I just got a new laptop with wi - fi aka wireless LAN. Wow is all I
can say. After moving a couple of times in Christiansted, St Croix, I
got myself in a hotspot where I can connect and stay connected in the
cockpit, downloading files at 3 MB per minute. Using web mail and
google newsgroups, I have almost all the services that a traditional
ISP would provide. A major exception is the lack of encryption - thus
the security to do e-commerce. If I run the computer at the nav
station, I get much weaker connectivity where I can connect sometimes
and get cut off and have jagged and spiky connectivity. There is no
port or jack on the laptop (a Sony VIAO PCG-GRT260G) for an external
antenna and I am looking for a way to send the "clear line of sight"
good signal down to the nav station. Any Ideas? TIA Larry

You can get a USB-wireless adapter. These seem to have better range that
built in antennas, plus you can put a long cord on it.
Lee Haefele
Nauticat 33 Alesto
boat currently anchored Salinas, PR, captain at home
"larry" wrote in message
ups.com...
I just got a new laptop with wi - fi aka wireless LAN. Wow is all I
can say. After moving a couple of times in Christiansted, St Croix, I
got myself in a hotspot where I can connect and stay connected in the
cockpit, downloading files at 3 MB per minute. Using web mail and
google newsgroups, I have almost all the services that a traditional
ISP would provide. A major exception is the lack of encryption - thus
the security to do e-commerce. If I run the computer at the nav
station, I get much weaker connectivity where I can connect sometimes
and get cut off and have jagged and spiky connectivity. There is no
port or jack on the laptop (a Sony VIAO PCG-GRT260G) for an external
antenna and I am looking for a way to send the "clear line of sight"
good signal down to the nav station. Any Ideas? TIA Larry

Your problem can be solved by using a USB wireless card that comes with a
jack for an external antenna. The only one that I have found that comes with
this feature is the Orinoco Silver.

There are a wide variety of external antennas available with signal gain
around 3-10 db, for about $30. I saw a large selection at CompUSA the other
day. These all seemed to be omni directional. If your objective is to target
a spacific hot spot, then build yourself a directional one.

I have played with this on the boat and found I the Nav station to poor a
location for normal wi-fi without the external antenna. However, around the
house, I am able to take my laptop with standard internal or USB wireless
some distance from the hub, into my shop or in my vehicle with good
connectivity.

However, while visiting my son, in his home, it made a difference if the
doors were closed between the living room and his hub which was about 3
rooms away. I think the difference here was the fact that his house has lath
and plaster walls while at another sons home with sheet rock walls, there
seemed to be little noticeable effect by "clear line of sight". I fact,
while sitting in his house, I can find neighbors hubs up to 6 houses away.

I am still learning about the limitations of wi-fi and hot spots and hope
that there will still be a few left with open access when I finally figure
it all out.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

larry wrote:
There is no
port or jack on the laptop (a Sony VIAO PCG-GRT260G) for an external
antenna and I am looking for a way to send the "clear line of sight"
good signal down to the nav station. Any Ideas? TIA Larry

We have a directional antenna by "Buffalo"; seems to work well for
distances up to several hundred meters. The Buffalo card fits into the
PCIO slot on our laptop; we run the cord up through a hatch and tie the
antenna to the sail cover, facing the shore-based RX/TX.

Rob

"Steve" wrote in message
news
Your problem can be solved by using a USB wireless card that comes with a
jack for an external antenna. The only one that I have found that comes
with this feature is the Orinoco Silver.

Another way is to add a PCMCIA (Cardbus) wireless card that has a full 200mw
transmit power and an external antenna jack. SMC makes both - model
SMC2536W-B for the card and SMCANT-0M5 for the antenna. I bought mine from
nextwarehouse.com for $77 for both. This combination works much better than
the builtin wireless NIC in my laptop, and the software they include is
better also.

Don

Hi Don tnx for the specifics. I will look up specs ...in casual
peripheral browsing, I haven't noticed USB WLAN's.Larry

Hi Steve, as far as antenna design goes, while the gain inherent in a
directional antenna is desirable, swinging on a hook at anchor means
needing a wide arc of reception. I would like to figure out a good
"dish" reflector with a wide acceptance angle maybe a properly shaped
stainless bowl...need to figure out the drive element. Larry

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry

On 27 Dec 2004 02:26:42 -0800, "larry" wrote:

I would like to figure out a good
"dish" reflector with a wide acceptance angle maybe a properly shaped
stainless bowl...need to figure out the drive element.

==========================================

Probably no such animal, a corner reflector might be closer to what
you're looking for. You can get 8 to 10 dbi supposedly, and they are
easy to make using foil faced cardboard.