OK, got the external WiFi antenna. Now I want to hook it into the Linksys wireless box we have on the boat now.

So what goes between the antenna and the Linksys box?

capt.bill11 wrote in
:

So what goes between the antenna and the Linksys box?



Use LMR-400 cable. Get Radiolabs to make you a custom cable up to 40'
long.
http://www.radiolabs.com/products/cables/cable.php
The connectors for the various Linksys products are shown on their
webpages. Make sure you leave an extra foot on both ends so you're not
sorry!

No, RG-58 left over from your VHF radio pullout won't work on 2400 Mhz.
Put that out of your mind....


Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

Thanks Larry.

But the antenna came with the correct end fitting to hook to the Linksys box. But what I'm not sure about is whether by just hooking the WiFi antenna to one of the two antenna posts on the Linksys box I should then start picking up local WiFi sites?

Or do I need something that the antenna plugs into first then that "box" gets plugged into the eithernet in port on the Linksys box?

Because right now the WiFi antenna is hooked to the and we are in sight of a local hot spot but can not get to the internet via the Linksys box.
But we can if we sit on deck with just the WiFi cards in the laptops.
For what it's worth it's a WRT54GS Linksys box.

"No, RG-58 left over from your VHF radio pullout won't work on 2400 Mhz.
Put that out of your mind...."

It never was. :-)

You might look at the specs for the Linksys box as the ads say it's a router - Access Point for WIFI. You're trying to connect one AP to another and they won't do it unless one changes personality. You really want a WET 54G to connect to the marina AP.

You might look at the specs for the Linksys box as the ads say it's a
router - Access Point for WIFI. You're trying to connect one AP to
another and they won't do it unless one changes personality. You really
want a WET 54G to connect to the marina AP.

You can load the dd-wrt firmware on it and use it for quite a bit more than
what the factory firmware offers.

capt.bill11 wrote:

Larry Wrote:

capt.bill11 wrote in
:
-
So what goes between the antenna and the Linksys box?

-

Use LMR-400 cable. Get Radiolabs to make you a custom cable up to 40'

long.
http://www.radiolabs.com/products/cables/cable.php
The connectors for the various Linksys products are shown on their
webpages. Make sure you leave an extra foot on both ends so you're not

sorry!

No, RG-58 left over from your VHF radio pullout won't work on 2400 Mhz.

Put that out of your mind....


Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.



Thanks Larry.

But the antenna came with the correct end fitting to hook to the
Linksys box. But what I'm not sure about is whether by just hooking
the WiFi antenna to one of the two antenna posts on the Linksys box I
should then start picking up local WiFi sites?

Is there a piece of cable in between the connectors?

Do you have coax needed for the run or are you just trying to test it?

At any rate, you need to configure the Linksys box a little. Use a
network cable and connect you PC's network connector to one of the
network ports (not the WLAN or Wideband connector) on the Linksys
whatever it is.

Start a browser and enter address http://192.168.1.1/ (or maybe
http://192.168.100.1/, it should be in your manual).

Then leave the user name blank and enter the password "admin" (lower
case, leave the quote marks off).

That should take you to Setup on the Linksys. Somewhere in there will
be an option to use either one or both of the antennas. It may be under
Advanced Wireless Antenna Selection. You need to tell it which
antenna (right or left) you want to use and save that setting.

I recommend you leave the the standard "rubber ducky" antenna on the
connector you do not turn on. That will keep that side from "running
open" if the whatever it is resets itself to defaults.

If the new antenna is far enough away from the rubber ducky you may
later even find having both antennas on useful. It might be that it
will work better inside the boat or in one area of the boat or another.
On the other hand, it may do some strange things at the antenna.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

capt.bill11 wrote in
:

But the antenna came with the correct end fitting to hook to the
Linksys box. But what I'm not sure about is whether by just hooking
the WiFi antenna to one of the two antenna posts on the Linksys box I
should then start picking up local WiFi sites?

Whoa! This is a broadband ROUTER, not a BRIDGE or GATEWAY or REPEATER
(keywords). It's made to be the SOURCE of wifi broadband, connected to a
cable modem or DSL modem via Ethernet....NOT a wifi listening device, a
receiver connectable to other wifi systems.

The two antennas are called "space diversity antennas". They both
transceive the same signals and listen to the same channels. A "voter"
in the box determines which antenna has the best signal from your wifi
laptop/PDA/Skype Phone and uses that antenna. (My Netgear has 7 antennas
built into its internal phased array panel.)

