How to bounce a singal from hotspot, and remain wireless

I live near a free hotspot. The signal gets weak when I move away from
the window.

My question is whether there is any device that can intensify the
signal and/or bounce it into the apartment?

I guess that an antenna cannot solve the problem, since I will have to
wire it to the machine. Is there any antenna that can leave me
wireless?
Thanks for your advice. Oz.

"Oz Shy" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I live near a free hotspot. The signal gets weak when I move away from
>the window.
>
>My question is whether there is any device that can intensify the
>signal and/or bounce it into the apartment?

Yes, but it probably won't work or fit. It's called a "passive
repeater" or "passive reflector". You align a big plate of flat metal
so that the angle of incidence and angle of reflections are equal an
pointed at both the hotspot and your client radio. If it were light,
you would place a big flat mirror in the window, where you could "see"
the hotspot from where your radio is located. The problem is that the
losses, beamwidth, and aesthetics involved all suggest this would be a
horrible idea. Some alternatives:

1. Use a USB dongle wi-fi device. Hang it out the window.
Officially, you can have 5 meters of cable attached which should get
you somewhat away from the window. Longer cables are possible with
USB hubs and amplified cables. If the signal is still a bit weak with
USB dongle due to the relatively small antenna, use a reflector:
http://www.FreeAnteannas.com

2. Buy a "game adapter" or "wireless client" wireless radio. This
would hang in the window. Instead of a USB cable, this uses an
ethernet cable that would plug into the ethernet port on your
computer. If you have more than one computer, this is a nice way to
go because you can plug in a cheap router (which may be a wireless
router) and allow more than one computer to simultaneously surf the
web.

3. If your wireless device happens to be a PCMCIA or PCI card with an
external RF connector, you can build or buy an externa antenna and run
coax cable to the wireless device. The cable is VERY lossy so you're
probably not going to go much farther than perhaps 3 meters. However,
it's fairly cheap and easy.

4. "Range Extender" or "wireless repeater". This will work and leave
you wirelessly connected. I consider them to be RF polluters but they
will solve you problem. Unfortunately, the standards for implimenting
repeaters is not well defined. You'll probably discover that it only
works with some hardware. If you go this route, make sure you can
easily return or exchange what you purchase.

>I guess that an antenna cannot solve the problem, since I will have to
>wire it to the machine.

I deduce that the machine is a laptop? Is this correct?
Incidentally, you can have more than one wireless device configured in
a laptop. I have one here with a built in Intel 2000BG card and I'm
playing with a Netgear WG511T PCMCIA card. I have to use
"enable/disable" to switch cards. It takes a few seconds to switch,
but it works well enough.

>Is there any antenna that can leave me
>wireless?
>Thanks for your advice. Oz.


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

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>"Oz Shy" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:
>
>>I live near a free hotspot. The signal gets weak when I move away from
>>the window.
>>
>>My question is whether there is any device that can intensify the
>>signal and/or bounce it into the apartment?

Jeff, how about an WAP say like a WRT54G (dd-wrt) as a bridge on an
ethernet cable to the PC? You also gain the advantage of replacable
antennas.
>
>Yes, but it probably won't work or fit. It's called a "passive
>repeater" or "passive reflector". You align a big plate of flat metal
>so that the angle of incidence and angle of reflections are equal an
>pointed at both the hotspot and your client radio. If it were light,
>you would place a big flat mirror in the window, where you could "see"
>the hotspot from where your radio is located. The problem is that the
>losses, beamwidth, and aesthetics involved all suggest this would be a
>horrible idea. Some alternatives:
>
>1. Use a USB dongle wi-fi device. Hang it out the window.
>Officially, you can have 5 meters of cable attached which should get
>you somewhat away from the window. Longer cables are possible with
>USB hubs and amplified cables. If the signal is still a bit weak with
>USB dongle due to the relatively small antenna, use a reflector:
> http://www.FreeAnteannas.com
>
>2. Buy a "game adapter" or "wireless client" wireless radio. This
>would hang in the window. Instead of a USB cable, this uses an
>ethernet cable that would plug into the ethernet port on your
>computer. If you have more than one computer, this is a nice way to
>go because you can plug in a cheap router (which may be a wireless
>router) and allow more than one computer to simultaneously surf the
>web.
>
>3. If your wireless device happens to be a PCMCIA or PCI card with an
>external RF connector, you can build or buy an externa antenna and run
>coax cable to the wireless device. The cable is VERY lossy so you're
>probably not going to go much farther than perhaps 3 meters. However,
>it's fairly cheap and easy.
>
>4. "Range Extender" or "wireless repeater". This will work and leave
>you wirelessly connected. I consider them to be RF polluters but they
>will solve you problem. Unfortunately, the standards for implimenting
>repeaters is not well defined. You'll probably discover that it only
>works with some hardware. If you go this route, make sure you can
>easily return or exchange what you purchase.
>
>>I guess that an antenna cannot solve the problem, since I will have to
>>wire it to the machine.
>
>I deduce that the machine is a laptop? Is this correct?
>Incidentally, you can have more than one wireless device configured in
>a laptop. I have one here with a built in Intel 2000BG card and I'm
>playing with a Netgear WG511T PCMCIA card. I have to use
>"enable/disable" to switch cards. It takes a few seconds to switch,
>but it works well enough.
>
>>Is there any antenna that can leave me
>>wireless?
>>Thanks for your advice. Oz.
>
>

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:21:37 GMT, (E-Mail Removed) (Rico) wrote:

>Jeff, how about an WAP say like a WRT54G (dd-wrt) as a bridge on an
>ethernet cable to the PC? You also gain the advantage of replacable
>antennas.

