Getting WiFi to shop

[Jim Becker]

I believe you can just print out a return envelope for the extra delivery and drop it at the post office or UPS store. No need to schedule a pick-up. Any return I've had with Amazon has been extremely easy in that respect.

[Brian Hale]

So in a nutshell, it works, and pretty good.

Lesson #1...... do not use an extension cord. I did when I first set it up in the house and it worked well enough but moving out to the shop it wouldn't connect at all.
Lesson #2...... try several receptacles for the best connection.

Once I got the two units to talk to each other in the shop I tried lots of different receptacles and found a Wide variation in signal strength that seems to defy any logic. I have 48 120 volt receptacles in the shop on 6 separate breakers, all of which are located on one side of the breaker panel so I'm hitting both bus bars. Oddly enough, the receptacles with the best and worst throughput are on the same breaker! And of course, the receptacle in my "office" area is the worst. (never saw that coming)


Anyway, some numbers.....

Running speedtest.net with the wifes laptop plugged directly into the Verizon Fios router and running several (12) tests I got an average 11ms ping, 58.3 mbps download and 65.6 mbps upload. Same computer in the shop I went from 24ms ping, 5 mbps download and 2 mbps upload to 13ms ping, and 38 mbps download and 18 mbps upload. That's the best I could get. This is fast enough to watch a full screen Youtube video at 720p with no stuttering, good enough for the shop. I retested this receptacle several times over the last couple days and the throughput has remained unchanged. Testing over WiFi the throughput varied a bit more then the wired connection but there was only minimal loss.

Using a battery charger in the same receptacle is a bad idea as the throughput varies all over the place but generally drops by about 1/3.

Running a 3hp tablesaw has no effect but my 5hp cyclone can drop the throughput, especially if several blast gates are open putting the motor under load.

Shop lights don't seem to have any effect but my shopvac does, minimally.

Using a receptacle in the house near the breaker panel does seem to improve performance a tad but not enough to justify running a longer Cat 5 cable.

Overall I'm pleased with the performance and ease of setup (No extension cords or surge suppressors) and we'll see how things work out in the long run.

All The Best!

Brian

[Curt Harms]

Thanks for the review, Brian. Real world reviews beyond 'it works' or 'it sucks' are not common. Well done.

[Jim Laumann]

Back to the top....

I found this post regarding getting WIFI access in his shop 2-3 months ago. It was a great read,
and what I like about the Creek - some one has likely done or tryed doing what you want to do.....

Like Brian, I want to get network access in my shop, and also like his, my shop gets its power from
the house. I had screwed up back when I had it built - when running power and water to it, the yard
was already tore up, so I should have dug 1 more trench and run a couple of empty 2" conduits for future
expansion/wants - such as ethernet - but back then, I couldn't concieve a 'puter in the shop using the
internet, much less of things like smart phones or a tablet...

The shop sits about 120-130 feet from the house, and while I don't have Brian's obstacles, it is still a ways
to go, and there are power conduits (hand digging) and landscaping in the way, so wireless seemed to be
the best option - but how?

My shop is pole frame construction - steel on the outside, and a steel interior lining. I have a 900 mhz
cordless phone out there (for the land line), but it only works if I use it while standing in front of one of
the shop windows which faces a house window - I loose the phone connection if I leave the window. My
cell works out there to a limited degree, some days are better than others using the cell signal, but never
w/ our existing WIFI setup.

Brian's discussion of using a Powerline system seemed like a perfect fit. I ordered the Powerline kit and a
new WRT54GL router from Amazon. I had intended to use the 54GL in the house, moving the house's
WRT54G router (12 years+ old) to the shop. But then I reconsidered, and set the 54GL up for in the shop
(no mods to the existing & working house router). Our existing router is located on the back side of the h
ouse, and there is absolutely no WIFI signal outside of the house on the front side.

Had the 54GL router working w/ my cell - took every thing out to the shop - plugged it in - and nuthin' -
zip - zero - nada. No workee. Grrrr...

Fought this off and on for a couple months - and was about ready to pitch the Powerline and look for other
alternatives - figured I could sell the new router. Well, this weekend wifelet starts asking questions about it,
and I figured I should try playing w/ it again. Had the thought - Can I get the Powerline working in the
house? Get it going in the house, then see if it can be expanded to include the shop?

Tryed all the outlets in the living room (front of the house - faces the shop), nothing. Pulled the cover off
the breaker panel - found the living room circut was on the red bar of the panel, while my outlet in our house
office area (Powerline start point) was connected to the black bar - so much for the capacitance comments
(see post #28 & 31- at least in my case - have 5 220V circuts in the panel).

Swapped slots in the panel - moving the living room breaker to the black bar - and SHAZZAM!!! It worked - the
Powerline synced itself, and the activity lights started blinking. Was able to connect to the new router w/ my cell,
it was looking good. Have the 54GL router sitting on a end table w/ the antenna's facing the the window which
faces the shop.

Went out side - 25-30 ft from the house, I had a excellant signal. At about 50', it was good, and then dropped
to fair when I reached the shop door. Went in the shop - fully expecting to loose the signal, but I didn't. It (signal)
stayed in the fair category - regardless of standing by a window, or away from it - speed was 12Mbps, but it
was a signal, and useable.

Next steps will be running the Powerline in the house for 2-3 days (get familar with it's quirks), then attempt
to move it out of the house, in to the shop (ultimate goal). Am concerned about the distance issue - my
outbuildings (former farmstead) are on a big daisy chain, it's alot of wire and connections; time will tell.

Will update when I know more.

Jim

[Bruce Wrenn]

Try getting a $10 dongle off ebay, and scrounging up an old Direct TY dish. Gut LNB, and mount dongle inside it. Reattach to antenna. Run provided software. Feed cord to computer in shop. Aim dish towards source in house. You will need a roof top mount for dish, as it has to be aimed almost towards the ground.

[Curt Harms]

If WiFi ends up being the choice, there's always cantenna.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantenna