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#1
12-19-2007, 11:34 PM
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WiFi Signal Strength Questions
There's no broadband within miles of the farm so, I'm probably going to set up a satellite (HughesNet?) and do a WLAN.
I'd like to place the sat dish on a hilltop near the cabin and, with a router and a couple of directional antennas, have WLAN connectivity at the cabin, <100m LOS from the proposed receiver and at the barn and Dad's house, approximately 600m away through the trees. From what I've read so far, a frame wall attenuates the signal 3db. What then, I wonder, will a small forest of trees do to that signal? Am I going about this the wrong way? What should I do instead? Any input/experience would be appreciated.
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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm. Last edited by R Leo; 12-19-2007 at 11:47 PM. 
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#2
12-19-2007, 11:54 PM
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Randy
I think Diesel Power (Brian) had a similar setup (sharing a broadband connection with a neighbor via wireless, with foliage involved), but I have no idea how to contact him any more.
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Palangi 2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz 2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser 2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg 2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE 0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE
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#3
12-20-2007, 12:00 AM
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Go with a Datastorm system.
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#4
12-20-2007, 12:20 AM
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Is the barn and Dad's house in the same direction from the hill?
This, http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wireless/wifi-amplifier.php?PHPSESSID=536b067c4ac99bc655f646e3ede3f174 and a good a yagi should do it. Or, a narrow beamwidth omni ant up as high as possible and use decent coax to minimize the loss at 2.4ghz. I'd use Andrews heliax 1/2 or 7/8" depending on the length. Last edited by Whiskeydan; 12-20-2007 at 12:33 AM.
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#5
12-20-2007, 09:38 AM
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Quote:
Dad's house and the barn are <50m of each other and approximately 600m from the proposed sat location. LOS but, dense foliage for 50% of the distance. Here's an aerial of the site.
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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.
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#6
12-20-2007, 10:11 AM
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Quote:
Google Satellite dish and soup can wifi. On top of that you can buy certain Linksys routers and increase the output power via firmware hacks.
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#7
12-20-2007, 10:13 AM
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#8
12-20-2007, 10:15 AM
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RL - check out http://www.outfitnm.com/ He also hangs out on www.4x4wire.com in the diesel Isuzu section as "outfit boss".
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BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif 15 VW Passat TDI 00 E420 98 E300 DT 97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME! 97 S500 97 E300D 86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D 86 300SDL (o\|/o)
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#9
12-20-2007, 10:44 AM
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The path loss thru the trees will be much worse in the summer than when they are dormant. Lower freqs would have less loss so, a 2.4 ghz link is not the best choice but we have no choice here.
In that case we need to get above them if possible. Ant height gain is offset by feedline loss so use good (large) coax. LMR 400 is what most use for long runs of 802.11 but it has a loss of around 7db/100ft. Plus, if it is like the earlier version of the low loss RG213 coax cables, I've used in the past, there will be condensate build up in the dialectric over time. In three yrs it was useless. Check out RF Parts co for Andrews Heliax. I have a few large rolls of used 7/8" if needed. At least your noise floor will be low way out there in the sticks. For the hill look for a polar of the highest gain yagi or a panel ant with the -3db beamwidth that will work for the two locations. If a E and H plane pattern is not provided stay away as a gain spec is meaningless if you don't know where the signal's going. Look around at the Radiolabs site. Plenty of info there.
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#10
12-20-2007, 10:53 AM
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Thanks all for the terrific info and background. I'll buy my receiver soon and get the unit up and going while it's wintertime and there are no leaves. That way, if the signal goes to crap in the spring it should be easy to figure out why.
Howie, I just started looking at this stuff last night and was astounded at the DIY hacks for WiFi. Doing stuff that way is right down my alley!!!! This place rocks.
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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.
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#11
12-20-2007, 11:31 AM
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Doze a path.
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#13
12-20-2007, 08:19 PM
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I've been doing some surfing and have found several used Direcway/HughesNet antennas and DW7000 modems for $75-$100. I think it may make better sense to buy the gear and set up two separate receivers: one at the cabin and one at the barn/Dad's hut...he can pay for his own access and there's no problem with setting up the WLAN over all that distance and incurring the expense of a signal amp and/or the risk of poor performance when the trees leaf out.
Whaddya think?
__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.
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#14
12-20-2007, 08:55 PM
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I had Direcway a few years back and it was unstable and had quite bit of latency. Plenty of good info on broadband forums. If you have decent cell service, I would buy a broadband adapter for your pc then invoke internet sharing on said pc and transmit to the other location via the ways the others mentioned. I use the Verizon USB broadband adapter with unlimited use for $59 a month.
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#15
12-20-2007, 09:07 PM
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Quote:
I'll surf the broadband forums and find more info.
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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.
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