Networking problem

[Thinkpaddict]

I am trying to solve a practical problem, and I was wondering if anyone can suggest a good networking forum where this sort of questions are asked. Or perhaps someone in this very forum knows the answer.

The problem is this: I have a wireless router in the main house, and I need to get the signal in a trailer. The trailer has aluminum walls, and at the present it is impossible to pick up the signal inside. I think this will require an outside antenna for the trailer, connected through cable to another wireless router inside the trailer. Does this sound right? Does the wireless router that I need to put inside the trailer need to be the same model as the router in the main house, or not? If not, I was inclining towards a Linksys WRT54GL which seems to have a good reputation. When used in this sort of configuration, is the router in the trailer working in bridge mode?

I would appreciate any assistance (including references to suitable networking forums) from you. I'm reluctant to throw my cash at some service like Geek Squad and let them solve the problem for me, so I'd rather get some advice and put the work into it myself to save some money. Thanks in advance for any help!

Ruben

[RealBlackStuff]

Highly respected: http://www.dslreports.com/forums/all

[GomJabbar]

One possible solution would be to get a wireless repeater and place it in the house by a window facing the trailer. Or it might work by placing it by a window in the trailer. Or you could mount the antenna outside and connect by cable to the repeater.

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/ar ... hp/1571601

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredon ... stips.mspx

[RealBlackStuff]

Get a can of Pringles and make yourself a "cantenna"
http://binarywolf.com/249/pringles_cantenna.htm

[hausman]

Another approach may be to get a USB-attached WiFi adapter with an orientable antenna, e.g. Linksys WUSB54g. Mount it outside the trailer, perhaps in a plastic box to protect it from the elements, then run a USB extension cable to your computer. Use this adapter in place of what's in your ThinkPad. The practicality of this solution probably depends on how long an extension you'll need.

[ajkula66]

Before I even attempt to answer your question, here's a question for you:

What is the initial source of the broadband connection: cable, DSL, FiOS...?

[Thinkpaddict]

Thank you very much, gentlemen. I appreciate you taking the time to help. I will respond to each of you individually.

[Thinkpaddict]

Highly respected: http://www.dslreports.com/forums/all

RealBlackStuff, thanks for pointing to that forum. I will make sure to check it out later.

[Thinkpaddict]

One possible solution would be to get a wireless repeater and place it in the house by a window facing the trailer. Or it might work by placing it by a window in the trailer. Or you could mount the antenna outside and connect by cable to the repeater.

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/ar ... hp/1571601

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredon ... stips.mspx

GomJabbar, thanks for pointing out those possible solutions. I know that there are different ways to skin this one (which probably makes the matter more confusing to the layman.) As I understand it, the main problem is that WiFi waves do not permeate metal very well, so that would mean that there must be a cable of some kind going through the wall of the trailer. I think (but I am not sure) that this would rule out the repeater. I understand that the repeater would amplify and resend the signal, which might make the signal stronger than it is now, but I'm not sure if it would be strong enough to penetrate the metal wall. Using it in the window of the trailer is a possibility though, thanks for mentioning it. By all means, I will follow those links that you provided, and try to gather some more information.

[Thinkpaddict]

Get a can of Pringles and make yourself a "cantenna"
http://binarywolf.com/249/pringles_cantenna.htm

Thanks again. If this were for me I wouldn't mind trying it, but I can just imagine my wife's face right now. Maybe I should do it just to see that. Actually, I will first check this out to see if it's something I can try without too much upstart investment (additional parts required.) If that's the case, I might give it a shot. Especially if it ends up working, I anticipate a lot of laughs.

[Thinkpaddict]

Another approach may be to get a USB-attached WiFi adapter with an orientable antenna, e.g. Linksys WUSB54g. Mount it outside the trailer, perhaps in a plastic box to protect it from the elements, then run a USB extension cable to your computer. Use this adapter in place of what's in your ThinkPad. The practicality of this solution probably depends on how long an extension you'll need.

Dorian,

Thanks for the suggestion. I can see that you are good at solving problems by looking at alternate solutions. I don't know if I would try this as my first choice, but I will keep in mind. My main concern would be that the length of the cable required might be impracticable, and also I think that we want to avoid any cables actually being connected to the computer. But like I said, we will keep this in mind as an alternative.

