wireless router questions...

[dacflyer]

question >> i have a wireless router, linksys (model WAP11 ) "wireless access point"
i have it connected to my cable modem, it works fine.

well here's the question i have.. is it possible to use the wireless router as a external receiver for a computer ?
example.. i have a friend that wants to use her neighbors wireless signal ( has permission ) but they are almost out of range ( low signal quality.) so i had the idea, is is possible to use the router sort of in a reverse mode... the unit to receive the signal from friends wireless modem, then she can just connect the Ethernet part to her laptop,, sort of like a external wireless modem.

do i make sense here ?

or is there a way to make a wireless stand alone repeater of sorts ?

already tried the so called cantenna thing, but it does not seem to really work..


also whats the deal with the length of USB ? why can it not be any longer than about 10 ft?
if i make a longer USB cable ( bout 75ft ) i could use the external wireless router shes already got... the wireless router shes got now has no external antenna connection,, its got a flip up built in antenna.. no connector on it.

[reloadron]

Hi Ya DAC

There are wireless range extenders but it would require power between the two points.

The biggest problem you face with distance is signal strength and quality.

A few years ago myself and a neighbor did some experiments. He is about 1,000 feet down the road and line of sight. I made a few cantenna designs and they actually worked pretty good with my router connected to my Internet via Ethernet cable. I ran a cable from my downstairs wireless router to the unit upstairs beside a window with the cantenna. Gave the upstairs upstairs router a new address and things worked pretty well line of sight.

As to USB cable, it is defined in the USB standard and pretty much what you see is what you get or there is degradation and signal loss. Good CAT5 or CAT6 you can run 100 meters without a problem but not USB.

Ron

[dacflyer]

my guess is power loss in the long run of USB, i will try a 5volt power supply at the unit as an experiment and see what happens., i do not think data loss will be a concern since its just data and not a load on the unit itself.. i am guessing power loss is the problem with a long usb run.
i'll report it later..

[dyarker]

Good luck trying, it may work but I doubt it.

The 1st major problem is signal transit time, 2nd is signal degredation mainly due cable capacitance. Ethernet is designed to overcome both those problems upto 100meters, USB is designed for short cables. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_ ... Bus#Cables

Getting a WAP that can be put in client mode with directional antenna to receive neighbors signal has better chance of working.

Cheers,

[dacflyer]

ok that was a fail, just like it was suspected to do, but had to proove it to GF..lol.

ok next question, is it possible to use a linksys WAP11 as a wireless adaptor to recieve internet from friends house, about 300ft line of sight.
( GF at farm has no way to get internet, no phone or cable, satalite is out of the question )

right now it is plugged into a cable modem ( host? ) and we wanna use it as a wireless adaptor.
can someone explain how to change the settings to do so ?

[ltx71cm]

Visit the WAP11 page and select your hardware revision number. Then download the user manual and it describes using it as a wireless repeater (page 20 on the one I checked - pictured page number not the actual PDF page number). If you set it near a window you might just get it to work.

[dacflyer]

i am not wanting to use it as a repeater.. just a wireless adapter.

i think this is what i am looking for.. accessing a wireless WAP. but not sure..
http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx? ... 7&donelr=1

the computer has no wireless card, so i want to use the WAP.

[cnc002]

Doesn't her router have at least 4 RJ45 switch ports on it? If one of those is not being used, you could just run a cat5E cable, since you indicate it is only about 75 feel, to her router and be done. I have a cat5E line run about 250 feet from my house to my shop building and it works great. I have it connected to a 16 port 10/100 network switch which is in turn connected to a TrendNet "N" protocol wireless access point. I also have one of our Laser Printers networked to that switch along with other things. The TrendNet wireless access point communicates with my Linksys "N" protocol wireless router, connected to my DSL Modem. It is about 40 feet between the router and the access point with a 12" solid brick wall in between. I have good strong signals between them. We can access the web, all of our other computers, printers, anything connected to the network via wireless access. Maybe in some of this you will find some help.

[dacflyer]

the base wireless router is at the other building.. and her laptop cannot get a signal. ( too weak ) so was thinking to use the wap11 to catch a signal, then cat5 to her lap top...
but i do not know how to set it up for such use.
typically the wap11 is to send signal to wireless device. not receive in the way i want.