wireless application

Have a relative with a cottage on a campground that recently put in free
wifi for its members. But of course in her cottage she can't pick up the
signal inside. Outside on the porch, she might grab signal at 20% or
less, and hops around a lot. So I have been assigned with the task of
"fixing her problem".

Here is the info I gathered doing a site survey...
First of all, I do not administer the local signal being put out, so I
have no specific details or control over it.
Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
to the main office. That's where the source is originating from. Her
cottage is about 600 - 700 feet or so away from the originating antenna.
Also through reasonable tree coverage, and over a small hill. I used a
laptop with a usb wireless adapter and an active usb extension mounted
to a pole. Walked around trying various spots and heights with Cirond
WinC software to measure strength. What I found was at a certain
location towards the rear of the cottage and about 10ft up, I would pick
up signal at about 50% (I could never get more than that due to the
distance I am guessing). By looking at the signal path visually, this
was going through multiple trees, and one old building made of wood. by
going up a minimum of 10ft, I was clearing the small hill. I am guessing
they must be pumping out some decent power to be picking up 50% signal
strength at a distance of 600ft or so and the trees & building.

So here is the plan I have come up with...
On the cottage, install a outside yagi antenna (+13.9 db) at 10ft up,
run LMR-400 cable (15ft) into the cabin, connect to a linksys AP
(WAP56G) in bridge mode, connect that to a WRT54G and broad cast to
cover her cottage (on a different channel).
I am estimating I should be getting about 26 db of signal out.

I have set up several wireless systems, but not much to do with
rebroadcasting applications. If I was picking up 50% signal strength
with my little usb adapter, would that be enough to run the setup I am
proposing?
And to connect back at that distance? That should be about twice the
power my usb adapter has.

I am interested in hearing feedback from anyone who might have
experience or thoughts in a setup like this. Is this overkill, or do I
need to use an additional amplifier? I want to make a good educated
guess on what I need before I start buying stuff to just try.

And no I don't think I can go high enough to clear the trees and
buildings to get LOS. That would take a full blown tower.

Thanks All !


------------------------------------------------------------------------
View this thread: http://www.wirelessforums.org/showthread.php?t=26785
http://www.wirelessforums.org

On Aug 11, 12:51 pm, joecool <joecool.2v6...@no-mx.wirelessforums.org>
wrote:

> And no I don't think I can go high enough to clear the trees and
> buildings to get LOS. That would take a full blown tower.
Chop down the trees and demolish the buildings.
--
Don't bother me. I'm living happily ever after.

On Aug 11, 2:51 pm, joecool <joecool.2v6...@no-mx.wirelessforums.org>
wrote:
> Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
> to the main office. That's where the source is originating from.

Hmmm...that would describe a very direction antenna similar to a Yagi.
Does the main office sit at one end of the campground and all the
campers are in more or less a straight line in one direction where the
flat panel antenna is pointed? OR...could that panle antenna be
pointing to a backhaul somewhere and the actual local wireless LAN has
a non-obviously seen omni antenna? If so and its not easily seen, that
might be part of the problem as it should be on top of that tower.

joecool <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>Have a relative with a cottage on a campground that recently put in free
>wifi for its members. But of course in her cottage she can't pick up the
>signal inside. Outside on the porch, she might grab signal at 20% or
>less, and hops around a lot. So I have been assigned with the task of
>"fixing her problem".
>
>Here is the info I gathered doing a site survey...
>First of all, I do not administer the local signal being put out, so I
>have no specific details or control over it.

Really? How about a photograph of the equipment or the antennas?

>Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
>to the main office. That's where the source is originating from. Her
>cottage is about 600 - 700 feet or so away from the originating antenna.

At 700ft, you're going to need a directional antenna at her end.

>Also through reasonable tree coverage, and over a small hill.

1. There is no such thing as a reasonable tree. Every time I've
tried to convince a tree to let my RF pass, the tree rejects my pleas.
I've tried various offerings and incantations, but nothing will make
the tree pass my signals.

2. Hills, whether small or large are even worse. Every time I try to
invoke the hill god to let my signal pass, the hill responds with
something like "eat dirt you worthless human". I suspect they are in
colusion with the trees.

>I used a
>laptop with a usb wireless adapter and an active usb extension mounted
>to a pole. Walked around trying various spots and heights with Cirond
>WinC software to measure strength.

