Wireless Repeater & External Antenna

[MichiganRon]

I have a somewhat unique situation which I need some advice about.

A friend of mine and his sister have agreed to share the cost of internet access. They live in the country, where ISP choices are limited or unavailable. She lives in a sub-division and can (barely) get internet access via DSL. He lives outside the sub-division, about a quarter mile away, and is too far from the CO to get DSL. He has no choice for internet access, except satellite. They want to share internet access via wireless.

The obvious answer would be to mount a directional antenna on her roof and send the signal to his house, where he would have an external antenna to pick it up and run it into his house. Unfortunately, she lives in a very restrictive community where they have a rule which prevents her from mounting an external antenna.

So my question is this: If he were to purchase a directional high-gain antenna and mount it on his roof, in theory, could he use that antenna to pick up the signal directly from her wireless router without her having any special equipment? If so, how big (DBi) would this antenna need to be to pick up a signal from a quarter mile away?

I know, it's a weird situation. But I'd like to help them, if I can.

Thanks,
Ron

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?” ~ Mevlana Rumi


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[G0AOZ]

If the lady is unable to mount an external antenna at her house, then I'd say the chances of this system working are extremely slim, if not at all...

For a start, do these two properties have completely clear, uninterrupted line of sight?

Given that antennas COULD be mounted externally on both roofs, what sort of height above ground are we talking about?

Sure, WiFi will work over distances greater than a quarter of a mile, but you need parabolic antennas, they've got to both be mounted high above ground, and there mustn't be any obstacles bumps or lumps on the ground in between. There is an area called the fresnel zone which is between the direct signal path and ground, and this needs to be quite considerable when you're talking distances that you've mentioned.

If the lady has a three-storey house, then I guess a parabolic antenna in an upstairs window might just be possible, but my guess would be you'd need ground clearance for the signal of at least 50 or 60ft for the intervening quarter of a mile. If your two houses were situated on opposite sides of a valley with clear line of sight, then there's a possibility it might work...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[americanmcneil]

I would have to agree with G0AOZ on this one. Even if you were able to put one heck of a strong wireless router in the subdivision, the size of a parabolic antenna you would need on the other end to be sensitive enough would be at least a meter. The only meter size parabolic I know of are for 900MHz not 2.4GHz. Even then the antenna would absorb so much noise and interference I doubt it would be a useful link.

With the antenna restrictions she has as part of her HOA I don't think it would be possible.

But thats just my two cents worth.

Scott "Thrown to the Wolves" McNeil

http://www.epproach.net