You can't connect a wifi router to a wifi access point, then repeat what
it says to another wifi box like a laptop. The data flow is from the
Ethernet WAN port. It has no way to connect to a wifi hotspot.

I'm using a Linksys "Range Expander" in my car:
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...ldpagename=US%
2FLayout&cid=1130267578138&pagename=Linksys%2FComm on%2FVisitorWrapper
This box IS a wifi repeater station. You put it on the edge of usable
wifi coverage from a wifi hotspot and it REPEATS the hotspot data, bi-
directionally, with wifi devices (laptop and Skype Phone here) that would
normally be out-of-range of that hotspot. At my local Denny's, there's
an unprotected linksys wifi router that has a lousy signal INSIDE the
metal old-fashioned diner style restaurant (Nothing at Denny's is DINER
PRICED, however, another matter.) So, when I carry my laptop or Skype
Phone into Denny's for breakfast, I plug this 110VAC repeater into a 75W
inverter-in-a-cigarette-lighter-plug, into the 12V port on my dash. The
AC line runs out the door seal to the Linksys repeater laying flat on the
roof with its little plastic antenna sticking up (it rotates). Signal
from the weak hotspot INSIDE Denny's goes from 1 bar to 4 bars out of 5
on the little Netgear Skype Phone, and I have solid phone service at
breakfast through it.

Repeating DOES have a drawback! If you add the time it takes to receive
data, store it, then transmit it back out to another wifi device, that
takes TWICE as long as connecting directly....for boxes like mine. Data
comes in half as fast as it did directly, but with a much better signal
that doesn't fade and dropout. For just browsing, Skyping, all but
downloading big files, it matters not but is something to think about.

Now....to get faster service....you need to buy a high powered Access
Point and run Ethernet from the access point up the mast to the computer
in the boat. That means the AP needs to be up the mast, powered by one
cable and Ethernet cable comes down the mast, not RF coax cable. If you
put another router on the other end of that Ethernet cable, you end up
with the problem of the second router inside the boat, which wirelessly
would connect to your laptop, INTERFERING with the receiver up the mast
talking to the hotspot....slowing us down to repeater speed, or worse as
it's not synchronized if the hotspot can't hear your laptop direct to
avoid crashing the signals simultaneously transmitting. RF on the air
ISN'T clairvoyant or magic...it's ANALOG.


Or do I need something that the antenna plugs into first then that
"box" gets plugged into the eithernet in port on the Linksys box?

That box won't work to connect to the hotspot. You need an ACCESS POINT
up the mast that REPLACES the wireless transceiver inside your laptop.
You connect the mast-topped AP to the computer via Ethernet wires.

These access points look like:
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...ldpagename=US%
2FLayout&cid=1133201998719&pagename=Linksys%2FComm on%2FVisitorWrapper
Now, THIS product solves running TWO wires up the mast because it adds
the DC power to run the AP at the remote location (mast top) to the
Ethernet data on the Ethernet cable. At the computer end of the wire,
there is an interface box that you plug AC or DC power into and run the
Ethernet connections through it where it adds DC power without screwing
the data. Notice all access points have WAP in their Linksys model
numbers.



Because right now the WiFi antenna is hooked to the and we are in sight
of a local hot spot but can not get to the internet via the Linksys
box.
But we can if we sit on deck with just the WiFi cards in the laptops.
For what it's worth it's a WRT54GS Linksys box.



This is because the WR (wireless router) has no facility to connect to
another wireless access point. It is not an access point, itself. You
got the wrong box....WAP54GPE or my little wireless repeater box is the
box you need. Sorry....

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

Whoa! This is a broadband ROUTER, not a BRIDGE or GATEWAY or REPEATER

No, it CAN be a device like that. If you load some other firmware is can
quite readily be used as a client device. I know, I've done it and it works
quite well. Same thing goes for other devices capable of loading the dd-wrt
firmware. Easy, reliable and cheap.

You can't connect a wifi router to a wifi access point, then repeat what
it says to another wifi box like a laptop.

Again, not correct. You CAN use one as a WDS device. It's basically a
repeater of sorts. And in the process of doing this wastes half the
bandwidth. Listens on the radio, processes the packets, then retransmits on
the same radio. It's not a full duplex operation. Thus while you CAN do
this it's generally a waste of effort because it's slow. Then there's also
the limitation that some networks won't interact with repeaters. Not to
mention the fact that the type of antenna you'd likely use up on the mast
won't give decent coverage down to the deck and cabins below.

