-2007 at 08:15 AM

Pompano, first Hughes system is pretty slow to start with and if you have more than 3 people downloading at the same time it does slow it down even more. So the fewer people on line at a time the faster the service. I'm using their middle range service and with a dozen folks able to access my service at time it's slow. The distance is not as important as any obstructions in the line of site of the antenna. My friends have all gone to the AirLink AWLL3055 USB with a 10 db gain antenna to access my signal. At $45 it is by far the best unit we have found. Hope this is a help. The man in our area that really know this stuff is Wayne in San Lucas.

[Edited on 12-6-2007 by Russ]

Don Alley - 12-6-2007 at 08:49 AM

We use that Linksys router with our DSL in Loreto. But we don't get reception on our laptop to the back half of our property. I have thought about a receiving antenna in the casita in back for guests. I don't know f I want increase the broadcast range with a bigger transmitting antenna and transmit unprotected signals over the neighborhood. I might use the password protection if I go that route.

What would Carlos Slim think, though, about someone broadcasting free Prodigy DSL in the neighborhood?:lol:

Diver - 12-6-2007 at 09:08 AM

We have the linksys wireless router hooked to our DSL.
The router is inside the house with a metal roof.
Our nearest neighbor is about 1200' away and she got our signal (very low) with no external antenna.
I put an external antenna on the house and now my neighbor on the hill about 3/4 mile away gets my signal also.

Sooooo Shari, if you do the router and a roof-top antenna, I can get your signal from my place and trotters !!!!!
If you haven't already set up a Skype account; do it !!

.

vandenberg - 12-6-2007 at 09:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Don Alley
We use that Linksys router with our DSL in Loreto. But we don't get reception on our laptop to the back half of our property.
:


Don,
I have a simple Linksys range extender that will cure that problem. My Linksys access point wouldn't cover all of my house, so I invested in one of them. Really does the job, even gets the signal to the neighbors. Passworded it though.:yes::yes::biggrin:

Diver - 12-6-2007 at 09:42 AM

BTW,

I picked up a Hugh 36" oval dish, mount and 6000 router recently, thinking I would connect it in Asuncion. Now that they have DSL, I don't need it.
If anyone needs one, you can have it for the $200 I paid. Unfortunatley I have no more room to bring it down (gotta pick up surfboards) so the deal is pick-up only.

.

Excellent System

MrBillM - 12-6-2007 at 10:34 AM

I was asked by some friends to buy the equipment and put together the setup information for a Hughes Net WiFi network to serve a half-dozen locations within a 600 yard or so radius of varying elevation.

Based on what I'd read, I chose the Linksys WRT54G router along with an 11db unidirectional antenna connected to one of the Linksys TNC antenna connectors. For those far enough away, I chose outdoor 9db pad antennas connected via an external 802.11b/g usb unit with an RP SMA connector. Once all was installed and the correct settings established, it has worked without problems for about 10 months now. At 50 bucks, the WRT54G is a superb deal.

There is no quiestion that someone using a residential level Hughes Net service is likely to encounter slowdowns and run afoul of the FAP. My friends are sharing the cost of a business-level system and have had no problems.

Further researching the router I found that it is an especially good choice because there are numerous third-party firmware programs written in the Linux Source Code, including some programs that raise the actual transmit power of the router above that approved by the FCC.

One article in PC World stated that Linksys had become concerned about all of the hacking being done on that model and changed the Firmware code to something different from Linux. The outcry was so intense that they then came out with a new model, the WRT54GL, the "L" standing for Linux code.

After having so much success with the antennas, my wife's oldest son in the U.S. told me he was getting a wireless signal from "somewhere" and it was useable at times, but marginal. I bought another of the 9db pad antennas and he now gets a solid signal that never fades (until the day that they enable the WEP or WPA, that is).

I bought all of my antennas, accessories and cabling from: http://www.wlanparts.com.

Excellent service, good prices. No complaints.

[Edited on 12-6-2007 by MrBillM]

elgatoloco - 12-6-2007 at 10:41 AM

When you are on-line switch off the wi-fi. When you are off switch it on and then send a big flag up a pole and let the rest know they can hook up. :cool:

Or not?

Quote:
Originally posted by Pompano
Thanks, Russ and Don, for the tips and input on installing wifi. Just a few minutes ago, I just found out that too many people downloading varioius sites, photos, music, etc. would seriously degrade my reception. Ten minutes to download a page and the like. So...guess I will have to pass on that idea until a solution is found for many users on one dish. Maybe Carlos would like to give us a phone hookup in Conception Bay? I think it may be coming soon......

You are right about Wayne (Nomad los frailes), he is our resident expert...and we're glad to have him so close by.

An interesting note.

MrBillM - 12-6-2007 at 11:05 AM

I have just read that the latest version of the WRT54G (version 8) has made the antennas non-replaceable as a cost-cutting measure so anyone purchasing one would want to be careful to note same before purchase.