[kwlug-disc] Extending WiFi Range

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

Here is a followup on the issue.

First regarding JJ's post. The issue is not 'reception'. The issue is
'coverage', 'strength', and 'stability'. The backyard had some coverage,
but it is weak and intermittent. Not a stable connection for what I want to
do (basically control a camera connected to a telescope). The WiFi router
is in the basement, and perhaps blocked by the concrete walls, and/or the I
beams interfering. So the solution I had in mind from the beginning is to
have another AP station upstairs closer to the back of the house, and
higher up, rather than in the centre of the basement.

Now for what ended up working for my case:

I got another router, put OpenWRT 15.05.1 on it and connected it to an
ethernet cable that runs from the basement (where the main router is). The
connection is via one of the LAN ports, not the WAN port.

I put a separate SSID on it, and gave it an address on the same subnet.

Then disabled DHCP and the Firewall on it.

The basic steps are under the Web LuCI section here:

https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/recipes/dumbap

The only thing that I added to the above steps is add the main router's IP
as a default gateway.

It works well. There is good coverage for the far end of backyard. And this
is done without having to deal with outdoor cables, nor run a cable up and
another down and move the main router to the main floor, and get a UPS for
it.

For the sake of completeness, I am listing other stuff that found on
OpenWRT. None of them do what I want, but related in case someone needs it.

There is a whole bunch of info in the recipes section of OpenWRT's wiki,
with relayd, routed, bridged, ...etc. And there are limitations, ...etc.
This may be helpful for other cases.

https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/recipes



On Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 11:02 AM, <jvj at golden.net> wrote:

> All
>
> I have skimmed through the emails in this thread and am impressed and
> intrigued by the depth of the knowledge on this issue.
> However, for some of the newbies in the group/list I will mention a
> possible common error in the premise of the OP's original post.
>
> The OP starts out with "WiFi reception in my house ...".
>
> And herein in the error. (Or maybe not. )
>
> As with cell phones many use the term "reception" when referring to
> performance the device, e.g. cell phone, notebook, laptop, etc. They forget
> that there may be "reception" issues a the other end whether the other end
> is a wifi router or cell tower. The device is, after all, a two way
> instrument, both an RF receiver and a RF transmitter. RF signals are
> transmitted from the device and are received at the wifi router or cell
> tower.
>
> Efforts to increase the RF transmission signal strength at the wifi router
> to "increase range" will not address any problems of RF transmission at the
> device.
>
> There have been some good suggestions that may address issues with the
> two-way RF transmission/reception. One or more contributors mentioned
> relocating the router (with its antennae) and/or addressing any impediments
> in the environment which may serve to attenuate RF signals. At least one
> contributor mentioned repeaters or mesh networks.
>
> I will guess that there is not really much anyone can do with software in
> the wifi router to improve the two-way RF transmission/reception in the
> router or device for that matter. The RF modulation/demodulation is
> performed in the chip set and this may be locked into the chip set. Of
> course, chip set drivers may be available and may help.
>
> John Johnson
> With apologies to the OP.
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *Subject:* [kwlug-disc] Extending WiFi Range
> *Date:* Wed, 29 Mar 2017 19:29:33 -0400
> *From:* Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com>
> *To:* KWLUG discussion <kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
> *Reply-To:* kb at 2bits.com, KWLUG discussion <kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
>
> WiFi reception in my house, using the OpenWRT powered D-Link DIR-835, is
> generally adequate, but could be better in some spots. Reception is
> intermittent in the backyard, where I am pondering a project that would
> need it. Perhaps the basement's concrete is interfering?
>
> I like OpenWRT and plan to stay with it. Also the router itself has lots
> of storage (flash) and RAM, so will be here for the future. It is in the
> basement, near the cable modem, and other equipment, and connected to the
> UPS in there.
>
> Moving it to the main floor is not likely since it would involve finding a
> power outlet and running Ethernet, as well as losing the UPS connection.
>
> So, my questions are:
>
> 1. What does one do in this case? Do you buy another router, possibly one
> capable of running OpenWRT and turn off the router features, and keep it
> only as a WiFi hotspot and put it near the spots where good reception is
> needed?
>
> 2. If so, what are good routers that you tried this on?
>
> 3. How did you turn off OpenWRT routing ...etc. on it?
>
> 4. Does the new WiFi hotspot have its own SSID or can it use the same SSID
> as the main router?
>
> Any other thoughts/ideas welcome.
> --
> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
> 2bits.com, Inc.
> Fast Reliable Drupal
> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
> For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and
> wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
>
>
>
>



-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
Fast Reliable Drupal
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and
wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
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