[Thinkpaddict]

Before I even attempt to answer your question, here's a question for you:

What is the initial source of the broadband connection: cable, DSL, FiOS...?

Ajkula,

Thanks for following up with this. I'm not sure I have a satisfactory answer at the moment, but I can check for more information. What I do know is that the source signal is an internet satellite dish (my wife's folks live in a slightly remote location and they do not get cable or DSL.) The company they used is called Wild Blue. Does this answer your question, or do you need more information?

Thanks again. I gotta say this forum rocks, you guys are amazing. I couldn't have expected so many good answers in such a little time.

Regards,

Ruben

[ajkula66]

Why not mount another receiver in the trailer if that's the case?

[rkawakami]

Here's a another question: Will the computer(s) inside the trailer need to be wireless or can it/they be wired?

I ask since it's not clear to me if you require that the systems be wireless (portable) within the confines of the trailer. If you can settle for it/them to be wired, then I have one solution: a wireless ethernet bridge. You can either get a dedicated bridge or use a "standard" wireless access point configured as a bridge (if the firmware allows for it). In my case, I use several Netgear ME101 (802.11b) wireless ethernet bridges to connect a digital video recorder and some Veo netcams wirelessly to my network. Since the DVR and netcams have ethernet jacks, I attach a short length of CAT5 from them to their respective bridges. The unfortunate part of this is that those bridges seem to be obsolete; there's none on eBay and online sellers appear to be out of stock. Another choice would be the Linksys WET11 or as you suggested, the WRT54G/GL, if operable in bridge mode. However, it's not clear to me if you can have the WRT54x in bridge mode and also act as a wireless access point. That sounds more like a "repeater" mode, in which case something like a Linksys WRE54G could work, at the possible risk of some reduction in bandwidth (at least that's my understanding when you are using a repeater or range extender). In any event, you should choose a piece of gear which has detachable antennas. Most wireless access points and bridges that I've seen uses the RP-SMA standard, but check with the manufacturer when considering equipment. You would then need to mount an external antenna and figure out how to cable it to the appropriate plug that screws into the bridge/repeater.

To answer a question you posed: No, you don't have to use the equipment from the same manufacturer, although in some cases it might make it easier to configure or maintain a more stable connection if you do.

[Thinkpaddict]

Why not mount another receiver in the trailer if that's the case?

That would be the easiest solution, wouldn't it? Unfortunately wireless access in the trailer wasn't a requirement when the satellite internet was set up. Even if it had been back then, I wonder if it would have been feasible (or cost effective, taking into account the additional equipment and setup) to set up a second satellite receiver and router.

[Thinkpaddict]

Here's a another question: Will the computer(s) inside the trailer need to be wireless or can it/they be wired?

I ask since it's not clear to me if you require that the systems be wireless (portable) within the confines of the trailer. If you can settle for it/them to be wired, then I have one solution: a wireless ethernet bridge. You can either get a dedicated bridge or use a "standard" wireless access point configured as a bridge (if the firmware allows for it). In my case, I use several Netgear ME101 (802.11b) wireless ethernet bridges to connect a digital video recorder and some Veo netcams wirelessly to my network. Since the DVR and netcams have ethernet jacks, I attach a short length of CAT5 from them to their respective bridges. The unfortunate part of this is that those bridges seem to be obsolete; there's none on eBay and online sellers appear to be out of stock. Another choice would be the Linksys WET11 or as you suggested, the WRT54G/GL, if operable in bridge mode. However, it's not clear to me if you can have the WRT54x in bridge mode and also act as a wireless access point. That sounds more like a "repeater" mode, in which case something like a Linksys WRE54G could work, at the possible risk of some reduction in bandwidth (at least that's my understanding when you are using a repeater or range extender). In any event, you should choose a piece of gear which has detachable antennas. Most wireless access points and bridges that I've seen uses the RP-SMA standard, but check with the manufacturer when considering equipment. You would then need to mount an external antenna and figure out how to cable it to the appropriate plug that screws into the bridge/repeater.

To answer a question you posed: No, you don't have to use the equipment from the same manufacturer, although in some cases it might make it easier to configure or maintain a more stable connection if you do.