That's the same as my item #2 (below).

>>2. Buy a "game adapter" or "wireless client" wireless radio. This
>>would hang in the window. Instead of a USB cable, this uses an
>>ethernet cable that would plug into the ethernet port on your
>>computer. If you have more than one computer, this is a nice way to
>>go because you can plug in a cheap router (which may be a wireless
>>router) and allow more than one computer to simultaneously surf the
>>web.

However, this gives me the oportunity (while waiting for XP to install
on the worlds slowest laptop) to mention that all 802.11 type wireless
is bridging. You can't just say "as a bridge" because literally
everything involved is a bridge of some sorts. What we're both
suggesting is something that has ethernet in, wireless out, and can
talk to an access point in infrastructure mode. That could be a
wireless bridge, wireless client adapter, wireless client bridge, game
adapter, CPE (customer premisis equipment), and various combinations
of these buzzwords. See the FAQ section at:
| http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FAQ_for...ireless_Bridge
for my best guess as to the various bridge mutations available. I'm
sure I forgot to include at least one or two types.

--
# 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

Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> 1. Use a USB dongle wi-fi device. Hang it out the window.
> Officially, you can have 5 meters of cable attached which should get
> you somewhat away from the window. Longer cables are possible with
> USB hubs and amplified cables. If the signal is still a bit weak with
> USB dongle due to the relatively small antenna, use a reflector:
> http://www.FreeAnteannas.com

The 5 meter "repeater" cables at Fry's Electronics ar less than $10 each.
The USB dongle could be in a coffee can, which Jeff doesn't like much, but
I can't see a reflector being better. A friend of mine was shooting a
couple of blocks with a 3lb Yuban coffee can and a five meter cable on a
USB dongle. Two smaller cans gave better gain, but the 3lb can wasn't as
fussy about the direction. The smaller can would drift off target when
mounted to a tripod. He just put the large can on the back of a sofa
pointed toward the window.

Bob Alston's coffee can
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/Computer.htm
Clarence Dold's coffee can
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
I used the turnpoint calculator to decide where to poke the hole.
http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

There are also many haphazard designs on the New Zealand page, using USB
dongles. http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/

Or if you used a standard sized usb adapter, instead of a dongle, you could
easily use the freeantenna reflectors, since it has dipole antennas.

> a laptop. I have one here with a built in Intel 2000BG card and I'm
> playing with a Netgear WG511T PCMCIA card. I have to use
> "enable/disable" to switch cards. It takes a few seconds to switch,
> but it works well enough.

You could run them both, if you wanted to share your connection.

Do you wander through the GUIs to switch cards, or with DevCon bat files?

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

On Sat, 4 Feb 2006 01:13:15 +0000 (UTC), (E-Mail Removed)
wrote:

>> a laptop. I have one here with a built in Intel 2000BG card and I'm
>> playing with a Netgear WG511T PCMCIA card. I have to use
>> "enable/disable" to switch cards. It takes a few seconds to switch,
>> but it works well enough.

That should be Intel 2200BG. Sorry.

>You could run them both, if you wanted to share your connection.

Yep. I've built a wireless bridge/repeater and a wireless router with
two cards in one machine. As I recall, it works as long as both cards
don't try to connect to the same access point at the same time.

>Do you wander through the GUIs to switch cards, or with DevCon bat files?

GUI juggling on the system tray or in the Network CPL window. I
wasn't trying to be efficient.

I tried to connect simulatenously to the same router with both
wireless cards. That actually worked. However, Windoze apparently
(not sure) would only allow one route to the default gateway and would
always select the one I enabled last. The other card just sat there
with no traffic. I should play more with multiple wireless devices to
see how they work, but I had to deliver the laptop to a customer
today.

--
# 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

Thanks for your detailed reply. If I understand you correctly, only
option 4. above applies as long as I don't want to use cables attached
to the laptops (remain truley wireless inside the apartment).

Can you please refer me to a web page with different models of "range
extenders" or "wireless repeaters"?

Also, how these are configured? Since this hotspot is public, I guess
that I will not know its IP address etc. Will these extenders bounce
any signal from hotspots to my laptops inside the apartment?

Thanks again, Oz.

[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <(E-Mail Removed)> on Sat, 04 Feb 2006 02:36:31
GMT, Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I tried to connect simulatenously to the same router with both
>wireless cards. That actually worked. However, Windoze apparently
>(not sure) would only allow one route to the default gateway and would
>always select the one I enabled last. The other card just sat there
>with no traffic. I should play more with multiple wireless devices to
>see how they work, but I had to deliver the laptop to a customer
>today.

You need to use something like Multilink or 3rd party software.

--
Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR ALT.INTERNET.WIRELESS AT
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FAQ_for_alt.internet.wireless>

I had the same problem with weak signals. The best way to fix this is
with a range expander/ repeater. The one I bought at Staples was
wireless g range expander made by linksys. It is 99.00 + tax. My
signal went from very weak to excellent on one laptop; the other went
from very weak(no signal) to 'very good' signal.
I would recommend Staples because you'll have no trouble returning it
if it does not do the job.
linksys model wre54g wireless g range expander.
(use the auto- config button on it to set it up)