Re: Using a DirectTV antenna for a WiFi link?

http://www.wwc.edu/~frohro/Airport/Primestar/Primestar.html

Cheers.
-matt

On Dec 23, 2004, at 12:27 PM, Dennis wrote:

> All,
>
> I'm trying to establish an 802.11b WiFi link from my house to a 
> friends house about 1300 feet away.  There are a number of trees 
> between us.   Last winter, I made two cantennas and with them we were 
> able to get 3 bars out of 5 but later, when the trees filled in in the 
> spring, the signal dropped too low to be viable.
>
> I've read that someone used a TV dish antenna - it was a DirectTV 
> antenna or something similar - to send WiFi signal through trees and 
> brush and had a lot of luck with his setup.   So, I bought a garage 
> sale DirectTV antenna and I'm ready to set it up.  But first, I've got 
> some questions I'm hoping someone would be willing to help me with.
>
> 1. Any reason why a DirectTV dish antenna would not work for this 
> application?
>
> 2. Has anyone seen a how to setup a WiFi link with a DirectTV antenna 
> document on the web?  If it exists, I'd rather learn from it than 
> invent the wheel again.
>
> * Assuming the idea is viable and there is no 'how-to' document out 
> there, then I propose to set things up as follows:
>
> (in this description, I'm referring to the web page at 
> http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html so I can use 
> cantenna terminology that folks will recognize)
>
> - I've got an N-type female chassis-mount connector that I made for a 
> cantenna but never used.  I want to use it for my Probe.  As 
> recommended in the article, the wire on my probe sticks out 
> approximately 1.21".
>
> - I'm going to use a short pig-tail (12" or so) from the Probe to my 
> AP (an RG-1000 or an Airport Base station).
>
> - The AP will be weather sealed in a Tupperware container or something 
> similar.  I've got AC power and CATS to the antenna's mounting site.
>
> * Now for some questions:
>
> 3. I assume that the outer metal part of the N-Chassis connector 
> should be electrically connected to the metal of the DirectTV 
> antenna.  Is that right?
>
> 4. The antenna itself will be mounted on a PVC pipe so it will not be 
> connected to true ground.   Is that OK?
>
> 5. I'm also assuming that I should place my probe at the same focal 
> point the DirectTV antenna's original probe used.   Is that right?
>
> 6. Should I position the probe's wire vertically or horizontally?
>
> 7. I have a second DirectTV antenna I could set up at his end but I 
> thought I'd see if just one at my end would suffice first.   Thoughts?
>
> Dennis Gallagher
>  Woods Creek Wholesale Nursery
>  Monroe, WA
>  www.woodscreeknursery.com
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