Which antenna best for panel antenna

There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my roof.
Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is pointed
downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am approx
perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the right
equipment for that.

Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide to
which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the tv
satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna better
since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their antenna. Others
nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with simple home made
cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to trim that seems to be
covering a part of the field between me and their antenna.

I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of their
setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not want
people using it for free, only businesses.

If one looks around on Google drawings will be found
for various antennas. I suppose that the most successful
would be the parabola. In general it receives parallel
RF input and focuses it in much the same way that when
capturing light rays. The focus has to be found, and is
a little touchy but it could be calculated or found by
experimentation. But, at 1/2 Km. I would have no problem
connecting up with my USB device on a six foot cable
which carries only data to the USB PORT. I travel and
use many free hotel and other Wi-Fi APS at that distance
with pretty good luck....Luck!!!

Hi
You can try any Highly Directional Antenna that is intended to work with
2.4GHz signal.
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"everyman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news9k$(E-Mail Removed)...
> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my roof.
> Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is pointed
> downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am approx
> perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the right
> equipment for that.
>
> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide to
> which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the tv
> satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna better
> since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their antenna. Others
> nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with simple home made
> cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to trim that seems to be
> covering a part of the field between me and their antenna.
>
> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of their
> setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not want
> people using it for free, only businesses.

everyman wrote:
> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my roof.
> Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is pointed
> downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am approx
> perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the right
> equipment for that.
>
> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide to
> which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the tv
> satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna better
> since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their antenna. Others
> nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with simple home made
> cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to trim that seems to be
> covering a part of the field between me and their antenna.
>
> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of their
> setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not want
> people using it for free, only businesses.

It doesn't work the way you seem to think from the subject line. It's
all about the signal strength and the signal quality from the access
point to your client device, and back again. You can improve the signal
receive strength and the signal send strength through a good antenna,
doesn't matter if it's a panel, parabola, can or whatever. Look at the
dbi rating. If that's accurate, there's absolutely nothing to do with
which type of antenna it's associated with. Some of the inexpensive
panel antennas you can buy on eBay are good deals. If you want to build
your own, lots of info available.

everyman wrote:
> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my roof.
> Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is pointed
> downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am approx
> perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the right
> equipment for that.

If it is a "Panel Antenna" and you are perpendicular to it then you will
probably be outside its "Beam Width" and unlikely to be able to connect
via this antenna.It is probably a directional antenna used to provide
wifi access for those in the Plaza.
>
> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide to
> which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the tv
> satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna better
> since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their antenna. Others
> nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with simple home made
> cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to trim that seems to be
> covering a part of the field between me and their antenna.
>
> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of their
> setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not want
> people using it for free, only businesses.
If this is true then they will prevent your access no matter how you try
to connect to it.

everyman wrote:

> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my roof.
> Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is pointed
> downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am approx
> perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the right
> equipment for that.
>
> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide to
> which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the tv
> satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna better
> since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their antenna. Others
> nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with simple home made
> cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to trim that seems to be
> covering a part of the field between me and their antenna.
>
> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of their
> setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not want
> people using it for free, only businesses.

This question, or one suspiciously similar to it, was covered in
excrucitaing detail about two months ago. See thread at
http://tinyurl.com/9ngzy

nice try. this guy probably works for the company which brags about giving
residents free access then tries to obstruct people who want to use it,
haha. Tell you and your workers you will be getting a STRONG signal
sometime soon.

Frank <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:dpgbmo$15k$(E-Mail Removed):

> everyman wrote:
>> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my roof.
>> Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is pointed
>> downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am approx
>> perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the right
>> equipment for that.
>
> If it is a "Panel Antenna" and you are perpendicular to it then you will
> probably be outside its "Beam Width" and unlikely to be able to connect
> via this antenna.It is probably a directional antenna used to provide
> wifi access for those in the Plaza.
>>
>> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
>> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide to
>> which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the tv
>> satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna better
>> since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their antenna. Others
>> nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with simple home made
>> cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to trim that seems to be
>> covering a part of the field between me and their antenna.
>>
>> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
>> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of their
>> setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not want
>> people using it for free, only businesses.
> If this is true then they will prevent your access no matter how you try
> to connect to it.

Guess you do not know the answer to the question: what design
characteristics make for a good 2GHZ, probably dish, antenna. I wrote
one company that sells these things and their "salesman" did not even
know. It is very funny, whenever there is relatively new technology that
crops up how most people using it do not really understand it, and some
think they are guardians of some kind of secret key that only the noble
are privileged to use.