Thank you for your thoughtful response, Ray. I hadn't thought about the wireless ethernet bridge (or wireless access point configured as a bridge) option. That's actually quite intriguing, and I will ask to see if the laptop could be wired The only issue I can find with it though is that, unless I am misunderstanding, the bridge (or access point) would need to be outside the trailer, and I don't think that would be a good idea because of the elements. That's why I was leaning towards an external antenna (which are built to withstand the elements) plus a wireless access point inside the trailer connected to the antenna through wire.

I am interested in your network setup. Do you use the DVR to play video to your computers? How about the netcams? Do you use them like a sort of way to communicate via video between different rooms? If Jules Verne were alive today he would be quite astounded at all the things which can be done. Alas, no flying cars yet (at least commercialized.)

[rkawakami]

No, the actual bridge or access point would not need to be located outside in the elements. As long as the equipment has some sort of standard threaded or bayonet-type connector for the antenna, you could always buy a cable pre-configured with the matching elements. For example, I believe that this type of cable can be used to remotely locate a standard RP-SMA antenna:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0395200154

Now 6 meters is a lot of cable so there's going to be some signal loss but you can compensate for that somewhat by using a higher gain antenna:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0334959680

One problem would be to figure out a good way to "mount" the antenna. A quick and dirty solution would be to use a couple of clothes pins as clamps and affix them to a piece of wood. Then you could bolt/screw/clamp that piece of wood somewhere outside the trailer, seal the connection at the end of the antenna so that no moisture can get inside, then thread the cable into the trailer. Connect the other end of the cable to the antenna jack on the bridge (or wireless access point) and you should be able to "see" the wireless system inside the adjacent house.

For my setups, I have a video camera outside my house which is connected to a digital recorder that runs 24/7. The DVR can handle up to four cameras and is ethernet enabled; which means that I can stream the video across my network. That DVR is in my garage. Since I'm too lazy to string out some CAT5 there, I'm using a wireless bridge. The same goes for the VEO netcams. They are the "wired" versions with a built-in ethernet jack. You are supposed to plug them into your network but since I have them connected to their own ME101 bridge, they are in a sense wireless. I don't need to have any RJ45 jacks wherever I want to place them. As long as the bridge can connect to my access point, I can stream the video. But since they are just bridges, they need to be tethered to the equipment (DVR and cams). The same would be true if you want to connect a computer. You would be "tied down" by the ethernet cable that goes between the computer and the bridge.

[Thinkpaddict]

No, the actual bridge or access point would not need to be located outside in the elements. As long as the equipment has some sort of standard threaded or bayonet-type connector for the antenna, you could always buy a cable pre-configured with the matching elements. For example, I believe that this type of cable can be used to remotely locate a standard RP-SMA antenna:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0395200154

Now 6 meters is a lot of cable so there's going to be some signal loss but you can compensate for that somewhat by using a higher gain antenna:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0334959680

I see, Ray. That's the setup I had in mind originally, except that I didn't know whether it would be necessary to use the same router that is used in the main house. From what you tell me, although it might make some of the setup easier, it isn't an absolute requirement. As you can probably tell by now my knowledge of networking terminology falls a little flat. I am not knowledgeable of the difference between a wireless access point, a wireless router, and a wireless bridge. So it seems that what I would need to connect to the antenna is either one of those devices, correct? I believe a wireless repeater would be unnecessary, since the repeater wouldn't hook up to an antenna, but instead gather the wireless waves from the air itself before re-broadcasting them. Or perhaps it is possible to connect some wireless repeaters to an external antenna. It seems that there might be less setup involved if the repeater worked, since it would seem that the repeater would simply replicate and retransmit the waves without protocol negotiation of its own required.

Thanks very much for the links to the antenna and the cabling. I had looked and some high gain antennas and cabling in Amazon, but the price was almost 10 times higher than what you pointed out.

For my setups, I have a video camera outside my house which is connected to a digital recorder that runs 24/7. The DVR can handle up to four cameras and is ethernet enabled; which means that I can stream the video across my network. That DVR is in my garage. Since I'm too lazy to string out some CAT5 there, I'm using a wireless bridge. The same goes for the VEO netcams. They are the "wired" versions with a built-in ethernet jack. You are supposed to plug them into your network but since I have them connected to their own ME101 bridge, they are in a sense wireless. I don't need to have any RJ45 jacks wherever I want to place them. As long as the bridge can connect to my access point, I can stream the video. But since they are just bridges, they need to be tethered to the equipment (DVR and cams). The same would be true if you want to connect a computer. You would be "tied down" by the ethernet cable that goes between the computer and the bridge.