The data flow is from the
Ethernet WAN port. It has no way to connect to a wifi hotspot.

It's a ROUTER, it can be configured to sling the packets around in any
direction. Assuming you'd want to, which I'd recommend against.

Why bother using an AC inverter? Many wifi devices work quite well off
12vDC.

Now....to get faster service....you need to buy a high powered Access
Point

Higher power is a myth. Higher power often gets you more signals than you
want, thus degrading the available bandwidth to the actual networks you
need. I can crank my WRT54GS to 250mw but found it works best at about
30mw. What's most important is to get a device that lets you adjust the
power settings and to keep them as low as possible. Both from a noise and a
heat perspective. Cranking a router up to it's full wattage often makes
them unstable. Couple that with being up on the mast in direct sunlight and
you'd have troubles.

If you
put another router on the other end of that Ethernet cable, you end up
with the problem of the second router inside the boat, which wirelessly
would connect to your laptop, INTERFERING with the receiver up the mast
talking to the hotspot....slowing us down to repeater speed, or worse as
it's not synchronized if the hotspot can't hear your laptop direct to
avoid crashing the signals simultaneously transmitting. RF on the air
ISN'T clairvoyant or magic...it's ANALOG.

Bull**** all around. The point is to set your boat's access point to a
different frequency and to use a low power setting with proper antennae. I
found our on-boat network worked best at about 10mw with just the regular
rubber duckie antennae on it. No interference whatsoever. That and it
doesn't interfere with the up-mast router because that antenna's radiation
pattern (donut shaped on the horizontal plane) doesn't extend downward to
the cabin. And since the on-boat access point is set to a low power it
doesn't interfere with the shore networks either. Same thing goes for the
on-boat laptops, they're also configured to use a lower power setting and
thus only see the on-boat SSID.

Now, THIS product solves running TWO wires up the mast because it adds
the DC power to run the AP at the remote location (mast top) to the
Ethernet data on the Ethernet cable.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is nothing new. Most routers support it or you
can use an adapter to split the cable to support it. Bear in mind the
further you push DC voltage the more drop you'll have due to skinny wire. I
found it was more reliable to just run 16ga for power right to the router.

This is because the WR (wireless router) has no facility to connect to
another wireless access point. It is not an access point, itself. You
got the wrong box....WAP54GPE or my little wireless repeater box is the
box you need. Sorry....

Or you need advice that's accurate. Loading up new firmware opens quite a
few more options for some models of router. Try it, it works quite nicely.

-Bill Kearney

So what goes between the antenna and the Linksys box?

As little cable as possible.

Use LMR-400 cable. Get Radiolabs to make you a custom cable up to 40'
long.

Do not make this cable very long. DO NOT run it down an entire mast. The
dB loss will be greater than you want for WiFi. It's better to use an
enclosure that lets you keep the WiFi gear as close to the antenna as
possible. No, amplifiers will not work as effectively (at least not without
using VERY expensive ones).

-Bill Kearney

Bill Kearney wrote:
So what goes between the antenna and the Linksys box?

As little cable as possible.

Use LMR-400 cable. Get Radiolabs to make you a custom cable up to 40'
long.

Do not make this cable very long. DO NOT run it down an entire mast. The
dB loss will be greater than you want for WiFi. It's better to use an
enclosure that lets you keep the WiFi gear as close to the antenna as
possible. No, amplifiers will not work as effectively (at least not without
using VERY expensive ones).

Neither one of these guys is completely right. Not yet. Look at the
specs here for the various LMR coaxial cables and decide which one best
meets your needs for your install:

http://timesmicrowave.com/content/pdf/lmr/184-185.pdf

I've used all LMR 100A, 200, 240, 300, and 400 in various combinations
and places and been happy with them all. Note that the names of the
various types of LMR coaxial cable is approximately the outside diameter
of the coax in hundredths of an inch (example, LMR-400 = .405" O.D.).

The most important factor can be the quality of the connectors and their
installation on the coax. The if the stripping and trimming is not done
right, connectors not fitted right carefully sealed, the signal losses
will increase remarkably.

Having the cable made is a good idea if you don't have the tools to do
it yourself.

I've done numerous 802.11B/G with coax runs of 50-100 feet of LMR-400
and added another 5 to 30 feet of LMR-200 or 240 to that to get through
walls, floors, and have some flexibility at the back of a PC.

There is one error in the brochure above, the minimum bending radius for
LMR-240 should read .75 feet (a 9 inch radius bend), not .75" (inches)
as listed.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)