Noob: Odd request?

Hi All

I need something to boost my ~9% signal to something more stable to ensure I
get access to the LAN.

The LAN setup is very odd. Site is outdoors (wi-fi between houses, with
frequent strong sunshine - just mentioning this in case there's any
atmospheric reason for what we're experiencing) and there's no ability to
change any of the existing hardware elsewhere on the network (not within our
domain of control).

We connect through our 802.11g equipment (I understand there's a 150 foot
working radius in this protocol and we're on about the 135 foot mark, so
that kind of makes sense that we've only got 9%).

Can I get some kind of omni-directional high gain antenna (omni-directional
needed maybe because our house is at the top of a hill with the closest
neighbour's aerial about 10-30 degrees below us (I have to guess the drop,
but its rather steep)).

Does anyone know of any product suitable to amplify / boost our access to
hopefully more like 25-50% because we can't physically get any nearer from
our property and it seems rather rude to have to ask the neighbour to update
their equipment to get our access to the network?

Thanks for any good advice.

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:56:13 -0000, <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed)>:

>I need something to boost my ~9% signal to something more stable to ensure I
>get access to the LAN.
>
>The LAN setup is very odd. Site is outdoors (wi-fi between houses, with
>frequent strong sunshine - just mentioning this in case there's any
>atmospheric reason for what we're experiencing) and there's no ability to
>change any of the existing hardware elsewhere on the network (not within our
>domain of control).
>
>We connect through our 802.11g equipment (I understand there's a 150 foot
>working radius in this protocol and we're on about the 135 foot mark, so
>that kind of makes sense that we've only got 9%).
>
>Can I get some kind of omni-directional high gain antenna (omni-directional
>needed maybe because our house is at the top of a hill with the closest
>neighbour's aerial about 10-30 degrees below us (I have to guess the drop,
>but its rather steep)).

Either an omni or a directional can be aimed to maximize pickup at
whatever angle you need. An omni is only needed if you want to connect
to different radios in different horizontal directions. Otherwise a
directional antenna is recommended: higher gain and reduced
interference. You may also be able to use a reflector with your
existing antenna <http://www.freeantennas.com/>.

>Does anyone know of any product suitable to amplify / boost our access to
>hopefully more like 25-50% because we can't physically get any nearer from
>our property and it seems rather rude to have to ask the neighbour to update
>their equipment to get our access to the network?

If not a reflector, the I would suggest a simple directional antenna.
For example, the Hawking HAI8DD gives about 6 dBi improvement over a
standard "rubber duck" antenna, for a range improvement of about 3x.
<http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=58&ProdID=307>
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Fast_Fixes_to_Wi-Fi_Problems#Better_antenna_.28which_helps_both_sen ding_and_receiving.29>

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi All
>
> I need something to boost my ~9% signal to something more stable to ensure
I
> get access to the LAN.
>
> The LAN setup is very odd. Site is outdoors (wi-fi between houses, with
> frequent strong sunshine - just mentioning this in case there's any
> atmospheric reason for what we're experiencing) and there's no ability to
> change any of the existing hardware elsewhere on the network (not within
our
> domain of control).
>
> We connect through our 802.11g equipment (I understand there's a 150 foot
> working radius in this protocol and we're on about the 135 foot mark, so
> that kind of makes sense that we've only got 9%).
>
> Can I get some kind of omni-directional high gain antenna
(omni-directional
> needed maybe because our house is at the top of a hill with the closest
> neighbour's aerial about 10-30 degrees below us (I have to guess the drop,
> but its rather steep)).
>
> Does anyone know of any product suitable to amplify / boost our access to
> hopefully more like 25-50% because we can't physically get any nearer from
> our property and it seems rather rude to have to ask the neighbour to
update
> their equipment to get our access to the network?
>
> Thanks for any good advice.

Try replacing the omni with a directional antenna, that will give a bit more
of gain.
Since it looks like you want to go in a certain direction (towards the
neighbors house) a directional will work. And sine you state that the
neighbor is lower, try a little downtilt on the antenna, instead of having
the antenna going out towards the horizon.

>
>

> Either an omni or a directional can be aimed to maximize pickup at
> whatever angle you need. An omni is only needed if you want to connect
> to different radios in different horizontal directions. Otherwise a
> directional antenna is recommended: higher gain and reduced
> interference. You may also be able to use a reflector with your
> existing antenna <http://www.freeantennas.com/>.

Thanks all for the useful responses, I'll give them all a try.

Cheers!