I have two Bed and Breakfast Inns about 200 yards apart with a partial clear site line between them. I just bought a Linksys Wireless N router and notebook card, but it’s getting me no further than I was seeing with wireless G (about half way). The router is downstairs in an Aluminum sun room in BnB 1. Is there a way to bridge the 200 yards? Appreciate any suggestions.
I have two Bed and Breakfast Inns about 200 yards apart with a partial clear site line between them. I just bought a Linksys Wireless N router and notebook card, but it’s getting me no further than I was seeing with wireless G (about half way). The router is downstairs in an Aluminum sun room in B&B 1. Is there a way to bridge the 200 yards? Appreciate any suggestions.
– Nick
There is at least one way that you can do this. I will assume based on your message that you want have Internet access in B&B 2 without having to be in a specific location in the building. The first problem you are probably dealing with is the Aluminum sun room. Even if there are mesh screens you are going to experience attenuation of the signal, which will reduce the signal strength significantly as you get farther away from the access point. Depending on the particular access point that you have, you might be able to connect an external antenna. Placing this antenna outside of the sun room might just do the trick. The downside though, is that you are positioning yourself to become an ISP to the neighborhood. If you use a directional antenna instead of an omnidirectionaal antenna, you can enhance the wireless coverage outside with coverage where you would like to concentrate it.
Another option is to go for a commercial wireless product called a bridge. This means you will need to look at brands such as Cisco and Intermec. This allows you to build a point-to-point link between two locations. Combining this with directional antennas can help you easily reach B&B 2. At this point, all you will need to do at the B&B 2 end is to use another access point to provide wireless access in that building. A wireless bridge can be a little more expensive than regular access points. Some access points may have the bridge functionality included.
If you don’t see any improvement after trying one of these two options, you might try a different brand of wireless card. I have seen difference between cards that can account for one card performing better in some situations than in others. Some wireless cards also have the ability to connect to an external antenna. This can help your existing wireless card to get more of the signal without having to make what could be substantial changes to your wireless setup to get the range and/or coverage that you are looking for.
