Archive for the 'Wireless' Category
WDS Bridging Experiences
At the moment, our best solution for network coverage to multiple buildings is wireless. I have been planning out various solutions to improve our system (fiber optics, dslam, or a better wireless setup) but wanted to share what we have now and how well it has worked in this particular area of our property.
The image above shows the main buildings that are being linked. The main router sits in an upstairs window and is a:
Linksys WRT300N
- Runs DD-WRT V24 - SP2 (Beta)
- Has original antennas
- Has the following properties set (among others, these are the interesting ones)
- Wireless - Basic Settings
- Mode: AP
- Network Mode: BG-Mixed
- Channel: 11 - 2.462 GHz
- SSID Brodcast: Enable
- Wireless - Advanced Settings
- TX Power: 71
- Wireless - Security
- Security Mode: WEP (I haven’t tested WPA2 with WDS yet, and I understand that WEP can be cracked easily)
- Wireless - WDS
- The three router’s MAC addresses are filled in, and are set to “LAN”
The three client WDS routers are also sitting in windows, and are on the first level of the buildings that they are in. They repeat the same SSID, and run on channel 11.
Buffalo WLI-TX4-G54HP
- Originally purchased as an ethernet bridge, it is now running DD-WRT V24 - SP2 (Beta)
- Replaced the stock antenna with a 9 dBi omni-directional
- Is on the 72.6m link
(2) Belkin F5D7230-4 routers
- WDS on the stock firmware works with DD-WRT, sweet!
- These are unmodified, running with their tiny fixed (two) omni-directional antennas
- One is on the 35.4m link, and the other on the 88.5m link
This setup has been going for weeks without an issue, and has served upwards of six families, a two person office, a fifteen to twenty person office, and a classroom with sixteen students.
We have other areas on the same property that have wireless access between buildings, but are nowhere near as complete as this arrangement. If we do end up using wireless to unify the property’s networks, then I will start looking into site to site links, multiple gateways, OLSR, and other mesh technologies. I have my doubts as to how well WDS scales. Has anyone had positive results with professional mesh solutions built on DD-WRT and Linksys hardware?
Posted by Karl Herrick on January 7th, 2010 in Wireless, Linux | Comments Off
Wireless keyboard
I am happy to report that I am typing this blog entry from my first wireless keyboard… it was free and it even had two rechargeable AAA batteries inside! The only issue I have with it, is that it is infrared… meaning it has to be pointed directly at the receiver, and also, I can’t read the monitor from this far away. 
Posted by Karl Herrick on April 8th, 2006 in Hardware, Wireless | Comments Off
Woktenna
Here is a pic of my semi professionally made (that is I spent time in the wood shop) dish setup for my D-Link DWL-122 802.11b 11 Mbps USB Adapter:
To develop this dish setup, I did the following:
- Used ideas from http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/
- Mostly the focal point math from http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/usbscoop.jpg
- Took a wok lid and removed the wooden handle
- Cut a small length of wood (a) (this gets the USB dongle to the calculated focal point)
- Cut a small block of wood (b) (this connects the dish to the camera stand)
- Drilled the appropriate holes into the the two pieces of wood
- Put a long screw into the block of wood (b) that extends through the other side (this joins the length of wood (a), dish, and block together)
- Embedded a nut the size of the camera stand’s butterfly bolt into the block of wood (b) and used a hardening putty to keep it there
- Put two thumb tacks into the length of wood (a) to hold bands around the usb dongle
The whole setup collapses in seconds, is aimable, portable, and gave me terrific gain… though I don’t have comparison screenshots. This is a great setup for a laptop on the go trying to get the distant wifi access.
Here, the woktenna is seen by the Cantenna. I had the Cantenna hooked up to a wrt54g running dd-wrt as a wireless bridge to another access point.
See also:
Posted by Karl Herrick on February 10th, 2006 in Hardware, Networking, Wireless | 5 Comments »
Wireless Antenna Booster
In yet another attempt to increase the signal from a wifi access point 30 meters away in a portable building with aluminum siding… I taped Denise’s spaghetti dish to my desk lamp, grabbed the spaghetti spoon and rigged a wifi dish with my 802.11b usb card.
Posted by Karl Herrick on March 29th, 2005 in Hardware, Wireless | 3 Comments »
WiFi Antenna
After reading through some websites and gleaning information from different sources, I decided to experiment with some antenna design. Even though I don’t have much of an artistic/creative mindset I figured I had some tools and a roll of duct tape… so I gave it a go. The first idea I tried to implement was the Pringles “Cantenna”. It is a neat design, plus I was able to munch on some ketchup flavored Pringles for my first time here in Canada. To make a long story short… it didn’t work with my USB adapter… partially because I changed the design in the process. Probably not good, right?
So moving on I found an awesome webpage called Poor Man’s WiFi. I must say, this is a masterpiece of an idea. They simply took the dish concept, like from a satellite dish, and put a USB WiFi adapter to it using common household items. With mine, common items I could fine in my area happened to be a spaghetti strainer, rather than a Chinese cooking vat scoop.
Items I used:
1 Spaghetti Strainer
1 roll of duct tape
1 ruler
->
->
->
Free (graciously taken from wife)
$4.99? (I can’t remember)
$0.99? (I can’t remember)
While if I made a permanent structure it would have much more sturdiness to it, this one worked great. Check out the screen shot pictures. I was able to get a 24% increase in signal strength and 40% increase in link quality. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get Netstumbler to work with the DWL-122 USB adapter correctly. So actual decibel and wattage information is beyond me. I have estimated by pacing that the distance the signal is traveling is 126.4 feet (38.5 meters). The signal is originating off of a DI-624 AirPlus Extreme-G router, travels through a window, across the yard, and another window.
For more information on DIY antenna design, store bought, and what others have done, visit the links below. There is -TONS- of stuff about it. Especially in the 2.4 ghz band with 802.11b/g equipment.
http://www.cantenna.com/
http://manuka.orcon.net.nz/
http://www.freeantennas.com/
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/
http://home.comcast.net/~troarty/wifi.htm
http://www.netscum.com/~clapp/wireless.html
http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448
http://reseaucitoyen.be/index.php?SardineCanAntenna
http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/DirectionalAntenna
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64440,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2
Posted by Karl Herrick on August 29th, 2004 in Wireless | Comments Off