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General discussion

What operational range can I expect from proposed wireless n

May 12, 2005 3:08AM PDT

Gentle Readers, I am in great need of networking two computers together. One is in my home office. The second is in my workshop which is about 200 feet away in my barn.

I have discussed the range of Linksys components with their technical support folks. The answers I get from them are direct quotes from their statements of product specifications. This means they only agree that they will work within 50 feet.

My office computer is on the second floor of my frame home (two walls to outside) and the shop computer is on the first floor with two intervening walls. The shop and barn are separated by about 200 feet of unobstructed air space.

Does anyone out there have experience with networking computers together over these distances and with similar obstructions?

I am willing to install a range extender in the house near the outside wall if that will make the net work. I'd even install a second range extender in the barn near the outside wall if that became necessary.

Can anyone shed any light on my dilemna. Someone please save me from having to bury 200 feet of coax cable!

Thanks...Joe Whitaker...

Discussion is locked

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Try better antenna or look the new
May 12, 2005 4:17AM PDT

Wireless Accesspoint router with MIMO or Pre N system.. look in Linksys, D-Link, Belkin etc.... (need compatible wifi adapter to get max range)

Or better antenna or amplified antenna

Please note on range expander... it should be place Between (somewhere in the middle) the accesspoint and the computer.. NOT near one of them...

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Thanks
May 13, 2005 12:51AM PDT

Hatim, thanks for your kind reply. I surely wish I could place a range extender half way between the systems. I'm sure that would solve the problem. Unfortunately I'd be placing it in the middle of 200 feet of open air where there is no electrical outlet and no weather protection for the delicate electronic equipment.

My only option would be to put the range extender next to the outside wall of the house (toward the workshop) which would place the extender about 30 feet from the system. Or, if I put the extender near the shop system it would be about 40 feet from the system and near the outside wall of the barn toward the house.

In either case the 200 feet of unobstructed air between the house and barn is the big question in my mind.

I may just have to either buy the equipment on the chance I can make it work or bury cable all the way.

Thanks for your help, if you think of anything else that may help let me know...Joe W...

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No guarantees.
May 13, 2005 1:59AM PDT

But I get over 300 feet if I put the antenna in the window. Maybe more if I fitted the reflectors noted at www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/

While I know all this works, no one will sign on the dotted line.

Bob

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You'll have to test it out.
May 12, 2005 5:33AM PDT

The material of the wall can't be determined and no one can measure the signal loss through the walls.

Hint: put it in a window and you'll get your 100 to 200 feet easy. That is, each antenna can visibly see the other.

Bob

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Thanks
May 13, 2005 12:54AM PDT

Bob, thanks for the suggestion. There isn't a window handy but your suggestion has started me to thinking and I may be able to rig up something.

I appreciate your response, thanks!...Joe W...

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Been there, done that, exactly as you describe.
May 12, 2005 5:58AM PDT

Initial setup:

Satellite internet link is in the house with the receiver box upstairs in back bedroom used as home office. Main computer was wired to ancient Netgear 802.11b access point/router and sometimes used a wireless card in a laptop from the other room.

''Problem:''

Built a cozy little office in converted tack room of upper level hayloft in barn, about 150 yards across the field. Had same question as you.

Solution in three easy pieces:

Piece no. 1: a much longer ethernet cable poked through a small hole in the wall between the front and back bedrooms so that the Netgear router could be moved to the front bedroom, sitting on a small table by the window.

Piece no. 2: a homemade parabolic reflector on the antenna of the router made from stiff paper and foil, pattern and simple instructions can be downloaded from

www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/index.html

(sorry, can't make a clickable link of that URL, the CNet anti-spam filter will farkle the word "free" in it, so copy and paste to your browser address bar...)

Piece no. 3: A Hawking HiGain USB wireless adapter. I choose that one because it had directional antenna which can be placed on a shelf where it can point out the new barn office door through the window in the hallway toward the house.

