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802.11g over long distances

davecuse

davecuse

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 20, 2004
419
0
NYC
My parents live in an area where DSL or a cable modem is not an option. Satellite internet sucks, they and their neighbors have gotten sick of it, so they've decided to pool together a run a T1 line in for the neighborhood. One of our neighbors understands the basics of networking, but I'm going to take care of the actual connection sharing and overall network design.

The "neighborhood" they live in isn't very dense, each home is on about 6 to 10 acres. My parents would ideally like to be able to roam around the house with their PowerBook and iBook (and as soon as Motorola anounces them.. WiFi VoiP Cell Phones), and have a connection anywhere.

Is it feasible to have a WiFi network span an area of 60 or so acres?
 
Without anything to somehow extend the range, I've noticed that wireless range in my apartment is just barely 70-90 feet with my PowerBook and Airport Express if I had to make a guess.
 
yes its possible. i remember watching a show where some guy created a wireless network for the neighborhood. god it sounds just like what you want but I CANT REMEMBER A THING ABOUT IT. what a great project though. it sounds fun. try searching the net....i MIGHT of seen it on tech tv. maybe you can search their site.

basically, this guy set up a wireless network (just guessing) maybe by using repeaters? I do remember this huge antenna....i shouldnt even bring it up. but i do know its possible.
 
It's going to be 5 houses which are essentially in the middle of nowhere. I mean I know I can extend the range by setting up a bridge, but I'm looking to directly connect between the two houses, without bridging (as there are no outlets to plug anything into between the homes).

I've priced some stuff on CDW since I posted, it's not going to be cheap by any means. And they get their own leased T1, it's not like they are sharing a cable modem line. They've checked the legality of this before proposing spending the money to do it.
 
hmm...if you have *lots* of money or *lots* of time could you bury some ethernet cable? altho that might not be too good in dirt. kinda makes me wonder how my school district is all on 1 lan
 
try slashdot

Go to slashdot.org and use their search. there's been a couple of threads on this exact subject.
 
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