Good. That's the way I do it but I use an ethernet wireless bridge
instead of USB. Actually, the last time I did it, I hung a wireless
router running in client mode on the back of a dish. Whatever works.

>What I found was at a certain
>location towards the rear of the cottage and about 10ft up, I would pick
>up signal at about 50% (I could never get more than that due to the
>distance I am guessing). By looking at the signal path visually, this
>was going through multiple trees, and one old building made of wood. by
>going up a minimum of 10ft, I was clearing the small hill. I am guessing
>they must be pumping out some decent power to be picking up 50% signal
>strength at a distance of 600ft or so and the trees & building.

I predict inevitable doom. It's easy enough to get a marginal
connection almost anywhere you have signal. However, keeping that
connection among the swaying trees and branches is going to be a
problem. In addition, you're apparently skirting the top of a small
hill, which probably puts it in the Fresnel Zone, which creates more
loss and more weirdness. I think you could probably make it work, but
I doubt if you can keep it working.

Try this simple test. Take you test pole and plant it firmly into the
ground with some kind of temporary tripod support. Aim and position
it as best you can. Then run Netstumbler for a while and watch the
signal levels. My guess is you'll see huge variations as things move
around (which includes you moving around).

My guess is that your unspecified model USB adapter was probably using
the stock ceramic or PCB antenna found in most such bottom of the line
devices. I'd give it an optimistic 0dBi gain. 6dBi is double your
range so I think you have a chance if you get a halfway decent
directional antenna. Notice that I said directional, not
omnidirectional. I suggest you repeat the test using a decent
directional antenna and perhaps 15 to 25 ft of the best coax cable you
can borrow. The coax will present some loss, but the antenna gain
should more than compensate for the loss.

>So here is the plan I have come up with...
>On the cottage, install a outside yagi antenna (+13.9 db) at 10ft up,
>run LMR-400 cable (15ft) into the cabin, connect to a linksys AP
>(WAP56G) in bridge mode, connect that to a WRT54G and broad cast to
>cover her cottage (on a different channel).

Barf. That's the way we did it in the stone age of wireless. It will
work but causes all manner or aesthetic and cable routing problems. I
have one installation in an airport hanger where the router is hanging
from the ceiling where the coax enters to keep things short.

Permit me to offer an alternative. Get a CPE (customer premisis
equipment) client bridge what does PoE (power over ethernet) and has
an external antenna connector. The antenna should be as high, big,
and ugly as possible. However, if it does not clear the hill, don't
bother, it's not going to work no matter how big and ugly. A small
antenna up very high is much better than an a big antenna down low.
Concentrate on the antenna as everything else is secondary.

Run outdoor (gel filled and UV proof) CAT5 from the CPE bridge radio
to the local router or computer. Some client bridges can handle more
than one MAC address so you may not need a router.

That leaves the selection of the mysterious radio. Anything that
calls itself a CPE, client bridge, customer radio, ethernet client
bridge, or similar buzzwords will work. Lots of indoor devices, such
as "game adapters" will also work, but will require waterproofing.
Some possibles:
<http://www.wlanparts.com/c=uBGqjloc2otmlUgD5dXlc2Vw4/category/client_systems/>
There are lots of others, but I'm too lazy to dig them out with
Google.

There are also versions that integrate the radio into the antenna:
<http://www.mikrotik.com/pricelist.php?sect=3#group7>
<http://www.tranzeo.com/products/radios/TR-CPQ-Series>
<http://www.tranzeo.com/products/radios/TR-6000-Series>
<http://www.tranzeo.com/products/radios/TR-CPE90-Series>
Make sure they'll do PoE or make sure you can get a PoE adapter (that
is really a 48VDC 802.3af adapter and some some simulated kludge).

>I am estimating I should be getting about 26 db of signal out.

26dBm(?) out of what?

>I have set up several wireless systems, but not much to do with
>rebroadcasting applications.

Consider yourself fortunate. Methinks repeaters, WDS bridges, and
mesh networks to be a nightmare. Avoid if possible though they all
are tempting. Incidentally, thank you for not suggesting putting a
repeater on top of the pole.

>If I was picking up 50% signal strength
>with my little usb adapter, would that be enough to run the setup I am
>proposing?