It must be really cool to be able to monitor the outside of your house anywhere with a laptop. Now the only thing you need to do is a way to remotely turn on the sprinklers for those times when pesky solicitors show up (not to mention the in-laws.)

[seaweedsl]

Thinkpadaddict:

First, I have been active on the newsgroup alt.internet.wireless and you can go there for advice via google groups if you don't do newsreaders. I can recommend that. There are many there to help, but your problem is so classic that I'll just address it now.

Typically, people live in RVs at RV parks with wireless provided , but can't get reception due to the metal shell. Solutions include:

1) get a USB wireless adapter and put it on a 15 foot extension cable. Mount the USB outside in a baggie and run the cable inside. This can work. Cost: around $50 with extension cable. Limited to 15 feet away unless buying expensive active extension, plus must have drivers installed in pc. USB adapter antennas are weak and the radios as well, typically. Best to buy one with external antenna connector if you go this route to allow for antenna upgrades.

This one comes with a decent external antenna: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833315075

2) Get a dedicated wireless ethernet bridge, OR better yet, a wireless router* that takes free aftermarket firmware and flash it so it will have bridge function. Then do one of following:
a: Run a low loss antenna cable (LMR400) from inside up to a seperate antenna on the roof, and connect your computer to the ethernet cable from the router. This is what people tend to do, but it's the least effective and most expensive approach due to the cable loss and cost of seperate cable ($30-50) and antenna plus adapters. Cost: $100-200 total
b: Install the router or dedicated bridge outside and run an ethernet cable inside. Cost: price of router and a tupperware. This is a superior solution that is cheap - I buy Buffalo WHR-G54S on Ebay for $30 then flash them with DD-WRT and put them in a tupperware up in a tree for very cheap and reliable solution with much better sensitivity and power than a USB. Cost: $40 with an ethernet cable, depeding on length. Ethernet can be run up to 100 meters if needed, by the way.

3) Buy a pro CPE (customer presence equipment) and put it outside, running an ethernet cable inside. A CPE is basically a wireless router card that has been weatherproofed with a built-in directional antenna. This used to be an expensive solution before Ubiquiti entered the market. They are often run by Power Over Ethernet (POE) so that no seperate AC line is needed.

The "Nanostation Loco" from Ubiquiti comes with a built-in high gain antenna, is weatherproof, has POE and costs $50 ! It will operate in several modes, most typically as a wireless ethernet client.

Nano Loco page: http://www.ubnt.com/products/loco.php

Retail supplier: http://www.streakwave.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=NS2L&eq=&Tp=

This is the new and now optimal solution that I recommend.


Once you have a CPE or wireless router (configured as a bridge) in place, you have two options:
1) run the ethernet cable directly to your computer - almost every computer will have an ethernet port and it requires no special drivers -should work fine with default configuration.

2) Run that ethernet cable into the LAN port (not WAN) of any old cheap wireless router. I favor the Airlinks that Fry's sells for $20, but anything halfway reliable will do if you don't have special coverage needs. The router will add wireless coverage to the the inside of your trailer plus act as a switch to allow for more than one computer to connect via ethernet cable, if desired.

OK, that was a lot, but now it's out there. Let me know if I can help further.

Steve


*Ethernet (wireless) bridges are very much availible, but cost more than routers and are limited to that function. A more flexible solution is to get a consumer router that takes aftermarket firmware (DD-WRT or Tomato) and flash it so it will have bridge function. I favor the Buffalo WHR-G54S or WHR-HP-G54, which have nice antennas and are compact. The HP is overkill for many and costs more. The Linksys WRT54GL (note L) is another good solution but it's bulkier and the antennas are not as good as the Buffalo. Buffalo is a bit more complicated to flash than the linksys L, but it's not a big deal.

[Thinkpaddict]

Thinkpadaddict:

First, I have been active on the newsgroup alt.internet.wireless and you can go there for advice via google groups if you don't do newsreaders. I can recommend that. There are many there to help, but your problem is so classic that I'll just address it now.
[...]

