How far can you send WIFI

[scottmandue]

Daughter is going on a trip to Brazil, mission trip out in the boonies, main house has Internet. Where the kids are staying is some distance away (still trying to find out) if they setup a WIFI what is the max distance?

Yes I know it will depend on the hub/router, what are the more powerful ones able to do?

Thanks all!

[stomachmonkey]

Do you eat Pringles?

Homebrew antenna shootout

Coffee may be better

http://www.oreillynet.com/etel/blog/2002/02/the_essence_of_community_wirel.html

[id10t]

Using cheap commercial stuff I can get about 50 yards out of my office window onto a large grassy field here on campus. Hook up an antenna I made out of a coffee can and about $10 worth of other stuff, and I can go 1/2 mile before loosing line of sight.

How to build a tin can waveguide antenna

Set one up in the main house pointed in hte proper direction and you should be set.

[Jim Richards]

FCC Enforcement Bureau would love to get a bead on you.

[Paul_Heery]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

FCC Enforcement Bureau would love to get a bead on you.

I believe that Brazil is outside the FCC's jurisdiction.

[Rednine11]

You can get a WiFi signal amplifier and put on the router to boost the signal. I just got one a couple weeks ago for a buddy. We used a one watt amp but stronger ones are available. You could also look at some dish type antennas o r maybe a Yagi

[Jim Richards]

Sure, but is id10t in Brazil?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

FCC Enforcement Bureau would love to get a bead on you.

I believe, IANAL, as long as you don't modify an antenna or amplifier, you're OK. Based on that information, mounting a stock antenna near a reflector is not actually modifying the antenna.

IIRC, there was someone in Hawaii or something like that, who managed to sling a wifi signal a couple of kilometers (between islands) using a USB wifi and a reflector. Actually, the reflector that they used was an Asian deep fry scooper spoon.

I had a room in my house that got a really bad signal from my router. I mounted a parabolic reflector to my antenna and managed a 12dB signal increase which made my circuit reliable. (every 3dB is double the signal strength)

[masraum]

maybe it was New Zealand, I can't remember, it's been years since I read the article.

http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/

[john70t]

A friend told me a relative of his was once travelling through a different city(Chicago). Somehow someone jumpered onto his cell signal to download a lot of internet bytes.

He reportedly ended up with a huge bill after the company(ATT&T) apparently decided he was the most collectable.
It ended up on his credit report, still uncollected as of this day.

Cellular company internal security negligence plus fraud=1.
Victim/consumer/citizen=0

[masraum]

I used the reflector made from the template on this site.

www.freeantennas.com

[MysticLlama]

Line of sight, with a couple of good radios, 5-10km, up to 50km with really good antennas. Trees and such dampen that real fast though.

LocoM2 - NanoStation Loco M2

[Tim Hancock]

My wireless router is in my garage window facing my shop which is about 75 yards away. My newer laptop can pick up the signal even while in my metal sided building. My old lap top only would recieve a signal if it was in the window facing the garage. I bought a fairly cheap little plastic dish looking gizmo at BestBuy or CircuitCity and placed it in the window facing my garage and bought a long USB extension to plug into my laptop on my workbench.... works great. My neighbor who is probably 200 yards away can get a decent signal using the same store bought dish gizmo even when using it in a room that is two walls deep into her house. I also have noticed that I can see another neighbor's signal nearly 1 mile across a field from us with this little dish gizmo.

[id10t]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

My wireless router is in my garage window facing my shop which is about 75 yards away. My newer laptop can pick up the signal even while in my metal sided building. My old lap top only would recieve a signal if it was in the window facing the garage. I bought a fairly cheap little plastic dish looking gizmo at BestBuy or CircuitCity and placed it in the window facing my garage and bought a long USB extension to plug into my laptop on my workbench.... works great. My neighbor who is probably 200 yards away can get a decent signal using the same store bought dish gizmo even when using it in a room that is two walls deep into her house. I also have noticed that I can see another neighbor's signal nearly 1 mile across a field from us with this little dish gizmo.

Yup, all about line of sight. Heck, there is an open Access Point on the ISS that you can connect to, if you can get your equipment lined up and time it right.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I bought a fairly cheap little plastic dish looking gizmo .....

My neighbor who is probably 200 yards away can get a decent signal using the same store bought dish gizmo even when using it in a room that is two walls deep into her house. I also have noticed that I can see another neighbor's signal nearly 1 mile across a field from us with this little dish gizmo.

A reflector can do some pretty amazing things with signals.

[Tim Hancock]

Here is the one I have.

Hawking Technologies

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Here is the one I have.

Hawking Technologies

Thanks! What make/model router are you using?

[slakjaw]

Why would the FCC care as long as you don't go above 500 miliwatts your fine.go get a stupid ham radio license and you and use a lot more power.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Thanks! What make/model router are you using?

I don't have the model number as I am at work, but it was just a cheap Netgear brand unit that our internet provider sells.... Nothing special, but it has been working now for probably 3 years or so and it is sitting on a little shelf I made which positions it up against our unheated garage window that faces my shop.