Best Wireless Router FAQ:
what is the best wireless router to connect 2 buildings with 500 meter distance? between the buildings their are plenty of tall trees… is this possible?
what is the best wireless router to connect 2 buildings with 500 meter distance? between the buildings their are plenty of tall trees… is this possible?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
not possible
its not possible, but using a net gear ruter my neighbour 4 houses down gets a 5% connection
I think it is made by CISCO and it called AiroNet
use a wire, a few in fact, qand some hubs. You would need a heavy duty wireless router; it would cost yoiu a lot of money. If you have enough money then there are options.
To make a reliable jump that far requires a directional external antenae called a “Yagi”. Here’s a site that has some information in regards to the technology and pricing:
FYI: To all the naysayers out there… Working as an instrument tech for a power plant in Kingsburg, CA back in 2002 I setup a wireless bridge utilizing over-the-counter antenae, amplifier, and PC networking cards and successfully traversed a span of 1.2 miles. The very antenae I used can be puchased at this link:
Unfortunately the guy below me didn’t take into account the FCC. Only the 2.4GHz band has been left totally open for use without a liscence requirement. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve already spanned an even greater distance utilizing techenology available 6 years ago. 2.4GHz will work just fine. I used a Proxim Orinoco 2.4GHz PC card in a card slot adapter (www.YDI.com)… they have far superior hardware these days. But remember, most the Yagi antenae are built specifically for 2.4GHz because that’s what the FCC gave us. Anything else requires liscencing.
Of the currently available 802.11 wireless schemes, only one stands much of a chance of doing what your want, and even if it works, you will likely have reduced throughput since the signal will be marginal.
So let’s review the players.
802.11a, runs in the 5GHz range and is subject to much atmospheric attenuation. Not likely to make it 100 meters, even with careful attention to antenna gain and orientation…
802.11b/g, run in the 2.4GHz range and is absorbed rather less by the atmosphere. With proper antennas (parabolic are likely the best — think satellite TV style here) and correct orientation (very tricky this), you ought to be able to manage 500 meters with adequate signal.levels. There are hobbyist groups (Seallte wireless, Dallas, San Francisco, …) who have managed several miles. Very tricky and due mostly to careful use of high gain antennas.
802.11n, runs in the same frequency range as b/g, but has mechanisms for managing with reduced signal levels. Better range under many conditions. Will also likely require special antennas and such. There is lots of pre-N equipment available which may or may not work with other manufacturer’s gear. Look carefully for standard compliance, not compliance with what we think the standard will be. Special antennas will help with n as well as b and g.
WiMax. Some implementations of this will easily manage the distance, and at high data rates as well. The trouble is that there is very little equipment, the standard is not really intended for individual point-to-point use, the standard accommodates several frequency ranges and, for the US anyway, hasn’t been settled.
In all cases, interference from trees, other buildings, etc must be considered. These are low power radios at very best, and vanishingly small powered ones in many real world situations. Setting things up with a relay system may be the most sensible.
local computers –> relay computer –> long haul WiFi –> relay computer –> local computers
This piggybacks the local computer connection through a single wireless link, the one with the high gain antennas. The local computers connect to the relay machine via Ethernet or one of the wireless protocols. This isolates the tricky long haul link from the local computers and their users. But this may not be the exact situation you have.
If you want to connect a wireless router to a computer over long distances, then you can have a look at devices such as the Hi-Gain Wireless-300N USB dish adapter from Hawking Technology. The 300N can boost the range of wireless connectivity with your wireless router by a factor of 6 and the throughput by a factor of 12.