Using wifi antenna to connect to a local hotspot

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rfpd

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Hey there, I have a restaurant/local hotstop 70-100 m away from my home, I have a direct connection with no obstructions at all (no trees, no buildings), and my idea would be to set up the antena in the roof (descending connection). The only obstruction in this local hotspot is a window (if I'm lucky) or a wall. I did some research and came across the following hardware:

-TP-Link TL-ANT2424B
-TP-LINK - TL-WA901ND

Keep in mind I'm trying this rig to get the local spot wifi, I can't change anything on the local spot's end, it will just be a regular router. I've read that routers can only transmit up to 50m, my question is, can I get this done? I mean as long as the gain is high enough...

And another important question, if I can do it, would it have a good connection?

Thanks for your time.
 
Solution
kanewolf
I don't recommend the high gain antenna with coax. Usually you lose all the gain from the antenna in the coax because high quality 2.4Ghz coax is expensive and the coax used is usually subpar.

I recommend an outdoor directional access point like this -- https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833168115 This way the connection to the roof is an ethernet cable rather than coax. You use the Engenius in router mode with the remote WIFI as the source. The ethernet from the engenius works just like an ISP ethernet. You can then have a local WIFI access point or ethernet switch to connect all your devices.
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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I don't recommend the high gain antenna with coax. Usually you lose all the gain from the antenna in the coax because high quality 2.4Ghz coax is expensive and the coax used is usually subpar.

I recommend an outdoor directional access point like this -- https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833168115 This way the connection to the roof is an ethernet cable rather than coax. You use the Engenius in router mode with the remote WIFI as the source. The ethernet from the engenius works just like an ISP ethernet. You can then have a local WIFI access point or ethernet switch to connect all your devices.
 
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R

rfpd

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Thank you for the feedback! But is it enough using an omni directional with 8dbi for a 100 m connection? I know that the directional antenna is a bit of a overkill, but I want to make sure that I have a good connection, not just acess to the internet.
 
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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I have no idea if it will work with an omnidirectional. WIFI has too many variables. That is why I recommended an outdoor directional bridge/router. I have used that exact device by just putting it in a window to point toward the WIFI source. That unit or the Ubiquiti equivalent is designed to do what you want to do. Anything else is just a kludge, IMO.
 
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rfpd

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My bad, I though the antenna you mentioned was omni (ignore my ignorance ahah). I meant will the EnGenius ENS202 N300 (the one you suggested) work well in this connection, it is 70-100 meters after all, and it will still go through a wall or window (with some luck). I mean, it can't just work, it has to have a really good connection, like 10-20 Mbps minimum.

BTW: is there any equivalent from TP-Link as good as EnGenius, I don't think I have those in my country.
 
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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The TL-WA7210N is the TP Link equivalent. There is no way to estimate if it will work or not. All you can do is try. Since receiving is only half the problem, your transmission has to be picked up by the WIFI hotspot. The amount of other WIFI signals, etc will impact your success.
 
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rfpd

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In that direction I think it's the only WiFi signal there is, thanks for your help!
 
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Solandri

Solandri

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FWIW, I actually have the big parabolic TP-Link antenna you've listed, and use it to connect to a hotspot a mile away. It is complete overkill for something 100 meters away. It's high directionality also makes it difficult to aim / keep aimed. I have it screwed down tightly to a big metal post, and still encounter problems on very windy days.

The product kanewolf suggested or its Ubiquiti equivalent (nanostation loco M2/M5) are what you want for 100 meters. It's directional but the beam is still fairly wide (60 degrees I think, vs. about 2 degrees for the parabolic antenna) makes it a *lot* easier to aim.

It's a common misconception that directional antennas help only with receiving, not with transmitting.
Receiving and transmitting are symmetrical. A directional antenna which boosts the received signal from a certain direction also boosts your transmitted signal in the same direction. So if the antenna makes the hotspot's signal seem as strong as if you were 20 meters from it, then the hotspot will see your transmitted signal as strong as if you were 20 meters from it. You'll only encounter problems if the amount of signal boost is weak (e.g. the antenna only makes it seem like you're 50 meters away), or there's an interfering signal closely aligned with your signal.
 
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R

rfpd

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Thanks for the feedback.

The only fear I have is the router not having enough power to transmit over 100m, I mean, if the antenna has enough gain, that's not a problem, right?

I really doubt there will be any interferences, to the back of the antenna there are 2 wifi networks, but to it's front there's only that hotspot.

After your feedback, I was considering the TL-WA7210N, since TP-Link sells products in my country and the others don't. And it's less than 100m, it's between 70 and 100, but I consider the worst case because of the losses going through the wall.
 
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