Getting extended range WiFi question

[Noahtuck]

I am looking for some way to get extended reception from WiFi hotspots.

Here is the scenario, my daughter lives in a trailer park off a main road where they have 3 different places on the main road that have free wifi.
She can't get DSL there and she can't afford cable internet.

She lives at the back of the park away from the main road and neither her laptop or desktop can get even a weak signal, but when at the front of the park they can.

It's not a real big trailer park so it's not like she is a half mile back from the main road.

What would be the best way or product to get the best range from hotspots like this.

I remember seeing some time ago, i don't remember where, one of my magazines or something online, where some guys built a home made dish, kind of like a digital satellite dish, out of materials you could buy anywhere and put it on a pole and got way mad long distance signal!!

And i have read that some of the wireless lan cards with 2 & 3 antennas and boosters could get better reception over a larger distance.

Then i started wondering, why could you not put up something like a large CB antenna and hook it to your wireless card and run the wire from the roof to the PC and get good range.

I know if the transmitting signal is weak it may not help but...

Then i started looking on ebay and found these,

11DB Booster Router Wireless PCI MCX External Antenna

Hiro PCI Wireless Network Adapter - 54Mbps, 802.11g

Ralink Wireless PCI Card RP-SMA Apple Mac10.5 Win7

Any real world experience or suggestions for something that could work or opinions on anything like what i posted links to will be a great help.

I am still in the dark ages and i hardwire everything in my home

[edDV]

None of those will have the range.

You need a fixed directional antenna. Hopefully you don't have trees or other obstructions.

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/antennas/2.4gig/14eleyagi.php
but connecting that to a laptop is near imposible.

Read the Radiolabs overview.
http://www.radiolabs.com/Articles/wifi-antenna.html

Another option is a home built USB access port parabolic directional where the USB card is placed at the focus. Connection to the laptop is USB. This one uses a lamp shell
http://www.ehow.com/how_5316072_build-speed-internet-super-antenna.html

Then there are the Chinese parabolic skimmer cookware options
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic295317.html?highlight=wifi%20antenna



You could use the desktop bridged to a second wifi access point to make an extended hotspot.

[Bjs]

And i have read that some of the wireless lan cards with 2 & 3 antennas and boosters could get better reception over a larger distance.

This simply makes common sense ... some devices are better than others ... you wont know till you try

Well those home made idea's might be worth working on ... but the fact comes down to who is providing this service ... ultimately extending the range of service is under their control ... not those trying to receive it

[Nelson37]

The parabolic dish with a USB stick and extension cable can definitely get reception well over a hundred yards or so. Helps if you have a window on line-of-sight, the metal shell on "manufactured homes" seems to inhibit reception. I made mine out of tinfoil, paper and duct tape, about two feet in diameter. Not real pretty or durable, but easily re-shaped. Seems to prefer a fairly flat parabolic shape. Out-performed a $30.00 D-Link hi-gain antenna by a significant margin.

There is a USB wifi device made by Hawking which resembles a small dish, supposed to be good for 5-600 feet.

With any external antenna you have to be concerned about lightning strike. Had a customer put one on a boat, he gets over a quarter-mile across water. Apparently using an seperate antenna anything over a few feet requires a very hi-grade cable which gets pretty expensive. It has to be special low-loss cable. Using a USB stick with a USB extension cable eliminates this problem. I've connected two for over 30 feet and it worked fine.

[rallynavvie]

I used a homemade parabolic several years ago to bridge LANs between a neighbor and myself. That made a good solid connection on G wireless of about 200 yards. Cost me only about $40 in materials (aside from the routers).

[Noahtuck]

edDV

See, i was thinking of something like that directional antenna but i did not know they made them for WiFi.
I was just think of the old days when you had your TV antenna on the roof and had different elements like that you would face towards each different channels transmitter tower.

And i remember seeing those dudes that used a wire mesh dish but i also seem to remember some dudes that built an even larger one.

I like that lampshell version, i am going to have to try a couple of those at her place and see how it goes before spending a ton of money.

And it will be just for her desktop not a laptop.
(i coulda swore redwudz posted in here ?)

Bjs
Yep, i did not know though if those multiple antenna cards would be strong enough over a longer distance, espc. being in a trailer park with all that damn metal!!
LOL!!

Nelson37
Yep, that is the main thing i am worried about, all that damn metal in a trailer park.
The direct line of site was already on my mind also.
she has a dish network or something along those lines, directTV, dish on her roof, it was there when she moved in over a year ago and i was thinking if i could adapt that somehow or mount something to it, it would not be so obvious as there is already a dish there and i could get a pretty good "direct line of site".

There is a USB wifi device made by Hawking which resembles a small dish, supposed to be good for 5-600 feet.

Gonna have to google that and find the company or website and see whats up.
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=60&ProdID=398
Hmmm.... i wonder how well it would do from inside, not sure how well it would hold up outside on the roof.
If that is what you were talking about....
Here is a whole list of them, i'm going to have to look through them all and find some prices.
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/index.php?CatID=32&FamID=60


rallynavvie
See on her roommates laptop, they can get one connection but it is secure and they don't know who's it is, i told her if she could find a neighbor that was close by and wanted to share internet it would be cheaper and we could set something up.
Maybe even a hardwire.

Because she does not do any kind of gaming or downloading or anything.
At the most just surfing, doing her online stuff and maybe some photos to her myspace page.
LOL!

Okay, thanks for all the input and ideas, ect.

[edDV]

Keep it to proven 2.4 GHz solutions. Otherwise you need to study up on microwave technology to adapt a sat antenna or other things you mentioned.

As for the encrypted neighbor, forget trying to break that. It does show he/she have an antenna that reached the target or can afford cable. Go look at their antenna and do the same.

[Noahtuck]

As for the encrypted neighbor, forget trying to break that. It does show he/she have an antenna that reached the target or can afford cable. Go look at their antenna and do the same.

Who said anything about hacking the one neighbor who had WiFi ??


I never even thought about it, i was just saying with her roommates laptop that was the only connection that showed up, they probably have their own internet and use wireless in their home, i'm sure they are not getting it from the local hotspots otherwise it would not be encrypted.
It's not like they are getting free WiFi from a local hotspot and then retransmitting it and encrypting it... 8)

It's weird though, because i live out in the suburbs/small town, no apt's or condos, duplexes, and have quite a few neighbors around me, and even in my basement i can get 5 wireless networks to show up on any given laptop that anyone brings over to get worked on, 2 of them are encrypted and the other 3 are not...

I was amazed i could get even one wireless network to show up in my basement, seeing as i can't even get my cell phone to work in my basement!!
LOL!!

And i was amazed that more than 1 neighbor had wireless near me!!!

[edDV]

...i was just saying with her roommates laptop that was the only connection that showed up, they probably have their own internet and use wireless in their home, i'm sure they are not getting it from the local hotspots otherwise it would not be encrypted.
It's not like they are getting free WiFi from a local hotspot and then retransmitting it and encrypting it... 8)

They should unless they know how to set up a DMZ outside the local net.

...
I was amazed i could get even one wireless network to show up in my basement, seeing as i can't even get my cell phone to work in my basement!!

The cell tower could be miles away, a neighbors wifi router could be tens of feet away.