72% signal strength through 4 layers of glass, mid-60% signal strength if I move the Hawking antenna to the middle of the desk where the signal must pass through the wooden barn walls instead of through the window.

dw

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Thanks!
May 13, 2005 1:03AM PDT

****, thank you so much for the very specific answer to the problem of wireless networking range.

My distance is slightly greater than yours but comparable.

All your suggestions will be of tremendous value to me.

I am curious about one thing you said. How did you measure the signal strength? Do you have special equipment for that or does the network gear have a capability to do that?

Thanks also for the link to the antenna web site. I will definitely check it out.

I think you have solved my problem or at least answered most of my questions.

Many thanks...Joe W...

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My error
May 13, 2005 1:16AM PDT

****, I just reread your kind answer and you said 150 YARDS. I read that as considerably less distance but it is in reality a far greater distance than I have to cover. Now I'm getting excited about doing this. I think maybe it really can be done!

Thanks...Joe W...

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Range and the Wireless N
May 12, 2005 5:11PM PDT

I have a Belkin Pre-N router and it's a kicker. Yep, does real well. It hits the next street over with no problem. It hits about a whole lot better than the Belkin wireless 54g. Neither though gets around concrete buildings. In my situation/area, it hits around five hundred feet with a good and consistent signal. At three hundred feet and a wooden house, the signal is about 50%. At two hundred feet and a CB house, it dies on the other side of the house.

Range and speed are great. It gets kicked off the laptop when the wireless phone is used, so I need to get another phone. Would I buy it knowing what I do with a month under the belt? yep.

As a note, if you are all ready running a wireless router, delete it before instaling the new one. It'll save you lots of hassle.

Ben

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Thanks
May 13, 2005 1:09AM PDT

Ben, thanks so much for your reply to my question. The brand recommendation if very much appreciated.

Also your specific statements of range are very useful to me. I do have one question further for you if you can help.

What effect does the 50% signal strength have on the speed and/or dependability of your work on your network? Do you see a decrease in speed of operation? Do you experience a degradation of accuracy of transmissions?

Thanks...Joe W...

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The answers
May 14, 2005 6:17PM PDT

I read a bit about various routers and chose Belkin for all of the required equipment. I firmly believe in one brand in this situation, as that means only one support group instead of pointing fingers. Prior to purchasing the Belkin Pre-N, I did some reading here on this system and also spoke with two salesmen at CompUSA. The second person was their "expert" and he answered every question I had. Anyway, from conversation with the "expert" and the reviews here on CNet, I choose to stay with Belkin and upgrade to their Pre-N system.

50% signal strength in my situation meant that I did sustain a loss in speed, though for surfing the net, it was neglible - though when hitting the network printer or moving a large file around, I did see a drop in performance. I have yet to see a significant degradation in accuracy (packet resends).

This evening I went down the end of the street (about 500 feet line of site and 20 feet behind a wooden house) and was able to pickup my router, though it was a weak signal. However, I did pickup six other networks and only two of them were protected. I was able to log on and off of one router with ease. My configuration involves no SSID broadcast, WPA-PSK and MAC addressing. I changed a setting for the laptop not to automatically connect with my router - and to get it going again, I had to temporarily turn on the SSID and re-enter the pre-shared key to get it to again automatically connect.

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Use a Yagi
May 15, 2005 9:42AM PDT

If none of the other answers work (i have no idea about making home made antennas!!), use a Yagi Antenna on a 802.11g connection.
A normal access point broadcasts the signal in a circle. A Yagi antenna plugged into the AP sends the siganl out in a specific direction, extending the range by a long way. Given the distance involved, you shouldn't have a problem.
Avoid Pre-N unless you really have to- The N specification has been approved yet so manufacturers have released equipment that may not conform properly in order to get a jump on the market. When that happened with g, lots of people had problems with the pre-standard equipment

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Pre-N early player
May 21, 2005 3:43PM PDT

That may be true; however, the benefits of what this unit provides in many instances are worth the chance to me that it might not be compatible. The standards have not seriously changed, just a modification here and there that to date has been handled with software modifications. Since I have had my Pre-n, the software has been updated once. Ben