Heh...I posted basically the same information to the nycwireless mailing list group where Apollo asked the same question. :)
At 05:13 PM 10/29/2003 -0800, Karol Kulaga wrote: >This probably deviates a bit from your question, but if it helps, it helps. > >I'm not sure of the construction of the condo, but no signal getting through >is a bit unusual. I've had my 614+ penetrate ~1' rebar - a lot of signal >loss, but it did penetrate enough to be usable. > >Replace the antennas on the 614+. It is a weak AP to begin with and the >antennas suck - I know, I have one (not that I'm complaining about a $25 AP) >If you have the 2 antenna version, align them in an "L" pointing in the >direction you want the signal to go. i.e. if you want the signal to go to >me, I should see an L (or _| ) formed by the antennas. That should get you >a surprising boost on the signal, possibly enough to go through the wall. In >my experiences, it penetrates about 1 more room in my house if I do that. >If you have a tower without a wlan card, this won't really be useful, but if >all of you only have laptops setting up 2 APs on non conflicting channels >(1,6,11) should work. . . . >A better AP is probably an idea too. > >You might be able to save a couple bucks by creating your own antenna / >booster a la http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/index.html >The increase of signal quality with one of these is also quite surprising. > >Compgeeks had a really good deal on powerline cards some time ago, but they >seem to be out right now. If you do buy from them use coupon code >"bensbargains" for 10% off. They were a really good deal, which is why I >bring it up. (Like $20 for 4 cards or something). Sorry about the >advertising, they were pretty good when I last dealt with them and they ship >from northern California. I'm not affiliated with them. > >As for whether the power line adapters will work, they "should" work on the >power lines up to a transformer, so the only real way is to test it. AFAIK >the fuse box should transform down from 440V, but my limited experience >comes from houses, not condos - ask an electrician I suppose. A cheap way of >testing is if you have a couple x10 switches, if those fail, most likely the >power line network cards won't have much success. > >I wasn't sure if your wife would kill you if you ran a couple feet outdoors, >but if you want to, look at "direct burial" cat 5. The jacket is filled with >a gel that makes it water proof, etc. Wear a pair of latex gloves while >crimping it, the gel is an absolute pain to get off your hands. Also, most >"direct burial" cable is UV resistant, but I don't believe it is a part of >the spec, so you'd want to check on that just to be safe. You can paint / >stucco it if you want in order to make it unobtrusive. Home despot or lowes >or something similar should carry it. It shouldn't be too expensive - >certainly less than a buck a foot. . . > >Good luck. >Karol > >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >On Behalf Of Apollo (Carmel Entertainment) >Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 12:56 PM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: [BAWUG] Need HomePlug powerline advice to connect two APs > >Hi, >I am moving to a new place next month and I will be talking with my >neighbors to >see if I can share 1 more expensive DSL connection (instead of slowest speed >one) with 2 of my neightbors. All three of us would have Dlink 614+ access >points. >Here are the main issues: >1. Our wifes will kill us if we drill holes through walls to each other or >we >run cables through outside walls (condo assoc. won't allow that either). >2. All three units are next to each other. All three condos have thick thick >walls that will not let wireless signal through. > >Here are the questions: >1. I am the middle unit, so DSL will go under my name and I will have the >router. What powerline adapters should we get (and not blow more than $50 >for each)? >2. Will it work? All three of us have separate fuse boxes, but we are on the >same floor (and there are about 15 units on each floor). >3. Would it work if we had another dude from lower floor connect to us? >Thanks for your advice. > >Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius > >------------------------------------------------- >Visit CARMEL MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT website http://carmelme.com >-- >general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> >[un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >-- >general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> >[un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > "The Net treats censorship as damage and routes around it." - John Gilmore "Government is like a fire, useful in the fireplace, but if it gets out of it's place, it will consume everything you own." - George Washington -- general wireless list, a bawug thing <http://www.bawug.org/> [un]subscribe: http://lists.bawug.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless
