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Here in rural Illinois, where we have neither the benefit of DSL nor cable modem, we're fortunate enough to have line-of-sight to the POP (Poinf of Presence=their antenna) of an ISP about 8 miles East of us. The setup charge is about $200 and we pay $40/month for 512K. The possession of a clear line-of-sight between the two antennas (yours and the ISP's) is absolutely essential here. One tree branch (or leaf!) and you can't do it. On the other hand, the signal is immune to rain, snow, fog, etc. Also, from the standpoint of your antenna, generally higher is better.
I bought the equipment and set the system up myself instead of paying the ISP to do it, because I wanted to know where everything was so I could fix it myself if anything broke. However, you will not save any money by doing this; the equipment cost is about the same.
I use a standard wireless router (Linksys WRT54GS, but I'd recommend a Buffalo Technology) to supply the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi signal to the house, and a wireless bridge to connect to the ISP. There aren't a lot of bridges out there. I'd avoid the Cisco WET54 and get the more powerful EnGenius 400mw 802.11(abg) bridge, (what I use) about $140.
Since we are 8 miles from the ISPs POP, we are regarded as borderline for reception, but I get fine performance with a 24 db gain HyperLink Technologies H2424G parabolic antenna, which I have mounted on the second story of the house against the back wall, under the eaves.
Depending on the distance between your bridge and the antenna, your greatest decision may be deciding on how to connect the two. You CANNOT send a 2.4GHz signal very far on coax, because signal loss starts to increase exponentially at EH frequencies (why microwave transmitters use waveguides and not cable). I suggest you employ Power Over Ethernet. Google this (an all the equipment mentioned above) and research it as you would any other topic on the Internet.
I did not intend for the foregoing to sound intimidating, but these are the kinds of things you need to know if you intend to be involved with getting a wireless Internet connection. Good Luck!
posted by 66.158.16...
, Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:52:28
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