Woohoo! I have a laptop.
Woohoo! The neighbors have DSL.
Woohoo! They say we can share and set up a wireless network and now I can read the SDMB all weekend and afterhours.
So… how far can a wireless router transmit? I’m no Luddite, but I still play records.
It depends on the router and what’s between you and the router, AIUI. Metallic objects (like file cabinets) can block a wireless signal. Walls and floors will also tend to weaken the signal. We have a wireless network at home, and Mr. Neville finds he has more trouble getting a decent connection with his laptop downstairs (our router is upstairs in our office).
Try it out in different areas of your house, starting with those close to the neighbors’ house. You’ll soon figure out where you get good signal and where you don’t.
Ahh yes, but I have that annoying habit of trying to set up things right the first time. I’d prefer to avoid the trial and error approach. The linksys site studiously avoids any range speculation. Between the houses is a beautiful 150+ water oak and our house, in the front at leaest, does not even have insulation (ahh the South.)
I’m just bumping this back to the top to see if the afternoon crew has any ideas.
(previously this thread was topless)
In open air, a simple wireless with an omni antenna can transmit for 1000’, as I’ve tried it. Straight thru a sand dune, not so much.
There are many things you can do to increase the range. Better antennas (higher gain and/or directional), mounting it high, even a simple repeater might put you over the top. If you haven’t bought the router yet, get the most powerful one you can find.
I haven’t got one yet, but as our front doors are 48 yards a part (courtesy of a laser range finder) this bodes well.
I share network resources with a neighbor of mine. He’s not directly next door, but in fact five houses away! I do have a line of sight from my house to his, and I keep the router outside on my front porch so it has less stuff to go through. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s about 50 yards from my house to his. Signal strength is still pretty good at his house, but he can only use the wireless in the rooms that face my house. To solve that problem, he has a wireless to wired bridge in his front window and taps his computers off of an Ethernet switch attached to that.
Generally speaking, Wireless G has a line-of-sight range of about 100ft (~35m). There are ways to extend the range, however. The most effective would be to buy a WiFi range extender and install it at your neighbor’s house. Directional extenders (i.e. the Cantenna) are the most effective because you can aim them directly at your house, but they’re more expensive than their less effective omni-directional brothers. The main benefit with omni-directional extenders is that you have a bit more freedom as to where you can pick up the signal.
Extenders can double or even triple the range depending on the make and model you buy.
Another option is with a WiFi repeater which is similar to extenders except that it operates externally to the router. (Extenders replace one or more of the router’s own antennas.) Unlike extenders, which take the signal right from the router, amplify it and spew it at you, repeaters pick the signal up wirelessly, so they can be positioned in an optimal wireless spot away from the router itself and amplify and forward the signal to you.
If you find it difficult to get a good signal from your neighbors as-is, one of these options are your best bet.
There are also gadgets for about US$100 that screw onto a router’s antenna output, then the antenna screws onto them. They are active RF signal boosters. Here’s one.
I beg to differ. I have a Wireless-G Linksys WCG200 (modem/router) with an enhanced omni antenna (12dB gain) sitting in my window. I can pick up a signal 1000 ft away with a Canary Wi-Fi detector, and tests have shown that if the Canary reads it, a laptop will, too.
I’m sure, with an RF booster and a directional antenna, I could get to 3000 ft for line-of-sight, maybe more. The killer attenuators are dirt, walls, trees and worst of all, metal objects.
Well, reference spec lists 100ft as the maximum “optimal” distance for G. (Similarly, the proposed 802.11n lists 200ft (~70m) as optimal range.) I’m sure that in practice and with a clear line of sight you could probably go quite a bit further – but signal strength and speed will drop, and at the outer limits, you may still pick it up but you’ll probably have a hell of a time obtaining a firm and stable connection.
Plus, you’re already running a small range extender, so your router doesn’t count. 