Dunno. Run this simple test. Setup your USB gizmo as a wireless
client. ping the access point continuously with something like:
ping 192.168.1.1 -t
If you get a consistent 2-6msec latency for the entire test duration,
I'm sure it can be made to work. If the latency is all over the map
plus some timeouts (which is what I would expect), you have some chain
saw or tower work to do.

>And to connect back at that distance? That should be about twice the
>power my usb adapter has.

Sigh. Double the "power" which I presume means the transmit RF
output, and you increase your range about 1.4 times. You'll barely
notice the increase in signal strength. It will also be in one
direction only as the other end will need to increase its power
identically in order to get a symmetrical improvement. That's another
reason why I suggest you concentrate on the antenna and not the radio.

>I am interested in hearing feedback from anyone who might have
>experience or thoughts in a setup like this.

Lots of experience. I live in a dense redwood, fir, and oak forest.
We're lucky if we can see the sun, much less get any RF through this
mess. I've done quite a bit of experimenting, which includes
repeaters, passive reflectors, brute force power, antenna games, and
beam forming. They all work to some degree, but there's no
replacement for real line of sight and a clear shot.

>Is this overkill, or do I
>need to use an additional amplifier?

Argh. You said a dirty word. Amplifiers are nothing more than
expensive jammers. You do NOT get much of range increase if you can't
hear the response from the other direction. On the other hand,
antennas increase the signal in both directions simultaneously. Think
antennas, not radios, amplfiers, boosters, and range extenders.

>I want to make a good educated
>guess on what I need before I start buying stuff to just try.

Educated guess is an oxymoron. A calculation would be more
interesting. However, I would need to know something about what
equipment is at the access point, the antenna pattern, exact
locations, line of sight, tree type, tree density, hill location, etc.
It's too much for doing this via usenet. You might have to settle for
an uniformed wild guess, which is acceptable if the store has a good
return policy.

>And no I don't think I can go high enough to clear the trees and
>buildings to get LOS. That would take a full blown tower.

Why would you want to blow up a perfectly good tower? How many feet
high would it need to be? Up to about 30ft, a pole will work just
fine. Radio Shock sells a usable 30ft push up pole.

You might also consider going underground to some place with a better
line of sight. I have quite a bit of buried cable running around the
forest and under the road. It's a bit of work, but not impossible.
Local forest soil is mulch, which is quite soft and easy to work. I've
used black flex sprinkler pipe, with CAT5, coax, fiber, etc shoved
inside.

--
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

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> On Aug 11, 2:51 pm, joecool <joecool.2v6...@no-mx.wirelessforums.org>
> wrote:
>> Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
>> to the main office. That's where the source is originating from.
>
> Hmmm...that would describe a very direction antenna similar to a Yagi.

I would not say like a yagi, as some panel antennas can cover 30 degrees up
to 120 degrees. Like the sector antennas on the cell sites.

> Does the main office sit at one end of the campground and all the
> campers are in more or less a straight line in one direction where the
> flat panel antenna is pointed? OR...could that panle antenna be
> pointing to a backhaul somewhere and the actual local wireless LAN has
> a non-obviously seen omni antenna? If so and its not easily seen, that
> might be part of the problem as it should be on top of that tower.
>

"Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> joecool <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:
>
>>Have a relative with a cottage on a campground that recently put in free
>>wifi for its members. But of course in her cottage she can't pick up the
>>signal inside. Outside on the porch, she might grab signal at 20% or
>>less, and hops around a lot. So I have been assigned with the task of
>>"fixing her problem".
>>
>>Here is the info I gathered doing a site survey...
>>First of all, I do not administer the local signal being put out, so I
>>have no specific details or control over it.
>
> Really? How about a photograph of the equipment or the antennas?
>
>>Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
>>to the main office. That's where the source is originating from. Her
>>cottage is about 600 - 700 feet or so away from the originating antenna.
>
> At 700ft, you're going to need a directional antenna at her end.
>
>>Also through reasonable tree coverage, and over a small hill.
>
> 1. There is no such thing as a reasonable tree. Every time I've
> tried to convince a tree to let my RF pass, the tree rejects my pleas.
> I've tried various offerings and incantations, but nothing will make
> the tree pass my signals.