Steve,

I can't thank you enough for putting the time to write this survey about the possible options that I have to solve this problem. I am now leaning towards trying the NanoStation Loco which you talk about. Being able to power this via ethernet is an additional advantage which I wasn't even aware of. Plus the fact that it's weatherproof would simplify things quite a bit.

I will be able to try this in around 2 weeks. I will report back and let you know how things work out.

You obviously have a lot of experience making this type of set ups, so I'd like to thank you again for so generously sharing your knowledge. Thank you also to all the other people that helped me by posting in this thread, all their input has served to make things a little more manageable for my brain.

Regards,

Ruben

[seaweedsl]

I will be able to try this in around 2 weeks. I will report back and let you know how things work out.

You're welcome. It's great that the Loco is finally availible. I waited several months for it to come out and finally had to settle for the larger and slightly stronger Nanostation ($80) for the application I had. I can comment from experience with that model that it's an elegant, simple solution that works very well so far. The included POE is sweet. I expect the Loco to be just as good as it's big brother with a few less db. As long as you place it for line of sight to the main router, it should be super strong signal-wise.

Also, their AIROS firmware seems well done and fairly clear and easy to use. That will be the part that you need to catch up on for doing the initial setup. After that it shouldn't require any attention in daily use. Download their manual and check it out, though you will only need to know how to set it in client mode. Don't forget to use WPA security with a strong password. Ask here or PM me for any setup help.

Cheers,
Steve

[Thinkpaddict]

You're welcome. It's great that the Loco is finally availible. I waited several months for it to come out and finally had to settle for the larger and slightly stronger Nanostation ($80) for the application I had. I can comment from experience with that model that it's an elegant, simple solution that works very well so far. The included POE is sweet. I expect the Loco to be just as good as it's big brother with a few less db. As long as you place it for line of sight to the main router, it should be super strong signal-wise.

Also, their AIROS firmware seems well done and fairly clear and easy to use. That will be the part that you need to catch up on for doing the initial setup. After that it shouldn't require any attention in daily use. Download their manual and check it out, though you will only need to know how to set it in client mode. Don't forget to use WPA security with a strong password. Ask here or PM me for any setup help.

Cheers,
Steve

I will do what you suggest and start looking at the manual within a few days, thank you.

Hopefully the unit can be disconnected (which would turn it off due to the POE) and connected again often with no issue. I think I might mount it on the roof of the trailer and have a cable pull down either through a window or connected directly to the antenna connection in the trailer if that's an option.

If I have any issues I will let you know, thank for your help!

Do you do this for a living? You obviously are very knowledgeable of this stuff.

[seaweedsl]

Hopefully the unit can be disconnected (which would turn it off due to the POE) and connected again often with no issue. I think I might mount it on the roof of the trailer and have a cable pull down either through a window or connected directly to the antenna connection in the trailer if that's an option.
...
Do you do this for a living? You obviously are very knowledgeable of this stuff.

I'm starting to earn some money doing this, but really still an amateur. I've installed two local networked systems down here in Mexico, one for my own community and one for the B&B next door. Both are connected by HughesNet Satellite dishes, which I also installed. Between the two systems I now have 12 wireless devices serving 14 clients. It's kinda cool when it all works, which it mostly does.

As far as turning it off and on frequently - I don't know, maybe ask in the Ubiquiti forum. My understanding so far is that electronics in general are stressed from temperature cycling, so keeping them on all the time means less cycling. That's what I do. I suppose it's more critical in cold climates, going from freezing to hot in a short time. On the other hand, heat also wears stuff out, they say.

In our high humidity climate I also feel that keeping them on is good protection against corrosion. Electronics that I store away often fail here just from corrosion while sitting in the closet.

When you suggest that you may run your ethernet cable "connected directly to the antenna connection in the trailer", do you mean a coax connector? Screw on? That won't work. It's a different animal. Though there are adapters for ethernet to coax, it's not likely worth the trouble or expense in your case.

I'd run it through a grommeted hole in a service door if there is one and then inside through a sealed grommet from there. Or down under the trailer and then up through a sealed grommet in the floor. Whatever works for you though.

Put the Loco2's power supply on a powerstrip with a switch to turn it off and on. Or unplug it's ethernet cable from the POE adapter to elimate any possible lighting issues when not there.

