[olug] Homebrew wireless

[Sam Tetherow]

While doing a 6 block link doesn't take much for equipment I would 
strongly suggest that you don't build your own antennas, it is not 
because I don't think you can do it or that it won't be powerful enough, 
but instead because they are very unfriendly to spectrum as a general 
rule and it is a violation of FCC rules.

Now down to the nuts and bolts of putting the link together.  You are 
going to need line of sight at six blocks with anything other than OFDM 
equipment.  If you can't get line of sight I would strongly suggest not 
wasting your time with the link.  Yes it can be done by bouncing the 
signal off of buildings but the multipath that usually occurs by doing 
this makes the link unreliable in general (without OFDM).

If you can get line of sight I would suggest a pair of CB3s, one in AP 
mode and the other in bridge mode.  They are affordable, reliable, high 
powered equipment with POE and plenty of antenna options although at 6 
blocks the 2.2dBm rubber duckies that come with should be fine.  There 
are cheaper options available which you may want to try (using wet-11s 
for instance) but if you just want a reliable link that you don't have 
to mess with once it is up I would suggest spending the money on the 
CB3, they are affordable ($115 + $5 for POE injector and a few bucks 
NEMA enclosure for external mount).

	Sam Tetherow
	Sandhills Wireless
	402-376-4752



Kevin Lanik wrote:

>My friend and I live about six blocks apart and I'd like to have us both be
>on the same network. I was thinking of building a directional antenna ( in
>fact, this one... http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/CookieCantenna )
>but I can't seem to find if the antenna would go at my house, where the
>wireless AP is, or his where the computer we want on the network is. Does
>anyone have some experiences in setting up longer distance wireless
>networks? Thanks!
>Kevin Lanik
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