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Setting up a network kind of

DirtyDirtyVagrantDirtyDirtyVagrant Registered User regular
edited October 2008 in Help / Advice Forum
So a friend of mine got this high powered directional antenna and he wants to feed the signal into his wireless card in his computer. He then wants to split this connection with a router so that a few of us can share it.

Is this possible? Should he just configure that computer as a router somehow?

If this is a bad idea, let me know. I'm almost certain this is possibly maybe illegal, but at the same time I cant see how it would be seeing as the signal we're theoretically trying to boost is available to us free of charge anyway. We just don't have access to it on our floor.

DirtyDirtyVagrant on

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    GrobianGrobian What's on sale? Pliers!Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    What you describe (and need) is called a wireless bridge. That can be done by a PC that takes the input signal and distributes it to the other clients (probably with the help of a router/switch like you said) or by a dedicated device. Some routers or access points can work as a bridge, although I'm not sure if the origin of the connection has to be configured accordingly which might not be possible for you.

    I can't imagine this to be illegal if the provider allows sharing of the connection as you stated.

    Keep in mind that each packet now has to be transferred twice which will halve your throughput.

    Grobian on
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    .kbf?.kbf? Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    DirtyDirtyVagrant wrote: »
    So a friend of mine got this high powered directional antenna and he wants to feed the signal into his wireless card in his computer. He then wants to split this connection with a router so that a few of us can share it.

    Is this possible? Should he just configure that computer as a router somehow?

    If this is a bad idea, let me know. I'm almost certain this is possibly maybe illegal, but at the same time I cant see how it would be seeing as the signal we're theoretically trying to boost is available to us free of charge anyway. We just don't have access to it on our floor.

    What exactly do you mean by "high powered"? I know no one thinks about this these days but a "high powered" antenna can put out quite a bit of radiation. If it's next to his computer and he spends a good amount of time there... well you get the point (I'm not say he's going to die or anything it's just something to think about).

    .kbf? on
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    khainkhain Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Are you in the US? If so your supposed to follow FCC regulations which limit the amount of maximum power you can use for both omni-directional antennas and directional antennas. I believe you can find the exact limits on the FCC site. You might be able to get around this limit if one of you happens to have a ham radio license though I'm not exactly sure how that works.

    khain on
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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Are you looking for speed or anything like that, or just connectivity?

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    DirtyDirtyVagrantDirtyDirtyVagrant Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Oh yeah. On the matter of legality.

    I probably should have mentioned that he's receiving the signal from somebody else's network. In this case that somebody seems to be a public internet connection set up by the city I live in, but still. Bandwidth usage could become an issue?

    DirtyDirtyVagrant on
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    WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Seems to be? Or is?

    Willeth on
    @vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!
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    DirtyDirtyVagrantDirtyDirtyVagrant Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Well, the connection is named "cdmpublic" which by our best guess means 'city of des moines public.'

    So...is?

    DirtyDirtyVagrant on
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    WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Sounds promising, but find out for sure. It's kinda important.

    Willeth on
    @vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!
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    DeShadowCDeShadowC Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Honestly doubt the city is giving out wireless internet for free. More then likely a business in the area, such as starbucks, has an open network for its customers.

    DeShadowC on
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    MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    DeShadowC wrote: »
    Honestly doubt the city is giving out wireless internet for free.

    Apparently they are: that's the SSID for going on-line at the Des Moines Library.

    EDIT: Don't know if they'd appreciate your friend adding routers and repeaters, though. If the antenna is able to plug into the card, then yeah, probably would work, but as was said, adds lag to you and maybe the network.

    MichaelLC on
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    DeShadowCDeShadowC Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    DeShadowC wrote: »
    Honestly doubt the city is giving out wireless internet for free.

    Apparently they are: that's the SSID for going on-line at the Des Moines Library.

    EDIT: Don't know if they'd appreciate your friend adding routers and repeaters, though. If the antenna is able to plug into the card, then yeah, probably would work, but as was said, adds lag to you and maybe the network.

    Free access is provided in all public areas in the library. Its like a business offering it to it's customers.

    DeShadowC on
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    WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Check out their terms and conditions. You may have to be in the library to use it which would mean you couldn't access it outside.

    Well, you could, but you shouldn't.

    Willeth on
    @vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!
    @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
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    RNEMESiS42RNEMESiS42 Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    DeShadowC wrote: »
    Honestly doubt the city is giving out wireless internet for free. More then likely a business in the area, such as starbucks, has an open network for its customers.
    My city is going to have free internet within a year. They already have a few parts of the city up.

    RNEMESiS42 on
    my apartment looks upside down from there
    water spirals the wrong way out the sink
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