lucan

OK,

I'm just starting my journey into the world of wifi so forgive my ignorance. I have a Tungsten "C" Palm that I would like to use to surf the web with an access point about 200 ft from my house. How do I use an antenna to get the signal to my house and then to my Palm. In other words, what do I need to buy to hook up an antenna to my home computer, and then have my home computer retransmit the signal from the antenna? Thanks for your help.

Lank

The Others

What are you after some sort of relay? Something that takes a signal from elsewhere and repreads it across your home?

Did you search first?

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all good ends all

lucan

I'm not sure of the terminology. I need to use an antenna to get a signal to my house. I then need to retransmit that signal. Is there a router, relay, bridge access point that I can connect an antenna to and then retransmit the signal?

Lank

Thorn

There is no magic "antenna" that you merely hook to your PC, and then relay around your house.

This site tends to be more for the hardcore guys, not beginners. If also tends to focus on Netstumbler rather then WiFi in gerneral, although there's a lot of good general knowledge here. If you just dive in at this site not knowing any of this stuff, all that will happen is frustration on both sides. Yours for not knowing what the hell we're talking about and ours from trying to teach you to run before you can crawl.

There's so many options for different ways to accomplish what you want to do, that you need to define that first. To define it, you have to ave at least some idea of what the equipment is, how it works, and what it is called.

You need to learn about the equiment and technology first. I'd suggest looking at some consumer level sites like Linksys. They have basic explainations and diagrams. Once you have a more concrete idea, you shouldthen look around at some basic networking sites. Try Practically Networked for a start. Search on "networking 101" on this site for more detail. (You need to also know how a computer network functions, as this stuff is networking with radio.) Now go to the nearest Staples, Circuit City, etc. to look at the equipment and ask questions. (Don't by yet.)

Then purchase "Jeff Duntemann's Drive-By Wi-Fi Guide." (The author hangs around here, too. Screenname Novilio) Jeff's book will pull it all together for you. Look at this thread for details: http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...&threadid=6901

Finally, come back here, and ask questions before you buy. You should be able to speak "WiFi geek" by then, and be able to ask the correct questions, and we can give you good answers.

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Thorn
"Read Altas Shrugged. Compare it to today. Repeat as necessary"

lucan

Thanks for the info. I am not totally ignorant of the concept as I might have first appeared. Let me ask my question in a different way. I'm going to build a cantenna antenna to access a signal across the street. Will a broadband router accept the antenna connection and then rebroadcast the signal or do I have to hook up the antenna to a PCI adapter in my computer and then have a wireless USB adapter rebroadcast the signal? Thanks.

Lank

Thorn

Boy you learn fast!

Option 1 requires a repeater. But using a directional antenna is just going to rebroadcast the signal back toward the original signal source, so it probably won't work well for you.

Option two is probably easier to get working as far as the RF is concerned, but may not work unless the PC is routing.

Probably what you want is somewhere between the two. An WiFi/Ethernet bridge (eg WET11) with the cantenna, accessing the original signal. That is wired to a switch, and and the switch is wired to the PC and an Access Point.

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Thorn
"Read Altas Shrugged. Compare it to today. Repeat as necessary"