WiFi how far?

Logla · May 24, 2004, 08:40 PM

Was amazed this afternoon by my new iPAQ/router combo.

The router is situated at the back of the house.

I was sitting in my van at the front of the house - approx 60-70 feet away from the router with 2 large brick walls between us. Add that to the faraday cage effect of the van killing the signal strenght a bit.

I had almost full signal on the iPAQ - I'll be testing out the max distances by the end of the week.

krazy1 · May 24, 2004, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Logla
Was amazed this afternoon by my new iPAQ/router combo.

The router is situated at the back of the house.

I was sitting in my van at the front of the house - approx 60-70 feet away from the router with 2 large brick walls between us. Add that to the faraday cage effect of the van killing the signal strenght a bit.

I had almost full signal on the iPAQ - I'll be testing out the max distances by the end of the week.

With my Buffalo WBR2-G54 AP and my Buffalo Wireless card on my laptop I can get the signal 200Ft away. If I put the extended attena on the card I can get almost 400ft. If I use my Senao SL-2511CD PLUS EXT2 card I can be 700ft away!! Senao Wireless The beauty of the Buffalo AP is I can control the power of the signal. I have mine backed down to 25% and with that I get about 50Ft. So that way if anyone wants to "try" (and I do stress try) to get on my wireless network they will have to stand in my yard to get the signal.

Logla · May 24, 2004, 09:16 PM

damn - I wish the buffalo stuff was easy to get hold of here in the UK.

Probably way too expensive though. I had though of setting up a mast with the buffalo kits, and beaming my signal to my dads place cos they couldn't get broadband up until 2 months ago and he only lives down the road from me.

I suppose my signal strength now explains why every now and again, I lose all internet and the wireless light on the router starts going crazy. I also suppose I should go and introduce myself to my new neighbours 2 doors away. I think he works in IT as well (I saw lots of compaq/HP boxes in the back of his works van a few weeks ago.

If I find him to be attempting hacks on my network - I'll kick his ass.

krazy1 · May 24, 2004, 10:20 PM

I don't know about the UK but Buffalo stuff here is cheap. I got the AP for $70 and the card for the same. As for the senao card that was $125. So Buffalo is really priced good here.

The_Neon_Cowboy · May 24, 2004, 10:46 PM

btw you can buy repeaters to add even more range

Logla · May 24, 2004, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy
btw you can buy repeaters to add even more range

i could if i could afford it! as far as i know, the prices here are higher than in the US. then take into account the exchange rate an we could be paying 3-4 times more than you guys.

i think this is due to buffalo not having a prope UK distributor

Logla · May 24, 2004, 11:05 PM

btw - forgive the puctuation in my last post - I was on the toilet again

I love wifi

UPDATE:
seems things have changed since I last looked at buffalo.

see here

actually seems very reasonable. I think I might just make a purchase.

FURTHER UPDATE:

I see that they do an antenae with a 3km range. That means I could surf DH, on my PDA - at work. Woohooooooo! (now wheres my credit card?)

krazy1 · May 25, 2004, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy
btw you can buy repeaters to add even more range

Yes you could. I myself am trying to make my range as small as possible... less chance of someone trying to get on my wireless network... but then again if they were able to do that, they would be a super hacker. Here is why:

1) SSID is not broadcast (yes I know Kismet can beat this)
2) Connections are locked down by MAC address. ( I know, MAC's can be spoofed)
3) I am using WPA-PSK with AES and this key changes every 2 min. (WPA at this point is un-crackable and is the strong point of my wireless security. Plus if anyone broke it they would have less then 2 min before the key changed again.

)

So all in all they wil have a hell of a time getting my wireless cracked and plus having a short signal range lets me watch them sit on my front lawn and try.

Logla · May 25, 2004, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by krazy1
having a short signal range lets me watch them sit on my front lawn and try.

Where you can pick them off one by one with a rifle

krazy1 · May 25, 2004, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Logla
Where you can pick them off one by one with a rifle

Naa wait till he connects (or even let him connect) then drop a Virus or trojan on his system

Logla · May 25, 2004, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by krazy1
Naa wait till he connects (or even let him connect) then drop a Virus or trojan on his system

Jeez. You cruel b*stard!

krazy1 · May 25, 2004, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Logla
Jeez. You cruel b*stard!

Hehehe Only when I have to be

Chaos · May 25, 2004, 04:48 PM

Ya I figure if he intrudes your private network, then he is fair game at that point. And moreso in your case sine you know that you have taken steps to prevent the intrusion up front.

