antenna pointing

[deane1935]

I am installing a WAO Router(Linksys) in my house and a WAP(Linksys) in my daughters house across the road. It is about 250 feet and I bought a Signal Booster(Linksys) also. The setup works fine from my LR down to my basement but no connection when I take her pc to her house. My question which way should the builtin antennas be pointing. Straight up, to the side or pointing at her house. Thanks for any help. Deane

straight up | | for best results.

[kwebb]

So your trying to associate at 250 feet through multiple walls? Doesn't matter what polarization you use, or a cheap 100 mW amp. Not happening. You'll need directionals on both ends, not the dipole omnis that come with standard SOHO wireless equipment. Even then you'll be a bit lucky if you don't have line of sight. The amp your using is still very low power, 100 milliwatt. You'd need that on both sides by the way if you don't want to go directional with your antenna. That still won't make the link but putting an amp on one side of a longish point to point is well...pointless. Scuse the pun but whoever told you what your trying will work doesn't know a whole lot about low power microwave.

[kevinss]

Originally posted by kwebb
So your trying to associate at 250 feet through multiple walls? Doesn't matter what polarization you use, or a cheap 100 mW amp. Not happening. You'll need directionals on both ends, not the dipole omnis that come with standard SOHO wireless equipment. Even then you'll be a bit lucky if you don't have line of sight. The amp your using is still very low power, 100 milliwatt. You'd need that on both sides by the way if you don't want to go directional with your antenna. That still won't make the link but putting an amp on one side of a longish point to point is well...pointless. Scuse the pun but whoever told you what your trying will work doesn't know a whole lot about low power microwave.

Sounds like someone has their AR license

73 kc8bgu

[deane1935]

I have line of sight. Router is setting in the window at my house , pc with ap setting in window at her house. No screens and no trees. Still can't communicate. Need tuning? or directional antennas(ordered).

[MDS]

take a look here http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448

[kwebb]

You say you had it working already so I assume you know you should have the remote AP, the child bridge, in a bridging mode. Since your parent device is an AP the client would be in a workgroup bridge mode, or client mode as many of the SOHO players call it.

You have to disregard what the specs say on the side of the box. For the most part anyway. If it works here but not there, and you haven't changed any settings, then you have a problem with distance and/or obstructions. Since you say you have line of sight it counds like a distance issue. A couple of yagis (directional antennas) should solve that problem. At that distance something low gain like 5-7 dBi should be plenty. You could use a patch as well. Cushcraft makes good patch antennas that would work for you, though the beamwidth of most patches would be a little wide for what your trying to do. You could also go the "Cantenna" route but I generally discourage folks from making their own microwave antennas. Lot of people do it though and have success.

[deane1935]

Found a post somewhere about signal strength. I put an aluminum pie tin behind(made a parabola) one of the 2 antennas on my router and it works great. I get a signal strength of 80% .Thanks for all the responses. Deane

[phenious]

I heard a pringles can can work wonders. I am gonna probably end up buying 2 DLink 108Mbit Wireless routers and 2 of their Yagi Antenas for a link between two apartments about 100 yards apart. Sould be good fun...

-: phenious :-

[StealthyV]

instead of building your own antenna in a Pringles can, how 'bout buying one from ThinkGeek. it's called the Cantenna
and is quite cool. it's already made, tested, and will work!
I haven't tried it, but it even comes on a tripod!
and as JP always says, CHICKS DIG IT

~Branson