Extending my wifi coverage

[Travis Porter]

I would be suspicious of trying to do Cell service over wfii especially if satellite internet service is involved. Isn't there about 1.5 seconds of latency each way?

[Edwin Santos]

Hi, two words - mesh network.

Mesh networks operate on a different type of technology as compared to traditional wi-fi, extenders, access points. In the past, mesh networks were mostly found in enterprise situations, but now there are affordable offerings available to consumer end users. You might look into the Linksys Velop, Amplifi HD or Google products. The Amazon reviews on these products might be informative.

Here is a layperson's article on the subject:
https://wtop.com/news/2017/06/data-d...-mesh-network/

[John K Jordan]

Hi, two words - mesh network.
...
Here is a layperson's article on the subject:
https://wtop.com/news/2017/06/data-d...-mesh-network/

At a glance, that article seemed to describe providing a stronger WiFi signal inside a house. Would a mesh network extend WiFi from Bradley's house to his shop 450 feet away?

If so, I may be interested for WiFi at the barn, in the fields, etc.

JKJ

[Edwin Santos]

At a glance, that article seemed to describe providing a stronger WiFi signal inside a house. Would a mesh network extend WiFi from Bradley's house to his shop 450 feet away?

If so, I may be interested for WiFi at the barn, in the fields, etc.

JKJ

Well maybe not. For the AmplifiHD product, the manufacturer rates the coverage at 20,000 feet. So to find the radius of a circle having an area of 20,000 square feet, it would be r^2=20000/3.14159 so a radius of 80 feet in each direction from the router, not enough. Thus even if the manufacturer was being real with their estimate, it would still fall short of his shop.

The same company, Ubiquiti, makes the UniFi Access Point which comes in a long range version like someone else in this thread mentioned. Their spec claims it to have a range of "up to" 600 feet, so in theory that would work. I've heard good things about the UniFi AP in general.

[Bradley Gray]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Sounds like extending wifi is dicey at best. I do have line of sight between the 2 buildings.

I was thinking directional wifi antennas on both buildings then(I guess) another wireless router?

I like the idea of hard wiring it, but it is 450' and boy are there a lot of rocks here.

Or maybe 2 tin cans and some string...

[David L Morse]

Or maybe 2 tin cans and some string...

Not really that far fetched ...http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

[John K Jordan]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Sounds like extending wifi is dicey at best. I do have line of sight between the 2 buildings.
I was thinking directional wifi antennas on both buildings then(I guess) another wireless router?
I like the idea of hard wiring it, but it is 450' and boy are there a lot of rocks here.
Or maybe 2 tin cans and some string...

Laser comm! Fiber optic without the fiber. Might quit in the rain though...

Hard to beat hardwired. Since it is not AC power, you might consider burying a cable in a very shallow trench. I used 1" conduit but smaller would work. I actually buried mine 2-4 ft deep since I had dug a 16" wide trench for the AC power with my backhoe. (My biggest problem was not rocks but tree roots.) Methinks, er, wonders if you could scratch a shallow trench between the rocks with a pick or mattock and put down some conduit. A healthy teenager looking for some Christmas money might make this easier.

BTW, I usually find it easier to slide the conduit over the wire and glue one 10' section at a time. This is especially helpful for big wire which is difficult to pull. However you can usually use an air compressor to blow a wad of rag through tied to a ball of string then pull a small cable. Cat-5 should pull easily. I found a roll of 1000 ft of ethernet cable at an electrical supplier rated for underground use and actually ran two cables in the conduit, one for a spare. If I watched TV I might have run a cable as well but the WiFi handles instructional videos.

I don't know what kinds of devices are available for phone calls these days but since you already have a hard wired phone line can you connect something to your satellite receiver that would let you plug in a standard phone?

We have Comcast cable internet service now but for years after we moved to this farm it was unavailable. Since I worked from a home office I had to use satellite internet. I sure hope it's faster now than it was in 2003! I've still got the (Hughes) antenna on my roof for the birds to perch on.

If the utilities can ever quit fighting each other we could all get broadband as a signal riding on our AC power.

JKJ

[Chris Parks]

Aerial ethernet cable would be my choice. String some wire between two poles and then fasten the CAT 6 to that or perhaps run a UV resistant conduit along the wire and run the CAT 6 in that. Be careful to make sure the entry to the conduit is facing down at both ends or out of the weather to prevent water entry. Leave a draw wire in the conduit for any further maintenance.

[Jim Becker]

150 yards (450') is beyond the 100 meter limit for wired Ethernet using copper wire. (The limit for MOCA over COAX is the same) It would require a fiber optic run to get that distance...which is certainly doable and likely less expensive than laser over-the-air transmission. You could also use point-to-point wireless connections between the building. You'd still need an access point in your shop to provide wireless (and/or wired) networking to your devices.

I will also caution you that voice calling via sat service will likely be maddening for you because of the delays if you try to leverage WiFi Calling from your mobile phone. You can't change the laws of physics relative to the time it takes packets to reach out from your home to the satellite in orbit and back down to the terrestrial system. Honestly, the land line is still your friend in your particular situation, IMHO, if you don't have good cellular service to your property.

[Chris Parks]

150 yards (450') is beyond the 100 meter limit for wired Ethernet using copper wire.

You beat me to it, I was just thinking the same thing. There are extenders but they need to be in the cable. Google might have the answer but it may not be cheap....https://www.google.com.au/search?cli...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[Roy Petersen]

If this is about sharing the internet from the house, you may want to give this a go:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PA...rline+ethernet

Don't believe the hyped speeds, and it needs to be on the same circuit at both ends (where does the power for the shop come from?), but it's supposed to work up to a theoretical distance of 300+ meters. At around $40, it's likely worth trying?

[daryl moses]

I would be suspicious of trying to do Cell service over wfii especially if satellite internet service is involved. Isn't there about 1.5 seconds of latency each way?

X2, we don't have cell service where I live and we tried the cell over wifi.................!!! Maybe because our only source of internet is via satellite??

[Bruce Wrenn]

Have you considered making your own wifi antenna system? There are tons of videos on you tube. Many use an old satellite dish and a wireless card to operate. Even a "cantenna" might work. Dongles can be had on ebay for as little as $5, and old satellite dishes are FREE at the dumpsters. Just remember that you have to mount satellite dish up side down, or point it towards the ground.

[Ethan Spronk]

I have used ubiquiti nanobeam m5 to bring faster internet over 2 miles and then splitting it up in between several buildings on that site. They work very reliably but take some knowledge to get them set up the first time, basically making sure the correct boxes are check. You are able to find all of this online on several forums. I will be setting up another this winter. Well worth the money. You might be able to use one of their cheaper products since you are only going 150 yards.