Asmoday · May 25, 2004, 04:56 PM

This is very interesting, because i'm looking at a house where i can't get broadband...but a friend of mine who owns a house 7-800meters away, across a meadow(it's free sight) have broadband. This opens up a new possibility for me...

You think it would work with WiFi?

Asmoday · May 25, 2004, 05:22 PM

Oh....Logla how much was that antenna that reached 3 km?

pr0digal jenius · May 25, 2004, 05:35 PM

me and my friend built a wifi antenna out of a stripped out DiSH Networks Dish 500 system and got a good 1-2Km range on it...lol, it looked funny hanging out his window in the parking lot of walmart tho...haha(long story....)

Asmoday · May 25, 2004, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pr0digal jenius
me and my friend built a wifi antenna out of a stripped out DiSH Networks Dish 500 system and got a good 1-2Km range on it...lol, it looked funny hanging out his window in the parking lot of walmart tho...haha(long story....)

interesting....

krazy1 · May 25, 2004, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cartman
This is very interesting, because i'm looking at a house where i can't get broadband...but a friend of mine who owns a house 7-800meters away, across a meadow(it's free sight) have broadband. This opens up a new possibility for me...
You think it would work with WiFi?

Get yourself a Yagi antenna and that will be very possible. My buddy built one for $25 and gets a range of about 900- 1000 meters. Yes the pringles can antenna is simmilar to his but he did tweaks above and beyond that and he has much more control over the antenna power. Here is a good example of a home made project.

EDIT: Keep in mind WiFi is Line of site just like satalite TV... trees and the such can block your signal!!

May 24, 2004, 08:40 PM	#1
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	WiFi how far? Was amazed this afternoon by my new iPAQ/router combo. The router is situated at the back of the house. I was sitting in my van at the front of the house - approx 60-70 feet away from the router with 2 large brick walls between us. Add that to the faraday cage effect of the van killing the signal strenght a bit. I had almost full signal on the iPAQ - I'll be testing out the max distances by the end of the week.

May 24, 2004, 10:20 PM	#4
krazy1 Live from the Dungeon Join Date: May 2003 Location: Between the SubWoofers Posts: 1,395 Rep Power: 0	I don't know about the UK but Buffalo stuff here is cheap. I got the AP for $70 and the card for the same. As for the senao card that was $125. So Buffalo is really priced good here. __________________

May 24, 2004, 10:46 PM	#5
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	btw you can buy repeaters to add even more range __________________

May 24, 2004, 11:05 PM	Thread Starter #7
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	btw - forgive the puctuation in my last post - I was on the toilet again I love wifi UPDATE: seems things have changed since I last looked at buffalo. see here actually seems very reasonable. I think I might just make a purchase. FURTHER UPDATE: I see that they do an antenae with a 3km range. That means I could surf DH, on my PDA - at work. Woohooooooo! (now wheres my credit card?) Last edited by Logla; May 24, 2004 at 11:25 PM.

May 25, 2004, 04:48 PM	#13
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Ya I figure if he intrudes your private network, then he is fair game at that point. And moreso in your case sine you know that you have taken steps to prevent the intrusion up front. __________________

May 24, 2004, 09:16 PM	Thread Starter #3
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	damn - I wish the buffalo stuff was easy to get hold of here in the UK. Probably way too expensive though. I had though of setting up a mast with the buffalo kits, and beaming my signal to my dads place cos they couldn't get broadband up until 2 months ago and he only lives down the road from me. I suppose my signal strength now explains why every now and again, I lose all internet and the wireless light on the router starts going crazy. I also suppose I should go and introduce myself to my new neighbours 2 doors away. I think he works in IT as well (I saw lots of compaq/HP boxes in the back of his works van a few weeks ago. If I find him to be attempting hacks on my network - I'll kick his ass.

May 25, 2004, 04:56 PM	#14
Asmoday Demonic Join Date: May 2002 Location: In the cold, dark north... Posts: 5,198 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	This is very interesting, because i'm looking at a house where i can't get broadband...but a friend of mine who owns a house 7-800meters away, across a meadow(it's free sight) have broadband. This opens up a new possibility for me... You think it would work with WiFi? __________________ How You can help Hardwareheaven by using Digg

May 25, 2004, 05:22 PM	#15
Asmoday Demonic Join Date: May 2002 Location: In the cold, dark north... Posts: 5,198 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Oh....Logla how much was that antenna that reached 3 km? __________________ How You can help Hardwareheaven by using Digg

May 25, 2004, 05:35 PM	#16
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	me and my friend built a wifi antenna out of a stripped out DiSH Networks Dish 500 system and got a good 1-2Km range on it...lol, it looked funny hanging out his window in the parking lot of walmart tho...haha(long story....)