Seeking clarification of free wireless internet hopes

I'm fed up with my crappy dialup internet connection. Now I learn that
I can get wireless internet if I build an antenna and if there is a
signal around my area.

I've read lots of stuff about coffee cantennas and parabolic dish
antennas. I understand how to construct the antenna.

I just installed a wifi card in my pc. As expected it detects no
signal. So, building an antenna is the next step. But first I need
some verication about my chances of success.

I have read that a wifi card can pull in a signal up to, maybe, a
couple hundred feet, a cantenna can get one from a mile or two and a
parabolic dish can reach out 8-10 miles.

There are 3 WIFI hotspots withing about 3 miles of my house. The
closest is about a mile and a quarter.

I can mount a antenna or dish about 15 ft up on a tower.

So my main question is...Is it true that its possible to access the
internet in this way?

If this is possible, I can understand aquiring a signal from a strong
signal source. But is a signal from MY source...my pc and wireless
card...able to get out there to the WIFI hotspot for an upload to the
internet?

What else do I need to know?

sofasurfer wrote:
> There are 3 WIFI hotspots withing about 3 miles of my house. The
> closest is about a mile and a quarter.
>
> What else do I need to know?

How to get authentication or authorization to use their facilities.

On Feb 22, 11:21 pm, DTC <no_spam@move_along_folks.foob> wrote:
> sofasurfer wrote:
> > What else do I need to know?
>
> How to get authentication or authorization to use their facilities.

Don't need it. Perfectly legal...As if that mattered.

sofasurfer wrote:
> I'm fed up with my crappy dialup internet connection. Now I learn that
> I can get wireless internet if I build an antenna and if there is a
> signal around my area.
>
> I've read lots of stuff about coffee cantennas and parabolic dish
> antennas. I understand how to construct the antenna.
>
> I just installed a wifi card in my pc. As expected it detects no
> signal. So, building an antenna is the next step. But first I need
> some verication about my chances of success.
>
> I have read that a wifi card can pull in a signal up to, maybe, a
> couple hundred feet, a cantenna can get one from a mile or two and a
> parabolic dish can reach out 8-10 miles.
>
> There are 3 WIFI hotspots withing about 3 miles of my house. The
> closest is about a mile and a quarter.
>
> I can mount a antenna or dish about 15 ft up on a tower.
>
> So my main question is...Is it true that its possible to access the
> internet in this way?
>
> If this is possible, I can understand aquiring a signal from a strong
> signal source. But is a signal from MY source...my pc and wireless
> card...able to get out there to the WIFI hotspot for an upload to the
> internet?
>
> What else do I need to know?
>
I would think looking from the roof to see if you can see the proposed
source would be a start

>Now I learn that
>I can get wireless internet if I build an antenna and if there is a
>signal around my area.

Uh, so you have no idea if there is a provider nearby? Just
guessing? Are you in the city or what?

Sounds wierd. I guess that you are hoping to get onto some neighbor's
LAN ? Or maybe there are businesses around you?

Steve

On 22 Feb 2007 20:40:20 -0800, in alt.internet.wireless , "sofasurfer"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Feb 22, 11:21 pm, DTC <no_spam@move_along_folks.foob> wrote:
>> sofasurfer wrote:
>> > What else do I need to know?
>>
>> How to get authentication or authorization to use their facilities.
>
>Don't need it.

If they're open hotspots which don't require authentication or
payment,

>Perfectly legal...As if that mattered.

No, actually it'd be a criminal act if you broke into someone's
network or used it without permission, but I guess you knew that.
--
Mark McIntyre

On 22 Feb 2007 17:14:55 -0800, in alt.internet.wireless , "sofasurfer"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I'm fed up with my crappy dialup internet connection. Now I learn that
>I can get wireless internet if I build an antenna and if there is a
>signal around my area.
>
>I've read lots of stuff about coffee cantennas and parabolic dish
>antennas.

oh,oh...

>There are 3 WIFI hotspots withing about 3 miles of my house. The
>closest is about a mile and a quarter.

Do you have line-of-sight to their antenna? Wireless is picky about
LoS.

>So my main question is...Is it true that its possible to access the
>internet in this way?

If you can get signal.

>If this is possible, I can understand aquiring a signal from a strong
>signal source. But is a signal from MY source...my pc and wireless
>card...able to get out there to the WIFI hotspot for an upload to the
>internet?

They won't be sticking up a directional antenna just for you (unless
you're paying them of course) so you may need more signal than they're
transmitting with.
--
Mark McIntyre

On Feb 23, 6:09 am, atec 77 <""atec77 \"@ hotmail.com"> wrote:
> sofasurfer wrote:

> I would think looking from the roof to see if you can see the proposed
> source would be a start

That may be a problem but not sure. The closest hotspot is just barely
visible from my roof. Probably a little better up on the tower.

On Feb 23, 11:48 am, "seaweedsteve" <seaweedst...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Uh, so you have no idea if there is a provider nearby? Just
> guessing? Are you in the city or what?
If you read my post you would see the I said "There are 3 WIFI
hotspots withing about 3 miles of my house. The
closest is about a mile and a quarter."
>
> Sounds wierd.

Not at all.

I guess that you are hoping to get onto some neighbor's
> LAN ?

Thats right...your quessing.

On Feb 23, 12:39 pm, Mark McIntyre <markmcint...@spamcop.net> wrote:
> On 22 Feb 2007 20:40:20 -0800, in alt.internet.wireless , "sofasurfer"
>
> <sofasur...@blclinks.net> wrote:
> >On Feb 22, 11:21 pm, DTC <no_spam@move_along_folks.foob> wrote:
> >> sofasurfer wrote:

> >Don't need it.
>
> If they're open hotspots which don't require authentication or
> payment,

Sounds logical, but I don't see that question in my post.

> >
> No, actually it'd be a criminal act if you broke into someone's
> network or used it without permission, but I guess you knew that.

Did I say I was looking to break into a private network?