BajaNomad

info on wireless antennas por favor

shari - 4-26-2010 at 06:16 PM

some folks here are cooperating and getting one phone line and sharing the wireless with their neighbours. I was looking on the internet about how to boost a signal and was wondering if anyone has experience with how the more economic brands work to boost the signal a bit...do you need an expensive one? is there a fairly cheap one that works? what kind works well...there are sooo many choices? I hope some of you can shed some light on this subject...gracias amigos.

Russ - 4-26-2010 at 07:37 PM

Hi ya Shari! I'm using a Linksys router and supplying a lot of people's internet needs. I think the router was about $125 and the external antenna about the same. This setup works so well I had to enable the security feature because the more people on it at the same time will really slow it down. Look at these videos they should explain about it. http://www.topbits.com/how-to-setup-a-linksys-router.html My unit is an older model and has removable antennas that you can hook to an external antenna. If you're going to service people ar any distance you'll want this feature.
Here were you can ask questions about what you may need or just info in general. http://www.justanswer.com/

[Edited on 4-27-2010 by Russ]

rts551 - 4-26-2010 at 07:45 PM

If you are receiving a neighbors signal, look at these......

Hawking Hi-Gain WiFi Signal Booster Wireless network amplifier

comitan - 4-26-2010 at 07:51 PM

Shari

This is what I have and it works very well. But you have to have the 9db antenna.

http://www.hawkee.com/shop/prod/9971924/reviews/

[Edited on 4-27-2010 by comitan]

A slight hi-jack here

Howard - 4-26-2010 at 07:55 PM

High Shari! Gringo the Dingo, my Yellow Lab says woof, woof, to everyone there.

Russ, what do you suggest for a laptop? It seems like at a few RV parks they have WiFi but unless I am very close to the source, I cannot get the signal. Can you suggest anything that I can use on my laptop to have a better chance of receiving the signal?

Pescador - 4-26-2010 at 08:01 PM

An external antenna like the LInksys Wireless that comes in a 2.4 Ghz works pretty well and will give you a stronger signal than the internals in your laptop. I had the system that I sold to Russ to set up in a trailer park and was going to share the system with a number of people in order to bring the cost down slightly but found out that I did not have adequate power to run the system all day. Shari should have not trouble at Asuncion because they are on the power grid there. Wayne Davy from San Lucas had helped me set up the whole system and he found the best equipment and prices came from these guys.

http://ba-electronics.com/asccustompages/products.asp

jak - 4-27-2010 at 12:13 AM

Here is an inexpensive way to increase a weak signal using a USB wireless device and some common items. I have seen something similar in operation and it does boost a signal considerably.
http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/

Bob and Susan - 4-27-2010 at 04:56 AM

we have a linksys but the distance and power is limited

you are talking about "broadcasting"

you actually need a more powerful wireless and antennas for the receivers

ECB-3500 600mW 802.11b/g Bridge

ant.jpg - 29kB

Russ - 4-27-2010 at 05:46 AM

Here is what 90% of the folks here are using with their lap tops. Doesn't / didn't work with Mac though.
http://www.airlink101.com/products/awll3055.php
It was normally around $45 at Fry's but went on sale for $25 a couple times a year. I like it because you can move it around and aim it. It's 10db gain which is as good as I've seen for a small antenna.
Pescador, I remember the site you gave me a long time ago but the one you posted isn't working for routers (for me).

Bob and Susan - 4-27-2010 at 05:58 AM

remember...

if a bunch of people are streaming music or downloading videos you service will be really SLOW!!!

bandwith...

shari - 4-27-2010 at 07:40 AM

wow....I just KNEW I'd get some creative answers from nomads...
thanks so much for this link jak...LOVE this option and gonna try it out.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Uni-Directional-WIFI-Range-E...

we were only interested in getting a signal to neighbours and not long range...more like a family favour so as not to diminish band with but it will be fun to fool around with some of these options...hope dianne t is monitoring this thread.

bajalou - 4-27-2010 at 08:53 AM

What kind of speed do you have? That will tell you if the use by others will degrade your service. For Skype calls etc. sometimes just surfing th web will cause problems,

shari - 4-27-2010 at 09:02 AM

we have pretty good speed...wont the signal be password protected though?? so only the neighbour we want to share it with will be able to use the signal??
I can use my magic jack even if 3 other computers in my house are on the internet.

[Edited on 4-27-2010 by shari]

Wireless Antennas

MrBillM - 4-27-2010 at 09:36 AM

I have purchased more than a dozen antennas along with cabling and WLAN accessories from the following source and others have purchased a like amount on my recommendations with no complaints. The Price, Quality and Prompt Service have made them my preferred source.

http://www.wlanparts.com

It's worth noting that, to realize the maximum benefit from ANY Wireless antenna, you should closely follow their cabling recommendations i.e. LMR 195 or LMR 400.

Mostly for test purposes, I have also purchased some of the cheaper (Chinese) WLAN antennas available for an extremely low price (around 20 bucks) on EBay and elsewhere. I have found that said antennas generally have worked well, HOWEVER, one of the ways they keep price down is the use of LMR-200 cable which has a higher loss.

It all boils down to Terrain and Distance. If you're at a point where, say, a 6db antenna would work fine, using one of the CHEAP 9db or above will also likely work. I have one such Experimental installation at present wherein I have a 6db Yagi using LMR-195 and an EBay Chicom Bargain 9db pad antenna with the higher-loss cable and the relative signal reception is about equal. The Particular signal I'm accessing with that Bargain 9db pad is approximately 400 yards away with buildings in between. I get a medium-strength signal.

The signal security should always be password-protected using WEP, or better, WPA, WPA2. I also enable MAC-Filtering so that only specific other computers can access the signal.

As far as a Router goes, best Bang for the Buck is the Linksys WRT-54GL loaded with Linux DD-WRT software. Available new and the DD-WRT is available for free downloading. Loading it can be tricky, but EBay has numerous vendors selling Reconditioned units with the software preloaded. I've bought Six so far (no problems) and spent about 60 bucks on the most expensive one.

[Edited on 4-27-2010 by MrBillM]

jak - 4-27-2010 at 11:02 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
we have pretty good speed...wont the signal be password protected though?? so only the neighbour we want to share it with will be able to use the signal??
I can use my magic jack even if 3 other computers in my house are on the internet.

[Edited on 4-27-2010 by shari]


To set up a password protected signal you have to configure it in the router. It creates a "key" you share with who you want to let access your network and internet connection.