[MLB-WIRELESS] Short lend of AP / Antenna?

[Tyson Clugg]

On Thu, 2007-05-24 at 18:16 +1000, Mike Dickens wrote:
> Hey guys,
> I'm kind've new to this, now pretty close to establishing a short (250
> metre) link to a friend. I only have one AP (UltraWAP / Edimax) at the
> moment, and we get a relatively stable connection (5.5 mbps, ~90% of
> pings going through typically at < 10 ms) using a USB dongle held up
> in the air with a saucepan behind it (seems to produce a slight boost,
> and at the very least it filters out noise). 

Mounting your antenna to a solid mast on your roof should help things a
good deal.  Did you do your testing from ground level?  If so, moving
onto the roof should clear the fresnel zone of obstructions giving you a
better link.  The MW wiki has some info on what a fresnel zone is under
LineOfSight:
http://www.melbournewireless.org.au/wiki/?LineOfSight

> Anyway, before we commit to our second AP purchase, we'd love to test
> with a second AP (preferably something running dd-wrt or another
> UltraWAP / Edimax). If anyones willing to lend us one for a few days,
> I'd be EXTREMELY grateful. 
> 
> We're down on the Mornington Peninsula, and I can pick up gear from
> anywhere nearby (bonus if you live near a trainstation)
> 
> Also, if anyone is willing to lend me a high gain antenna to see if
> it'll help us at all (and also to scout around for other links, the
> area is pretty dry node-wise but there's a couple across town I could
> have some luck with). 

You're best sticking with a lower-gain directional for such a small link
becase:
 - it's cheaper
 - it's smaller
 - the neighbors are less likely to complain
 - it's easier to aim
 - you won't need beefy/large/expensive/ugly mounting hardware

A cantenna is something you can make yourself and should do an excellent
job for such a short link.  Once again, see the MW wiki:
http://www.melbournewireless.org.au/wiki/?Cantenna

> Oh, and finally - if anyone has any "free to good home" antennas
> they're happy to part with, I'd really appreciate it (I'm not sure if
> this ever actually happens, but at the moment I only have pretty
> standard omnis.. like I said, new to this ;)). 

I'd nearly let you have a cantenna I have with mounting hardware, except
I'm expecting to use it in the not too distant future.  Yes, this sort
of thing happens - no, it's not too much to ask.  ;)

> Anyway, thanks in advance. I'm not sure on the ettiquette of all this,
> so replies are appreciated! And also, thank you for all the great info
> on your website/ in the mailing list, and from your members, you've
> really helped me 
> -Mike
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> Melbwireless at wireless.org.au
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Cheers,
Tyson.