I have had good luck with a chain saw on some trees that were growing to
tall around my radar sites which had microwave antennas pointing towards a
repeater on the hill top.
>
> 2. Hills, whether small or large are even worse. Every time I try to
> invoke the hill god to let my signal pass, the hill responds with
> something like "eat dirt you worthless human". I suspect they are in
> colusion with the trees.

Depending on size of hill and height of antennas OFDM is an improvement over
the older radios.
But yes hills tend to block microwave frequencies. Especially the ones that
infringe on your Frensel zone clearance.
>
>>I used a
>>laptop with a usb wireless adapter and an active usb extension mounted
>>to a pole. Walked around trying various spots and heights with Cirond
>>WinC software to measure strength.
>
> Good. That's the way I do it but I use an ethernet wireless bridge
> instead of USB. Actually, the last time I did it, I hung a wireless
> router running in client mode on the back of a dish. Whatever works.
>
>>What I found was at a certain
>>location towards the rear of the cottage and about 10ft up, I would pick
>>up signal at about 50% (I could never get more than that due to the
>>distance I am guessing). By looking at the signal path visually, this
>>was going through multiple trees, and one old building made of wood. by
>>going up a minimum of 10ft, I was clearing the small hill. I am guessing
>>they must be pumping out some decent power to be picking up 50% signal
>>strength at a distance of 600ft or so and the trees & building.
>
> I predict inevitable doom. It's easy enough to get a marginal
> connection almost anywhere you have signal. However, keeping that
> connection among the swaying trees and branches is going to be a
> problem. In addition, you're apparently skirting the top of a small
> hill, which probably puts it in the Fresnel Zone, which creates more
> loss and more weirdness. I think you could probably make it work, but
> I doubt if you can keep it working.
>
> Try this simple test. Take you test pole and plant it firmly into the
> ground with some kind of temporary tripod support. Aim and position
> it as best you can. Then run Netstumbler for a while and watch the
> signal levels. My guess is you'll see huge variations as things move
> around (which includes you moving around).
>
> My guess is that your unspecified model USB adapter was probably using
> the stock ceramic or PCB antenna found in most such bottom of the line
> devices. I'd give it an optimistic 0dBi gain. 6dBi is double your
> range so I think you have a chance if you get a halfway decent
> directional antenna. Notice that I said directional, not
> omnidirectional. I suggest you repeat the test using a decent
> directional antenna and perhaps 15 to 25 ft of the best coax cable you
> can borrow. The coax will present some loss, but the antenna gain
> should more than compensate for the loss.
>
>>So here is the plan I have come up with...
>>On the cottage, install a outside yagi antenna (+13.9 db) at 10ft up,
>>run LMR-400 cable (15ft) into the cabin, connect to a linksys AP
>>(WAP56G) in bridge mode, connect that to a WRT54G and broad cast to
>>cover her cottage (on a different channel).
>
> Barf. That's the way we did it in the stone age of wireless. It will
> work but causes all manner or aesthetic and cable routing problems. I
> have one installation in an airport hanger where the router is hanging
> from the ceiling where the coax enters to keep things short.
>
> Permit me to offer an alternative. Get a CPE (customer premisis
> equipment) client bridge what does PoE (power over ethernet) and has
> an external antenna connector. The antenna should be as high, big,
> and ugly as possible. However, if it does not clear the hill, don't
> bother, it's not going to work no matter how big and ugly. A small
> antenna up very high is much better than an a big antenna down low.
> Concentrate on the antenna as everything else is secondary.
>
> Run outdoor (gel filled and UV proof) CAT5 from the CPE bridge radio
> to the local router or computer. Some client bridges can handle more
> than one MAC address so you may not need a router.
>
> That leaves the selection of the mysterious radio. Anything that
> calls itself a CPE, client bridge, customer radio, ethernet client
> bridge, or similar buzzwords will work. Lots of indoor devices, such
> as "game adapters" will also work, but will require waterproofing.
> Some possibles:
> <http://www.wlanparts.com/c=uBGqjloc2otmlUgD5dXlc2Vw4/category/client_systems/>
> There are lots of others, but I'm too lazy to dig them out with
> Google.
>
> There are also versions that integrate the radio into the antenna:
> <http://www.mikrotik.com/pricelist.php?sect=3#group7>
> <http://www.tranzeo.com/products/radios/TR-CPQ-Series>
> <http://www.tranzeo.com/products/radios/TR-6000-Series>
> <http://www.tranzeo.com/products/radios/TR-CPE90-Series>
> Make sure they'll do PoE or make sure you can get a PoE adapter (that
> is really a 48VDC 802.3af adapter and some some simulated kludge).
>
>>I am estimating I should be getting about 26 db of signal out.
>
> 26dBm(?) out of what?
>
>>I have set up several wireless systems, but not much to do with
>>rebroadcasting applications.
>
> Consider yourself fortunate. Methinks repeaters, WDS bridges, and
> mesh networks to be a nightmare. Avoid if possible though they all
> are tempting. Incidentally, thank you for not suggesting putting a
> repeater on top of the pole.
>
>>If I was picking up 50% signal strength
>>with my little usb adapter, would that be enough to run the setup I am
>>proposing?
>
> Dunno. Run this simple test. Setup your USB gizmo as a wireless
> client. ping the access point continuously with something like:
> ping 192.168.1.1 -t
> If you get a consistent 2-6msec latency for the entire test duration,
> I'm sure it can be made to work. If the latency is all over the map
> plus some timeouts (which is what I would expect), you have some chain
> saw or tower work to do.
>
>>And to connect back at that distance? That should be about twice the
>>power my usb adapter has.
>
> Sigh. Double the "power" which I presume means the transmit RF
> output, and you increase your range about 1.4 times. You'll barely
> notice the increase in signal strength. It will also be in one
> direction only as the other end will need to increase its power
> identically in order to get a symmetrical improvement. That's another
> reason why I suggest you concentrate on the antenna and not the radio.
>
>>I am interested in hearing feedback from anyone who might have
>>experience or thoughts in a setup like this.
>
> Lots of experience. I live in a dense redwood, fir, and oak forest.
> We're lucky if we can see the sun, much less get any RF through this
> mess. I've done quite a bit of experimenting, which includes
> repeaters, passive reflectors, brute force power, antenna games, and
> beam forming. They all work to some degree, but there's no
> replacement for real line of sight and a clear shot.
>
>>Is this overkill, or do I
>>need to use an additional amplifier?
>
> Argh. You said a dirty word. Amplifiers are nothing more than
> expensive jammers. You do NOT get much of range increase if you can't
> hear the response from the other direction. On the other hand,
> antennas increase the signal in both directions simultaneously. Think
> antennas, not radios, amplfiers, boosters, and range extenders.

