Advice on WIFI antenna/adaptor

I need the best possible chance of picking up a WIFI hotspot about 500
yds but through trees. Is it correct to assume that the highest gain (in
dba terms) will give the best result? If so, what is the highest anyone
has found and what sort of range achieved? 2.4 Ghz and preferably USB.
Nick

about 500
> yds but through trees.

If line of sight (LOS) isn't possible then you had better make another plan.

On Jan 23, 1:23 pm, NB <nb...@zaggle.co.uk> wrote:
> I need the best possible chance of picking up a WIFI hotspot about 500
> yds but through trees. Is it correct to assume that the highest gain (in
> dba terms) will give the best result? If so, what is the highest anyone
> has found and what sort of range achieved? 2.4 Ghz and preferably USB.
> Nick

Consider getting an antenna up and over the trees. You can get a
Wireless ethernet bridge built into a directional antenna box and put
it up on a pole, then run an ethernet cable down to your pc or router.

Steve

On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:23:18 +0000, NB <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I need the best possible chance of picking up a WIFI hotspot about 500
>yds but through trees.

How thick are the trees? What type of trees? Any see ANYTHING
through the trees? How far? You know....numbers please?

Trees do a great job of absorbing 2.4GHz. Wet trees do an even better
job. I have a neighborhood WLAN in a forest. There's one 50 meter
path that goes through a dense part of a redwood, oak, and douglas fir
forest. The leaves are a problem, but the trunks are fatal. I found
a path through the trunks, but when the leaves get wet, it's dead.

>Is it correct to assume that the highest gain (in
>dba terms) will give the best result?

Yep. Bigger gain is better. However several thousand times zero is
still zero.

>If so, what is the highest anyone
>has found and what sort of range achieved? 2.4 Ghz and preferably USB.

USB is the interface to the wireless adapter. There are several
around that have an RF (usually RP-SMA) connector that can be attached
to a big 24dBi barbeque grill antenna. In other words, these are
seperate items.

USB client adapter with SMA:
<http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=16186&cat=0&page=1>

Typical 24dBi dish:
<http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=2894&cat=251&page=1>

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# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 (E-Mail Removed)
# http://802.11junk.com (E-Mail Removed)
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

> Trees do a great job of absorbing 2.4GHz. Wet trees do an even better
> job.

Heh, and a setup done in winter, while there's no leaves on the trees, will
likely fail to work come spring time. Learned that lesson myself when a 60'
telescoping pole setup in the Fall just wasn't quite high enough to overcome
the leaves on a nearby ridge line when Spring returned.