Best way to bridge a 50m gap over LAN?

Whywontitwrok

Well me and a mate both have 2 pcs hooked up but we want to connect all 4 up.
What is the best way to do this? We live about 50m apart and there is only 2 walls between us(my bedroom wall and his)

Basically would a wireless network be possible over that distance?

or would one of these work for games and stuff cause they have the range and are afforable and handy http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Bluetooth.html
(either the one at the top or bottom)

Any suggestions on how to bridge the gap and connect all 4?

KinSlayer

get cat5 cable for outside and run it out your window and in his.

leeroybrown

Bluetooth is a a definite non runner. It's designed as a low bandwidth and short range interconnect technology for small devices. Bluetooth dongles are really only for communicating with phones, pda's, etc.

Wireless might work for you over that range. It depends on the level of obstruction between the two sets of PC's. I presume you are living in two adjacent houses and they are exterior cavity walls. I havn't used wireless much at that kind of range but I'm sure theres someone here who has.

Theoretically you can run up to 100m of decent Cat5 cable without intervening repeaters so your 50m should definitely be possible. The question is do you want 50m of cable running between your houses. If you ever consider this make sure you anchor the cable at either end before hooking it to the PC's otherwise kids of even a dog could smah your NIC's.

TBH, I'd go with the wireless solution if some one can sugests a reliable implementation.

ressem

Bluetooth is very unlikely to go that distance.

Better bet is 802.11 wifi of some variety. (802.11g is newest)
If you can get the antenna outside and held vertically then you should be OK.

CNet Wireless LAN PCI 11Mbps WiFi 802.11b, 128-bit WEP, SMA ant.conn.
€31.65 was the price in komplett but they're all out.

Or the new 802.11g version, if you can wait or find it.

Cnet CWP-854
Wireless-G PCI Adapter

I picked these only as they've got an SMA antenna connector, so you can try to bring an antenna out the window or upgrade the included one with a directional antenna with better gain.

Not a radio expert though.

Ask in Tech/Netcomms/wireless for
PCI wireless card and antenna recommendations for a low cost 802.11b or g network over 50 yards, and give them a budget.

You'd probably try for an ad-hoc peer to peer network arrangement, not infrastructure.


How the routing for the other 2 PC's will go depends on what operating system you're using on the wireless connected PC's.

Karoma

cat5 is the cheapest and will do the trick if it is only 50m. make sure to:
- anchor it (ensure it doesn't trip someone up or get torn up-esp if it takes your hub/switch with it)
- stick it inside a garden hose or something. (Cheap but decent enough way to protect the cable


bluetooth is a no. up to n metres means just that-up to+in x conditions+if the moon is at such an angle it might get that distance ... :rolleyes: + speed isn't good enough.

wireless would probably be best if you intend on using it a lot - pop an arial on the roof to solve any obstructions if you want-more expensive than the cat5 solution though...

netman

You can just get a cheap 802.11 (WiFi) access point and a WiFi card on the other PC and you're set.

I got a 802.11b (11mbps) DSL router from eircom and the range on it is outstanding. They claim no signal loss up to 100m, and reception within 300m with some signal loss.

Just this weekend I had the laptop in the back garden, and the WiFi router installed in the other end of the house.. 2 walls in between and probably over 50m distance.. The signal quality fell from "Excellent" to "Very good", but it kept the 11mbps connection.

With 802.11g you can get transfer rates of up to 54mbps.

Definitely worth a try.. Especially if you buy it in a store that will give you a refund if it doesn't do what you thought it would.

Mutant_Fruit

Get a 2gigabit ethernet cards, 50m of cat5 and you're flying. I think you can have up to 100m of Cat5 before signal degradation starts kicking in.

Or you could buy 2 10/100 ethernet cards for 14 euro, and beg some cabling off your local school. Total Cost: 14euro+ your dignity.

That would be two times faster than 802.11g and if you get the gigabit cards, then its 20x faster.

swiss

Just another vote for the Cat5 option. You can buy a roll of Cat5, Cat5e or Cat6 cabling from komplett. These are all essentially the same thing, but are just rated differently for signal degradation over distance. Make sure you get terminators for this cabling if you do this (they're available from most PC shops anyway).

Anchorage is definitely an issue. Are there houses or other obstructions between your house and your mates house? If there is then you might have to go for the wireless option. If not then just run it from your window to the ground, if you can try to bury the cable under a few cm of soil or run it flush to a wall if you're in a town. I would also recommend wrapping the wire in some heavy duty tape to make it a little stronger against shear forces.

Wireless is less messy and gives more leeway for connecting in more nodes (if you have other mates in the area), but it is also more expensive and can be tricky to set up.

ressem

Re: Cat5 blahblah
'Till the next rubbish collection truck hooks the cable and pulls your anchorage and PC out the window?