"Jack \(MVP-Networking\)." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> Hi
> You can try any Highly Directional Antenna that is intended to work
> with 2.4GHz signal.
> Jack (MVP-Networking).
>
> "everyman" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news9k$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my
>> roof. Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is
>> pointed downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am
>> approx perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the
>> right equipment for that.
>>
>> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
>> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide
>> to which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the
>> tv satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna
>> better since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their
>> antenna. Others nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with
>> simple home made cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to
>> trim that seems to be covering a part of the field between me and
>> their antenna.
>>
>> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
>> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of
>> their setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not
>> want people using it for free, only businesses.
>
>

You falsely assume I have not thought of that factor, which is easily
provided for. Like I said they will be getting some STRONG signals
sometime soon, with or without good answers from this group. We'll see how
that effects their secret operation.

Rôgêr <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:43bb8b15$0$18436$(E-Mail Removed):

> everyman wrote:
>> There is a municipal wifi transmission antenna about .5 km from my
>> roof. Can get a line of sight, but the antenna they are using is
>> pointed downwards on a plaza and I THINK it is a panel antenna. I am
>> approx perpendicular to it. Sorry I cannot get photos do not have the
>> right equipment for that.
>>
>> Have plans for several homebuilt antennas and some dish antennas
>> available on the net. On the dish antennas is there any rough guide
>> to which are best for the, is it, 2GHZ? frequency of wifi? Can the
>> tv satellite antennas be modified for use? Or is another antenna
>> better since I am not sure I can get precise alignment to their
>> antenna. Others nearby appear to be accessing this transmission with
>> simple home made cam antennas. Also I have a tree I might need to
>> trim that seems to be covering a part of the field between me and
>> their antenna.
>>
>> I realize this is sketch information and will try to provide better
>> later, if I can. They have been uncooperative in giving details of
>> their setup because the really, contrary to the pr campaign, do not
>> want people using it for free, only businesses.
>
> It doesn't work the way you seem to think from the subject line. It's
> all about the signal strength and the signal quality from the access
> point to your client device, and back again. You can improve the
> signal receive strength and the signal send strength through a good
> antenna, doesn't matter if it's a panel, parabola, can or whatever.
> Look at the dbi rating. If that's accurate, there's absolutely nothing
> to do with which type of antenna it's associated with. Some of the
> inexpensive panel antennas you can buy on eBay are good deals. If you
> want to build your own, lots of info available.

"Jose Cuervo" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>If one looks around on Google drawings will be found
>for various antennas. I suppose that the most successful
>would be the parabola.

Wrong. High gain (24dBi) parabolas are difficult to turn into useable
antennas if you try to build your own feed. Getting the dish
illumination correct is difficult and always a compromise. It's also
not cost effective as commerical 24dBi parabolic dish antennas can be
found for $60-$80.

>In general it receives parallel
>RF input and focuses it in much the same way that when
>capturing light rays.

Yep. Now try this experiment. Pretend your transmitter is an
incandescent light bulb. Hang it at the focus of the dish and try to
guess how much of the light hits the dish and reflects in the
direction you want to talk. Then, guess how much does NOT hit the
dish and is lots to parts unknown. Do you see the importance of a
proper feed now?

See:
http://www.w1ghz.org/antbook/contents.htm

>The focus has to be found, and is
>a little touchy but it could be calculated or found by
>experimentation.

Focus and phase center are different animals. Because the RF source
at the feed is NOT a point source (isotropic radiator), you'll need to
find a suitable compromise. For example, where do you put a tin can
feed so that the RF is focused for maximum gain?

>But, at 1/2 Km. I would have no problem
>connecting up with my USB device on a six foot cable
>which carries only data to the USB PORT.

Various people have posted plans for just shoving a USB antenna into a
coffee can and improving the gain substantially. These work mostly
because the gain of the typical USB dongle is so lousy, that any type
of reflector will constitute an improvement. You can probably get a
6-8dBi gain improvement with anything from a pie tin reflector to a
coffee can. Incidentally 6dBi is double your range.

>I travel and
>use many free hotel and other Wi-Fi APS at that distance
>with pretty good luck....Luck!!!

Oh, it also has to be portable? Why are you looking at a dish
antenna? Same with coffee cans. These are not very portable. Wanna
disclose exactly what you're trying to accomplish and what you have to
work with so we can offer some useful suggestions?

--
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