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Yay! Finally got Wi-Fi in the barn :)

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allenlook
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Yay! Finally got Wi-Fi in the barn :)

Postby allenlook » Sun Jun 11, 2006 11:09 am

Finally got the Linksys WAP54G out in the barn and talking to the WRT54G in the house in repeater mode, and then after several weeks of $#$#%! I finally got Linux to work with WPA on a spare laptop to make it all reasonably secure.

I'm using a really old laptop so Linux was really my only secure alternative...

Now when I'm working on the tractor and can't remember something like the head bolt torque order, I can just log on right from the barn and look you guys up :D

Save me a lot of walking and saves the rugs from a lot of muddy foot traffic in the house!
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Postby Rudi » Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:43 pm

Allen:

Question...

How far is the garage from the house... does it need a clear shot line of site?

I am thinking about putting a wireless card in the shop computer and the distance has me a little hesitant... about 150 feet as the crow flies...
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Postby John *.?-!.* cub owner » Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:57 pm

Allen, thoise of us that can't get high speed are thinking of paying you a cal. With a couple of ballbats. :lol:
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Postby allenlook » Mon Jun 12, 2006 8:28 am

Rudi, line-of-sight is extremely important with wi-fi, especially with the older technologies like 802.11b (the 11-megabit technology.)

With 802.11g (the 54 megabit kind which is currently available) the range was extended somewhat, and with the new 802.11n (which you should avoid for now until it is ratified) the range is even better and funky reflections are actually taken advantage of by the firmware.

Because different brands have wildly differing performance characteristics, I can only say you will have to try and see what performance you get. Having your wireless router or access point in a window facing the barn will maximize your range. Access points in repeater mode (and with larger antennas than a PC card) will help tremendously. I would suggest buying a card that you can return in the event it does not reach the barn.

My barn is actually only 15 feet from the house, but in order to serve the house well both upstairs and downstairs (and over 4400 square feet) I had to put the wireless router in the center of the house, placing several walls between it and the barn. In addition, the barn is steel-sided and completely double-foil-faced insulated, which really kills the signal (and my cell phone) so I placed a wireless access point in the barn in such a way that it has a clear line of sight out a barn window toward the house, and it repeats the signal from the house inside the barn.

Both devices are capable of the new WPA and WPA2 security protocol, and the laptop is also (which is important to me because I connect to my corporate network often and don't want to make a "hole" into the network, which would look really bad considering I'm the Director of Global Information Technologies.)
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Postby Rudi » Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:39 am

Allen:

Ok.. I understand, and you are right.. a hole wouldn't look so good :!: :roll: :oops: :roll: :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol:

K, I am running a Cisco (LinkSys) WAP which is in my basement. There is 3600sqft of floors on 3 levels.. a lot of wood in the way.. the WAP is 2/3 to the end of the house.. But.. It does have a clear line of sight to the shop via the basement window... which was strategically places 20 years ago before the advent of all this neat stuff.....

I am wondering if I should use an external mount repeater antenna.. that might do the job.. and have it placed say at the edge of my deck? The cableing can be waterproofed, that is no problem.. do you think that would be useful? it would then reduce the line of sight to the WAP to somewhat under 20 feet.. provided the external repeater is "capable in capturing the signal from over 100 feet away - unobstructed".. :?:
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Postby allenlook » Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:20 pm

Do you have a Linksys or a Cisco wireless access point in the house? I know that Cisco now owns Linksys, but they still sell both brands of equipment, and the Cisco branded equipment is what we use exclusively at work worldwide. It is much more expensive, but it is also extremely more capable and manageable.

Send me the actual brand name on the box and the model number and I can tell you whether or not it will accept an external antenna and what type of connector you can use. I should think that a good antenna, placed inside the basement window with a clear view across the yard would be all that you'd need to reach all the way to the barn.

If you have one of the WRT or WAP Linksys units, there are a lot of sites on the web that can help you hack the unit to get much more range out of it. There are even Linux-based operating system upgrades you can do to the units between V1 and V4 of the firmware :)
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Postby Rudi » Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:23 pm

Allen:

It is actually a Linksys 2.4ghz 802.11b Wireless-B Access Point. Model WAP11.

It says that it can

1. Create an 11Mbps Wireless-B (802.11b) network in your home or office.
2. Also wirelessly bridges multiple wired networks across rooms, bloors or buildings.
3. Advanced features: AP Client, Point-to-Point or Poit-to-Multipoint Bridging, and Repeater Mode.
Up to 128-bit encryption and wireless MAC address filtering.

Doesn't list firmware version... though.

Pretty good for the coin... now if I can get it to work in the shop, I am laughing.. :!: :wink: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Postby allenlook » Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:08 am

I just gave one of those away to my brother, it's a good unit because it works in all different modes, and because the antennae are external and replaceable/extensible.

An interesting website with pictures of the inside of the unit (and instructions on how to take it apart) is here but I don't think you need to take your unit apart :)

I would suggest getting an 11-Mbps networking card that supports WEP 128-bit encryption, installing it onto your laptop, and then use the free program NetStumbler to monitor your signal strength with several different locations of the WAP, and even as you walk towards and into the barn. Through trial and error you may find a very workable solution.
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Postby DuxburyFarmall » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:52 am

the barn is steel-sided and completely double-foil-faced insulated, which really kills the signal (and my cell phone) so I placed a wireless access point in the barn in such a way that it has a clear line of sight out a barn window toward the house, and it repeats the signal from the house inside the barn.


If you cover the windows and doors with a mesh screen you will have an almost perfect Faraday cage in which no signal will come in or go out from the sides or top (the ground may have some signal leakage).
:lol: :lol:

(Sorry I couldn't resist being a geek)

I also have a linksys but it is the 802.11g and it can reach the barn but I don't like to take my laptop in there it is still too new for that duty. Pehaps I will bring the old desktop out there some day when I no longer care if it dies.

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Rudi
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Postby Rudi » Thu Jun 15, 2006 10:21 pm

Chad:

That is what I intend to do. Gonna put a tower in the shop...

Alan, I will try NetStumbler.

Thanks
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Postby allenlook » Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:16 am

You betcha :)
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