Aunt B. Needs Some Router Help...

[shilala]

Well, not router help, internet access help.
Here's the thing...
Aunt B can get wi-fi out at the back house where she lives. My FIL and MIL broadcast wireless from the front house.
She just got a new ipad, and it won't pick up the wi-fi back there, although her iPhone and her desktop do.
My thought is that we need an extender or booster or something.
It'd be very easy to mount something outside under the eve of the roof at the front house.

My problem is that I've never done this and I'm unfamiliar with the hardware. What do we need here? What can I install to boost the signal a bit so she can get her internet on?

This may be simple operator error, I haven't been over to check things out yet. I'd like to get learned up before I go.

Here's a wonderful diagram of said situation...

[pnoon]

Does the iPad find the router and can't connect? Or does it not even see the router?
If it is the latter, an extender may help. If it is the former, you have a different problem and an extender/signal booster won't help.

[shilala]

The ipad can't find the router when it's at the back house, Peter. It works fine up at the front house where the router is.
Her computer and iPhone can both see the router from the back house.
That's what leads me to believe we just need a little bit of oomph so the ipad can see the router, too.

[Chainsaw13]

Where is the router located at in the front house? Obviously the closer you can close the range, the better chance you have of picking up the signal. But it does sound like you could use an extender, or possibly changing out the little rubber sucky antenna to something more directional, pointed at the back house.

[AdamJoshua]

Only 240 inches away and it doesn't work?

Is it possible to move the wireless router in your house to another area that might be closer to her, it's interesting that the phone / comp see the wifi and the ipad doesn't, I usually get a better signal on my iPad than any other device.

I know someone that went with one of these and were happy with it, but I have personally never used one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-...&skuId=5970343

[8zeros]

240 feet is stretching it. I get this problem with wireless security cameras. I use a corner reflector to aim the antenna direction which gives a 3-5 db gain. There are other ways. A quick search for "boosting wifi signal" or something like that will give you some more ideas.

[8zeros]

Originally Posted by AdamJoshua

Only 240 inches away and it doesn't work?

Is it possible to move the wireless router in your house to another area that might be closer to her, it's interesting that the phone / comp see the wifi and the ipad doesn't, I usually get a better signal on my iPad than any other device.

I know someone that went with one of these and were happy with it, but I have personally never used one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-...&skuId=5970343

I seem to remember hearing that these cut your bandwidth in half because of the relaying. It's an issue with cameras but probly not with surfing.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Chainsaw13

Where is the router located at in the front house? Obviously the closer you can close the range, the better chance you have of picking up the signal. But it does sound like you could use an extender, or possibly changing out the little rubber sucky antenna to something more directional, pointed at the back house.

It's as close and as perfect a location as can be, Bob.
You must be able to see the picture?
Rather than change antennas, would it be with trying one of those long range routers?

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by 8zeros

I seem to remember hearing that these cut your bandwidth in half because of the relaying. It's an issue with cameras but probly not with surfing.

That would be my concern with and extender. But if the iPhone and desktop can pick up the signal, I would think the extender would too. I'd still look at boosting the signal with a higher gain antenna.

[markem]

240' is a long way for an omni-directional wireless router setup. If you have a Fry's or similar "geek" store nearby, go in and talk about a directional wireless lan extender. If you are a true geek, you can cobble one together with a Pringles can (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantenna and http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448). Ideally, you would get a couple of wireless bridges and link them with a directional antenna (e.g., yagi). With so much distance, I'd recommend a commercial, rather than a roll-your-own, solution.

I have a friend who set up something similar for a large RV park that he manages. I can ping him to see what he eventually did, it you want.

[CamoFlogged]

Mark speaks the truth...

[mjdx88]

Extenders will decrease your speed and network bandwidth.

The best way to go about this is to place an Wireless access point aka WAP (Commercial Grade) at the highest point in the house dead center. This is a problem I encounter everyday a work. The gear we sell is designed to cover min 2000 sq ft. Up to 6000 Sq ft per WAP usually I need 2 -3 to get perfect coverage in my client's houses. With all this being said...you will need a budget of about $300-$400 to deploy the network it sounds like you are looking for. BTW, you will need to find away to purchase the commercial gear and setup/install it. This would be the proper way to do the job.

The realistic solution... http://www.netgear.com/home/products.../XWNB5201.aspx These dont always work, it depends on how your house is wired. So make sure you can return them from where ever you purchase them. Plug the send unit by your router, connect a network cable from one of your out ports on the router to the send unit. Plug the receive unit in your relative's room and you should be good to go. If it doesn't work try a few of the other rooms around the target room before you give up. Again it does depend on the electrical circuits of the house. Netgear's stuff is pretty easy to setup, just read the directions once over before setup and take your time walking through it, there are a few things that are easy to miss and will cause an installation to fail.

I have not used the wireless version of these, but I have used them in a pinch and I have been very happy with the results. Shoot me a PM if you have more questions or setup questions, I will be happy to guide you though the best I can.

- Mike

[G G]

I aint no network guru by no means but I recommend this. It's directional but will saturate the area with wifi because it isn't shielded all that great so it even throws wifi behind it. I bought two of these for a P2P about 200 feet away from my house to my grandfathers old house. Set the one on my roof as AP and the one on the roof at the old house as station, then bought one of their Unifi APs for inside the house. I have 5 acres and the whole thing is saturated with wifi even over to my dad's place over 400 feet away. I could have accomplished what I wanted with just the AP pointed to the old house and wound up with overkill, but it's cool because I have wifi on the whole property.

http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-NSM2-...words=ubiquiti

[mjdx88]

Heh G G that looks like one of the parts I sell for work....the price is close to my cost as well..If it is its a great WAP although it does take a little bit of network know how to setup properly.

Another issue with Wifi that I did not mention before and should be considered when deploying any network is that you may see and get a Wifi signal from a great distance away, this will not mean that you get a great connection. Most mobile devices have junk antennas for wifi, which means they can pick up the network but do not have the power to transmit information back to the network. This can bring down the whole network in the house. The other issue is when covering a large area, if you have a device in the fringe, with 30-40% signal, your network is using more resources to transmit information to this device. This will also result in slowing down the network but should not stop it.

[8zeros]

The slowest WLAN connection is still faster than most WAN (cable, dsl, satellite, 4g, etc.)
The cameras I work with do all their work on the LAN so they need speed. The internet is a bottleneck anyway. You're not running a trailer park or a cafe there. I'm thinking extreme performance is not so much the issue.
I agree with getting the antenna as high as you can and don't use a coax to extend the antenna. Cables lose more signal than you gain by placement.
Have you thought of just running an ethernet wire out there and put in another router? This would be simple and work great, if you can get a cable between the houses.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by CamoFlogged

Mark speaks the truth...

Basically the solution you want. Repeaters or extenders will do the trick.

Originally Posted by mjdx88

Extenders will decrease your speed and network bandwidth.

The best way to go about this is to place an Wireless access point aka WAP (Commercial Grade) at the highest point in the house dead center.

Works too. I'd try both, buying parts locally so you can return what does not work more easily.

[shilala]

I've decided to just go ahead and let you guys handle this.
So far Gary's thing seems sensible, and Roger's idea or running a cable out there also makes good sense.
On this property live 3 people in their 70's. Bruce reads The Onion and tortures people on Facebook. Aunt B writes emails and shares pictures. Paula searches for pictures for her desktop, and new and interesting viruses.
These are not power users by any means. If they can surf the internet and email, they're all good.

Some of the things you guys mentioned, I'll probably put to use here. I hammer our service pretty hard, and I'd like a bit more wee-yoo.