We're making a few assumptions about the lay of the land aren't we?

Besides that
100 UTP stranded core Cat5 (if the cable will be under stress/motion) + 2 RJ45 + crimp tool + anchorage + irritated nearby neighbours cheaper?

Maybe you can run the cable through a sewage pipe between your houses (subsidised by bets/ selling tickets/photos )

If you and your neighbour own the intervening property and can tie the cable to a fence running most of the distance, it might be worth it. Other than that I wouldn't recommend it.

Whywontitwrok

Ye I cont think cat5 is an option, The house are across a road and are not directly across, I can see his window from mine and both pcs are right at the windows so the line is direct right across the road but I dont think It would be taken well by the locals.

The cable would go diagally across the road and kids would prolly be kickin balls up and it and the like.

Price isnt really a problem I mean it should be less than €50 right? So wireless would prolly be the way we would go. And yes there is mates in the area that will be hooking up if our connection goes ok so To keep it expandable it seem that wireless B is what we will go for as wireless G has a smaller distance doesnt it??

Anyone set up a wireless network and is it easy enough Iv got a LAN in my house through a dlink-504. and that went up easy-peasy.

I think I have more questions but thanks for all the replies and sorry I took so long to reply myself as I was away for the last 2 days

[EDIT]

Would this card do?? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/asus_wireless.html

third one down : Asus Wireless WL-138G PCI Adapter (NW-004-AS)

Winters

Wireless is easy enough to setup. I have myself a Netgear wireless access point/router behind me and it goes through several 1/2 foot+ thick walls and down about 50meters to my garden no problem. Signal strength still about 50 or 60% down there.

Go for a 802.11g conection, that will give you 54mb/s over the 11mb/s offered by 802.11b.

The two ways to setup the network through wireless would be through a ADHoc or Infrastructure. For infrastructure you will need to get an access point. Setup the access point and place it beside the window [so signal strength is strongest] and plug it into your wired LAN network. Setup encription on the network etc. so only people with the keys can access it. All you need to do is install wireless PCI/PC cards on the other PC's and they should be able to see the wireless network.

Im not sure on setting up an adhoc network though, Ask on the wireless board for more info on that.

jesus_thats_gre

If you are gonna take the gigabit option you really should go with Cat5E at a minimum, or Cat6 for future proofing... It is important that you termintate the cabling correctly and use decent components to gaurantee a decent through put. Gigabit uses all pairs out of memory..

If you are sure the cable will be safe over that distance then go with that.. Mind you, 802.11 G would be more than acceptable!!!!!!

Whywontitwrok

So I need to off those cards that I mentioned above??

Or do I need more than 2?? I will put one in one of my computers and one in one of my mates. Is that ok or do I need a hub or base for the card to talk to or will the direct link between both cards work?

A link or two to exactly what is required would be perfect

wet-paint

I'm setting u a lan at home, but do I really need the Cat 5 and a hub? I think I can get a 100m spool of Cat five from Maplins, but could I just use a usb link?

Redrocket

wireless is your only way/hope lad. and some directional antennaes.

and whoever said bluetooth was just joking, wireless will be no harder than a normal lan, except for making it secure so as nobody else can leech off your machines/ broadband.

naitkris

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
If you are gonna take the gigabit option you really should go with Cat5E at a minimum, or Cat6 for future proofing...

CAT5E is the best official UTP cable standard around, CAT6, CAT6E and CAT7 do "exist" but are not in anyway an official standard from what i know, so one manufacturer's CAT6 cable could be completely different from some other manufacturer. basically, CAT6 and above mostly offer enhanced distance compared to CAT5E cabling, so unless you are planning on cabling very long distances, stick with the official CAT5E standard which handles GB Ethernet and is backwards compatable with CAT5 etc. also

Civilian_Target

If it's just open space, use decent CAT5, and leave as little slack as possible.

2 years ago, I was staying in a 10 storey tower block, on the 7th floor, and 8 of us made a LAN by running cables out of our airvents and across to my room (the building was in an L shape and we were all on the inside of the L) which meant that from the ground you could actually see 8 CAT5 cables running along in mid air to my room.

However, after a few months, we found the cables became longer. The wires inside them seemed to untwist a little bit, and the plastic expanded to give more length, so they sagged. And also, the weather made them green

Redrocket

he did eventaully say that wires were not an option as houses are accross the street from each other.

gadgetman101

any idia where a chap might get a desent antenna as im on the edge of a wifi link in a portocabin (metal box )

Khannie

This is a 6 year old thread. feel free to start your own if necessary.