Looking to extend wifi signal to property opposite me.

rustynuts

rustynuts

rustynuts

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3 Sep 2011
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Hi

My brother in law has just got himself a flat and its bang opposite our house. Now to help him out with bills and what not i am going to let him use our wifi connection.

Iv got Virgin Media 50mb with their Super Hub. On my iphone i can pick up my router from his flat but the signal is weak and does drop out every now and then.

Networking isnt my strong point. But what would he need to be able to get a good stable connection to my router? Whats on the market these days thats not a lot of money but good at what it does.

He will only really need it for web browsing and xbox..
 
I use TP-LINK for all my wifi clients. It's cheap, it's built soild (one unit has not been rebooted in 4 years), can be hacked (Open WRT or DD-WRT) and just works! Oh and power over the ethernet is great for putting the AP right out there.

You can use an AP to make a 2nd wifi network that for him.

Ether 150 or 300 mbps

TP-Link TL-WA701ND 150Mbps Wireless-N Access Point

TP-Link TL-WA801ND 300Mbps Wireless-N Access Point

They are the 2 i'd recomend. You can keep the stock aerials or change them. You can always make a ''windsurfer'' to give some parabolic effect to beam direct to him on the cheap. Beer/coke can is the cheap way and works. You can alway buy a proper item off ebay but out the box it works.

I have the 300 mbps version and have over 1000 ft with it!

1st time setup is off, you have to chnage pc/laptop ip setup on the ethernet but once setup you can revert back.
 
What sort distance are we looking at between buildings?

A friend has virgin superhub, & on the 5Ghz band he can get a usable signal to his shed about 18mtrs.
 
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Just grass and a small path..

Taken from my living room window. HIs flat is the upstairs building across..
 
Looks easy enough from window to window. As stated a windsurfer, or half a can at each end should help get enough signal when using a standard omni antenna.

A directional antenna might be of use if you want a stronger signal but remember that a 2.4Ghz antenna will be sized differently to a 5Ghz one so you'll need to buy, or make, accordingly.

I would definitely look to buy a separate access point/router to create a different network and SSID which you can then control and limit if need be.
 
I have to option of creating a guest account on my virgin router which i already have done. Iv given him 10mb which will be more than enough for what he needs it for.

Ill look into the windsurfer stuff you have mentioned. Thanks a lot guys..
 
Don't mess about with beer cans and stuff like that - leave that to the people that like to fiddle and tinker. A half decent 10dB directional panel antenna can be had for about £20. Couple that with a cheap router running DD-WRT in his house in WDS mode connected to your superhub.

Job done.
 
Half decent 10dbi, more 14dbi for £10 delivered job done!

Windsurfer is dead easy, quick and cheap and works. It can be done in the time it takes to consume the contents of the can.

You can also maybe look at canantena as well on cheap directional. £1 co-op dog food can works!
 
As mentioned, a small direction antenna attached to a wireless router (with DHCP turned off, making it just an access point) would do the job. Make sure the antenna will fit the router though, as some don't have removable aerials.. there are generally two types of antenna connection.
 
Nice one guys, given me a lot to think about. I like to tinker to maybe ill have a go at that can trick, probably wont use that method though as he has his kids on a weekend and they will prob just rip it apart lol
 
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