If you use an amplifer, as Jeff said that is one way only, you would need an
LNA (tower top amp) for the receive side.
>
>>I want to make a good educated
>>guess on what I need before I start buying stuff to just try.
>
> Educated guess is an oxymoron. A calculation would be more
> interesting. However, I would need to know something about what
> equipment is at the access point, the antenna pattern, exact
> locations, line of sight, tree type, tree density, hill location, etc.
> It's too much for doing this via usenet. You might have to settle for
> an uniformed wild guess, which is acceptable if the store has a good
> return policy.
>
>>And no I don't think I can go high enough to clear the trees and
>>buildings to get LOS. That would take a full blown tower.
>
> Why would you want to blow up a perfectly good tower? How many feet
> high would it need to be? Up to about 30ft, a pole will work just
> fine. Radio Shock sells a usable 30ft push up pole.
>
> You might also consider going underground to some place with a better
> line of sight. I have quite a bit of buried cable running around the
> forest and under the road. It's a bit of work, but not impossible.
> Local forest soil is mulch, which is quite soft and easy to work. I've
> used black flex sprinkler pipe, with CAT5, coax, fiber, etc shoved
> inside.
>
> --
> 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

On Aug 12, 4:41 pm, "Dana" <raff...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> <nevtxjus...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>
> > On Aug 11, 2:51 pm, joecool <joecool.2v6...@no-mx.wirelessforums.org>
> > wrote:
> >> Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
> >> to the main office. That's where the source is originating from.
>
> > Hmmm...that would describe a very direction antenna similar to a Yagi.
>
> I would not say like a yagi, as some panel antennas can cover 30 degrees up
> to 120 degrees. Like the sector antennas on the cell sites.

