Hi,
I've spent the last hour talking to both the cable router manufacturer and our internet provider trying to figure out how I can extend my LAN to an outbuilding about 300-400 foot away. Manufacturer says talk to the provider, provider says "buy a bunch of wifi extenders and dasiy chain them" or pay another $100/month to get internet installed at the outbuilding. It's driving me crazy.

I was thinking that something like this would help, but I have no experience with doing it, all my experience is with wired networks. I'm not sure what would be required on both ends, or even if the current router would work.

Anyone have any ideas?

https://www.neweggbusiness.com/Prod...Vl2p-Ch1vjAF5EAQYByABEgLb2PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Hello,

When the router is having an external antenna connector, you could easely built one of the antennas descibed on the following pages:
Biquad antenna
Cantenna
WIFI antenna applications
WIFI - WLAN antennas
WLAN Antenna Tools
WLAN-Biquad Antenna
WLAN-Parabola

Bertus

 

Thanks. I'll look and see if it has an ext. antenna port.

 

Hello,

Often SMA or SMB connectors are used for external antennas:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMA_connector
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMB_connector

Bertus

 

Is the router a wifi router? How many antenna? Can you screw the antenna off?

How heavily is the wifi used now in house?

Are there any un-used LAN(wired) ports on router?

Are you a gamer or a browser?

What are you willing to spend for a reliable connection? I think reliable hardware is relatively cheap now.

But there is the satisfaction of rolling your own. You have many options.

 

Hi,
Thanks. Here are the answers to your questions.

Is the router a wifi router?

I'm renting the system from Cox, didn't want to buy it outright before testing it. Its an ARRIS DOCSIS 3.0 / PC 1.5 Touchstone Residential Gateway, MODEL: TG1682G.
See it here: http://arris.force.com/consumers/ConsumerProductDetail?p=a0ha000000TnNmSAAV&c=Touchstone Modems and Gateways​

How many antenna? Can you screw the antenna off?

Has no external antenna.
​

How heavily is the wifi used now in house?

Very heavily, don't use wired connections at all.​

Are there any un-used LAN(wired) ports on router?

4 unused ethernet ports, 2 telephone ports and a USB port.
​

Are you a gamer or a browser?

Here at our house, not the outbuilding I need it to go to, we have 3 ipads, 2 smart phones, 2 imacs, a Windows 10 machine, and 2 smart TV's running on it, but I'm still getting almost 200mbs via wifi on my imac.

At the outbuilding, there will be one laptop and one smartphone attached to it.

We are all gamers, and I do extensive research as well as videoconferencing on occasion.
​

What are you willing to spend for a reliable connection? I think reliable hardware is relatively cheap now.

I'm not a rich man, but if I could get ~100mbs at the outbuilding reliably I would be happy.​

 

I have a link to my mate's place using a Ubiquity NanoStation link, a bit under a Km away.
Something like these.

They have a great range of good priced very well preforming stuff.
And up to recently, another link, this time with a pair of Ubiquity NanoBeam devices, and that was over a Km.

I forget the actual models.

Then add an Ethernet switch in your shed for full network coverage.

In fact, if I disconnect my NBN Internet connection, it automatically swaps over to his Internet via the Ubiquity link, and he has many times my speed so that is handy sometimes

 

The most strongest WiFi apparatuses with two antennas, good noise ratio, 90-100 dB input sensitivity may work so far as 300-400 meters away even without of any special additional antennas However not a cheap ones.
To construct own 2400 MHz antenna is rather tricky, if the aim is very good antenna, so or buy or not even try.
I just know it well, because I was working some period at prison school and my imprisoned pupils was extremely interested to learn how to calculate the distance long enough to get the collaborator`s housholds outside the zone (12 form, theme - the radio-wave propagation). Normally the internet is something very restricted in the zone. In-spite of that every week the guards was confiscating one after one the apparatuses capable for half kilometer wifi links. Therefore I know it exists for sure.

 

At a minimum, you could buy one more wireless router that does have antenna/RF connectors, connect it using a lan cable, install only a directional antenna (adjustable but rigidly fastened so it doesn't shift), and aim it at your outbuilding. It is best to locate this directional antenna up high enough to visibly "see" the outbuilding, like at an upper story window. That way, your eye calibrates the antenna at first.

If you mount it outdoors, you have to cope with direct lightning strikes just like any other antenna: Earth grounding, electrical bonding, surge suppressor.

If a cable has to be long, make the LAN cable long and keep the coax short.

If that single antenna is reliable, but not great everywhere, you would have to install another directional antenna at the outbuilding and aim that at your home antenna. This antenna would connect to an omnidirectional antenna either directly or through a wifi repeater that drives the two antenna independently.

 

If you have a spare satellite dish, you can install a WiFi dongle directly at the focal point, or run a cable to the dish from another WiFi router and install a stubby WiFi antenna. For even better antenna gain, put the stubby antenna in a "cantenna" and aim that at the dish from the focal point. It doesn't get any better.

Some Wok covers are parabolic...