Long Range WIFI

I'm one of the unfortunate people that lives in a rural area without
high speed internet access. My dial up is 22K, which gives me ample
time to get other things done while I surf. I could get a satellite
system but this is $60/ month with up front costs. I have a Flyin J
truck stop about 4.5 miles from my home and they charge $200/year for
500Kbs. I was wanting to find out if anyone had any experience in using
a antenna to access WIFI at a distance like this. I actually have a
10ft satellite dish I could use but don't know if the mesh is to wide
for a 2.4Ghz wave length. I live on flat ground with some tree lines
and buildings between me and the truck stop. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.

Tim

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

In <(E-Mail Removed) .com> on 18 Oct 2005
10:13:53 -0700, "Dsmoker" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I'm one of the unfortunate people that lives in a rural area without
>high speed internet access. My dial up is 22K, which gives me ample
>time to get other things done while I surf. I could get a satellite
>system but this is $60/ month with up front costs. I have a Flyin J
>truck stop about 4.5 miles from my home and they charge $200/year for
>500Kbs. I was wanting to find out if anyone had any experience in using
>a antenna to access WIFI at a distance like this. I actually have a
>10ft satellite dish I could use but don't know if the mesh is to wide
>for a 2.4Ghz wave length. I live on flat ground with some tree lines
>and buildings between me and the truck stop. Any help would be greatly
>appreciated.

Another possible option, if available in your location, is cellular. Both
Verizon (CDMA 1x/EV-DO) and Cingular (GPRS/EGPRS/EDGE) have unlimited data
packages at $60/month with speeds that may be far higher than your dialup
(100-300 Kbps). T-Mobile has an unlimited data package at $20/month with a
voice plan or $30/month without a voice plan, but current speeds are limited
to GPRS (40-50 Kbps).

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Dsmoker wrote:

> I'm one of the unfortunate people that lives in a rural area without
> high speed internet access. My dial up is 22K, which gives me ample
> time to get other things done while I surf. I could get a satellite
> system but this is $60/ month with up front costs. I have a Flyin J
> truck stop about 4.5 miles from my home and they charge $200/year for
> 500Kbs. I was wanting to find out if anyone had any experience in using
> a antenna to access WIFI at a distance like this. I actually have a
> 10ft satellite dish I could use but don't know if the mesh is to wide
> for a 2.4Ghz wave length. I live on flat ground with some tree lines
> and buildings between me and the truck stop. Any help would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Tim
With anything but an absolutely clear line of sight between you and
the truck stop Wifi simply will not work. Sorry.

David
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Find a local ham radio operator to ask about antenna location. Here's a
page about using a satellite dish for wifi,
http://wireless.binarywolf.com/parabolic.htm

Elmer

How many other people / houses are between you and the truck stop?
It may not be possible with the treelines blocking your line of sight, but
you could relay the signal through houses or other people along the way. By
doing that, you could blast a signal through the trees and it would be more
likley to work because of the shorter distance.

You could share the connection and divide the cost among the people or
provide them with free internet.
If you can negotiate and create a relay system, you should be able to get
through the trees.


"Dsmoker" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> I'm one of the unfortunate people that lives in a rural area without
> high speed internet access. My dial up is 22K, which gives me ample
> time to get other things done while I surf. I could get a satellite
> system but this is $60/ month with up front costs. I have a Flyin J
> truck stop about 4.5 miles from my home and they charge $200/year for
> 500Kbs. I was wanting to find out if anyone had any experience in using
> a antenna to access WIFI at a distance like this. I actually have a
> 10ft satellite dish I could use but don't know if the mesh is to wide
> for a 2.4Ghz wave length. I live on flat ground with some tree lines
> and buildings between me and the truck stop. Any help would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Tim
>

The truck stop has (2) directional antennas, which are only mounted
about
10Ft high and pointed at the truck lot. I do not know how much power
they are sending out so I don't know what is available.

Tim

Dsmoker <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> The truck stop has (2) directional antennas, which are only mounted
> about
> 10Ft high and pointed at the truck lot. I do not know how much power
> they are sending out so I don't know what is available.

Are those pointed toward you?

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

Unfortunately they are about 60 degrees to the west of me. I think the
beam is pretty narrow so this limits my ability to catch the signal.

Tim