In some panel antennas, true. On other flat panel antennas like I use
with 28 dB gain and less than 5º beamwidth, its even closer to a dish
antenna. So it could be very similar to a Yagi.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ps.com...
On Aug 12, 4:41 pm, "Dana" <raff...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> <nevtxjus...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>
> > On Aug 11, 2:51 pm, joecool <joecool.2v6...@no-mx.wirelessforums.org>
> > wrote:
> >> Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
> >> to the main office. That's where the source is originating from.
>
> > Hmmm...that would describe a very direction antenna similar to a Yagi.
>
> I would not say like a yagi, as some panel antennas can cover 30 degrees
> up
> to 120 degrees. Like the sector antennas on the cell sites.

In some panel antennas, true. On other flat panel antennas like I use
with 28 dB gain and less than 5º beamwidth, its even closer to a dish
antenna. So it could be very similar to a Yagi.

Point I was making is that it would be very misleading to assume a panel
antenna is as directional as a yagi. More times than not a panel antenna
covers a sector of interest.

(E-Mail Removed) hath wroth:

>On Aug 12, 4:41 pm, "Dana" <raff...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> <nevtxjus...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
>>
>> > On Aug 11, 2:51 pm, joecool <joecool.2v6...@no-mx.wirelessforums.org>
>> > wrote:
>> >> Looks like they have an outside panel antenna mounted to a tower next
>> >> to the main office. That's where the source is originating from.
>>
>> > Hmmm...that would describe a very direction antenna similar to a Yagi.
>>
>> I would not say like a yagi, as some panel antennas can cover 30 degrees up
>> to 120 degrees. Like the sector antennas on the cell sites.

>In some panel antennas, true. On other flat panel antennas like I use
>with 28 dB gain and less than 5º beamwidth, its even closer to a dish
>antenna. So it could be very similar to a Yagi.

Lots of different types of panel antennas.

There are 2.4GHz panel antennas with multiple phased 3-5 element log
periodics inside. They're easy to recognize because the fiberglass
radome bulges forward in a wedge about 4-6" high. I forgot who makes
them. Some of them are extremely broadband, covering everything from
the 800MHz cellular band to the top of the PCS band at 2000MHz.
However, the one's for 2.4GHz are much simpler.

More common are Franklin antennas. See:
<http://www.qsl.net/yu1aw/vhf_ant.htm>
<http://pe2er.nl/wifisector/>
These have a wide horizontal beamwidth (70-150 degrees), narrow
vertical beamwidth of about 5-10 degrees with lots of gain. Great
antennas and really easy to build. I use them in place of omnis.

There are also arrays of 2.4GHz patch antennas on a large substrate.
Most of these are on a square base and have equal beamwidth in both
axis's. Here's a small version:
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/tecom/slides/tecom-505025e-1.html>
Well, rectangular but close enough.

There are also slotted waveguide antennas, which are made to look
similar to a common cellular/paging sector antenna to make mounting
easy.

I'm not going to speculate on what the WISP used in the install. Get
a pair of binoculars and read the serial number tag. Try to guess
where it's pointed and how far off the center line to the cabin. If
the angle is large, you may be out of the pattern making connectivity
problematic.

--
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

Although putting a client bridge up with the antenna is probably the
optimal solution for neatness and gain, the approach you are
considering is also workable. LMR 400 will allow you to put the
router inside. At .25 db loss per meter, you can run 8-10 meters of
coax with acceptable loss.

As Jeff said, it would be helpful to have readings from netstumbler in
db. Saying 50% does not indicate much. And check them over time. In
my experience, if I can get consistent 10 db above the noise with a
built-in antenna, then a decent antenna will get me over the hump.
You are looking for 20 db SN minimum in the final setup.

And do see about that ping consistency in a fixed spot next time you
test.

As far as using a yagi or panel antenna, yes, it makes sense, but I do
wonder if your USB's omni is working off reflections. As you narrow
the pattern on the antenna, you may actually eliminate a working
reflection? NOT a reason to choose omni, just a possible reason you
might have trouble with a narrow antenna.

Only way to tell is to test with a directional antenna.

Worst case, you find a nearby spot for the antenna (on the hill?) and
do as Jeff said, running buried ethernet cable from a pole-mounted
ethernet bridge-in-a-box to the cabin.

Steve