Consider buying outdoor rated ethernet cable for the installation. So far I've just run standard indoor cable (mostly in conduit) but hope to eventually upgrade to outdoor.

Steve

P.S. don't let the user manual intimidate you, it's just a few settings that you need to deal with. Check some wifi tutorials as well to learn some about the basics of router setup. It's mostly the same from device to device.

[seaweedsl]

Quick comment. Your main router IS 802.11B or 802.11G capable, right? Most are, but there is another type 802.11A, , which requires a different device on a different frequency. Check your router or get your model number and maker and check online.

Almost certain that you need a G or 2.4, which is the Loco2.

Some business or professional applications use A and would buy a Loco5.

N routers should default to G for the Loco2, so that should be ok.

[Thinkpaddict]

I'm starting to earn some money doing this, but really still an amateur. I've installed two local networked systems down here in Mexico, one for my own community and one for the B&B next door. Both are connected by HughesNet Satellite dishes, which I also installed. Between the two systems I now have 12 wireless devices serving 14 clients. It's kinda cool when it all works, which it mostly does.

I understand what you mean. It must be a big satisfaction to set up these systems and have people being able to use them in a reliable manner. In barely 15 years we have come to be very dependent on the Internet, so in many ways it can be considered a necessity nowadays. I wish you luck with that. Maybe in good time you can expand this into a bigger business and even have people work for you.

When you suggest that you may run your ethernet cable "connected directly to the antenna connection in the trailer", do you mean a coax connector? Screw on? That won't work. It's a different animal. Though there are adapters for ethernet to coax, it's not likely worth the trouble or expense in your case.

I'd run it through a grommeted hole in a service door if there is one and then inside through a sealed grommet from there. Or down under the trailer and then up through a sealed grommet in the floor. Whatever works for you though.

I wasn't thinking when I said that, but you are correct. We first are going to try to set this up setting the NanoStation inside the trailer, mounted on a window facing to the outside. If that doesn't work, then I will mount it outside, and run an ethernet cable through the window (apparently we need to avoid drilling holes on the trailer, but from your comments, it seems there might already be some grommeted holes available for this type of thing. I'll have to look and see.)

Put the Loco2's power supply on a powerstrip with a switch to turn it off and on. Or unplug it's ethernet cable from the POE adapter to elimate any possible lighting issues when not there.

Consider buying outdoor rated ethernet cable for the installation. So far I've just run standard indoor cable (mostly in conduit) but hope to eventually upgrade to outdoor.

Steve

P.S. don't let the user manual intimidate you, it's just a few settings that you need to deal with. Check some wifi tutorials as well to learn some about the basics of router setup. It's mostly the same from device to device.

I'll try first using regular ethernet cable, but if we necessarily need to put the Loco outside, then I might look into outdoor rated ethernet cable.

Thanks for the advice on how to go about this, Steve. I greatly appreciate it. Although I am new to this I'm willing to put time and effort to learn, and all your advice is heading me on the right direction.

[Thinkpaddict]

Quick comment. Your main router IS 802.11B or 802.11G capable, right? Most are, but there is another type 802.11A, , which requires a different device on a different frequency. Check your router or get your model number and maker and check online.

Almost certain that you need a G or 2.4, which is the Loco2.

Some business or professional applications use A and would buy a Loco5.

N routers should default to G for the Loco2, so that should be ok.

I will check with my wife's folks, thanks for the notice!

[Thinkpaddict]

P.S. don't let the user manual intimidate you, it's just a few settings that you need to deal with. Check some wifi tutorials as well to learn some about the basics of router setup. It's mostly the same from device to device.

I wanted to post a follow up, and to thank everyone that helped, me, especially Steve.

I finally set this up this past weekend, and things went quite smooth (I believe I probably got a little lucky.)

The one I got is the NanoStation 2. The setup was quite painless I must say, especially as I followed the advice that Steve gave me, and looked over the manuals in the Ubiquiti site in advance. I first set up some IPv4 settings in the computer in order to allow the laptop to communicate with the NS2 and access the AirOS interface, then just modified a few settings from the AirOS interface to make it operational and to connect to the wireless network at the house. As I said, I was surprised at how easy it was. I set it up as a client station (there are different configurations depending on what you want the device to do.) Then I selected the network to connect to, and entered the security data for the network. I also selected a setting which basically makes the NS2 forward and relay packets from whichever computer is connected to it in a transparent fashion to and from the router. This is quite handy, since it means that once the NS2 is configured to connect to the network, then you can connect any computer with an Ethernet port to it, and without any additional configuration access the network.

The device itself seems to be well built, and based on the performance which I managed to get from it, the antenna configuration must be very well thought, as it seems to be very efficient. Right now it is setup completely inside a trailer (so there is no Line Of Sight.) Even so, the connection is good enough to be operational, without drop outs to speak of.

Everybody is happy, and so am I (I expected to encounter far more troubles during the setup, but I was surprised there were none.) I wanted to thank every one that helped me, and specially Steve for pointing me towards the NanoStation, and for offering a lot of invaluable advice.

Regards,

Ruben

[seaweedsl]

The one I got is the NanoStation 2. The setup was quite painless...... I also selected a setting which basically makes the NS2 forward and relay packets from whichever computer is connected to it in a transparent fashion to and from the router. ...you can connect any computer with an Ethernet port to it, and without any additional configuration access the network.

...... Right now it is setup completely inside a trailer (so there is no Line Of Sight.) Even so, the connection is good enough to be operational, without drop outs to speak of.
Ruben

Great to hear it's all worked out ! You are very welcome. I also am using the Nanostation 2 which I believe is overkill for both of us, but the Loco, which is just a bit less powerful (and $30 cheaper) was not availible back then. Again, for most people the Loco (NSL2) should be more than enough. The advantage of having a directional antenna with zero cable loss is dramatic in itself and will beat out an antenna with much more gain run on a cheap lossy cable. It also gives a wider coverage than a high gain antenna, which is sometimes an advantage.

A few more comments:

-The setting you referred to is probably DHCP forwarding. This is about negotiation of the assignment of addresses. Instead of having to manually assign each machine it's own IP address before connecting, or having the NS2 automatically assign (DHCP), it forwards the request to your main router's DHCP which is usually best for keeping everything on the same page, so to speak.

-Again, if you want to make things even snazzier and allow multiple connections at the trailer, then connect any old cheapo wireless router or AP (a cheap linksys, Airlink, whatever) to the NS2, as I suggested in a previous post. If it's a wireless router, then just turn off it's DHCP and firewall to convert it to an AP and connect the NS2 to a LAN (not WAN or internet) port on the back. APs may not require any settings other than their own IP address and wireless security. You will now have a two-device repeater setup that will not have the problems of the single device repeaters. Oh, and set the router/AP to a different channel like 1 or 11 if your main router>NS2 channel is 6, for example.

Cheap AP link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817201523

- If you ever do have any trouble with your signal, too many dropouts- then go ahead and position that NS2 outside with line of sight to the main router. Makes a world of difference. The outdoor rated ethernet cable is optional. As you can see, it's very easy to zip-tie it to a pole or pipe, even a tree.

Thanks for the update - it's always rewarding when problems get solved!

Steve

[Thinkpaddict]

Great to hear it's all worked out ! You are very welcome. I also am using the Nanostation 2 which I believe is overkill for both of us, but the Loco, which is just a bit less powerful (and $30 cheaper) was not availible back then. Again, for most people the Loco (NSL2) should be more than enough. The advantage of having a directional antenna with zero cable loss is dramatic in itself and will beat out an antenna with much more gain run on a cheap lossy cable. It also gives a wider coverage than a high gain antenna, which is sometimes an advantage.

[...]

Thanks for the update - it's always rewarding when problems get solved!

Steve

Steve, I know this is a very old thread. I've been away from the forum for a while, so I don't know if you have been posting lately.

I wanted to thank you again for all your selfless help.

I recently got a couple of vintage Thinkpads, so on my return to this incredible forum, I wanted to make it one of my first actions to thank you again.

Regards,

Thinkpaddict

[seaweedsl]

Great, thanks for remembering. As a follow-up, I have found those Ubiquitis to be sensitive to electrical surge damage in storms and such. Try to make sure you've got a grounded POE adapter as the early ones were not. If you can remember to unplug it in storms, you might avoid a failure. I lost one to a storm.

This forum has helped me so much, I'm glad there's something I could add, even if somewhat off-topic.

cheers,
Steve