Imagine WiMax range extender

STForSale · 02-10-2012 07:45PM #1

Hi Guys,
Friend is trying to extend his wifi to an out building.
Tells me he has the imagine Wimax (in the sticks).
Wants to be able to get internet in a building 50 metres or so from house.

I've no experience with wimax, if it was a standard dsl I'd of stuck an N router in the house and job done but...

Can the range of these wimax hubs be extended with a traditional range extender or am I missing something?

If someone has achieved the above with same setup and wants to share how they did it even better.

Thanks

rcanpolat · 03-10-2012 04:20AM

I'm only working off the top of my head now but this is what i would do.

For starters i don't know how wimax is supplied (small dongle, big wimax modem etc) but here goes

If it is a small dongle i would connect the dongle to the computer. Then buy a standard wireless card with a removable antenna. Install that into the computer and set up wireless sharing so that the computer shares the connection from the dongle to the wifi card. Then on the wifi card grab remove the existing antenna and run a cable to outside the building. Place a 2.4Ghz Yagi Uda Array onto the wall and point it exactly at the other building. Then in the other building have a wireless repeater that picks up the signal from the Yagi and redistributes it through the building as a standard signal. The problem with this is that if the host computer goes down then everyone's internet is down.

If it is some sort of router based device i would do the exact same as above except split the antenna from the router so that it uses 1 dipole antenna and the other goes again to a yagi uda. Repeat the step above and direct it to a repeater in the other house. If the router didn't have an smb connector for example the cisco routers that UPC supply i would crack open the case, find the antenna and do some soldering and make a port (you would need a drill bit too do a tidy job)

NOTE: I would not use standard coax cable. It will seriously downgrade the speed and you will have a massive amount of spill through the cable. You would have to buy a special cable to do the job.

NOTE: Yagi Uda: i've tested mine that i use with a 1 watt wireless card and with a clear line of sight i've got connected up to 1.5 km's away.

Another option that we can expect to see in the near future is using the analog tv spectrum. Ireland is switching off the old TV system and bringing in Saor View (im sure you heard of it) Anyway this will free up the spectrum for internet devices which will mean people living in the sticks will be able to receive broadband connections. Its not the fastest (maybe around 1mb or 2mb) but its still a connection and its better then nothing. Its tricky to set up at the moment because you would need to buy a router and build a frequency changing device that can drop the 2.5Ghz frequency down to the analogue TV frequency's. It does have the benefit though of being able to penetrate buildings and trees and works over several miles.

For myself i can't wait to try it out because its going to mean "serious pwnage" when it comes to sniffing wireless networks. Think of scanning hundreds of people on a wifi network from your home... (asking them all for permission of course :P)

Wee Willy Harris · 03-10-2012 04:31AM

rcanpolat wrote: »

I'm only working off the top of my head now but this is what i would do.

For starters i don't know how wimax is supplied (small dongle, big wimax modem etc) but here goes

If it is a small dongle i would connect the dongle to the computer. Then buy a standard wireless card with a removable antenna. Install that into the computer and set up wireless sharing so that the computer shares the connection from the dongle to the wifi card. Then on the wifi card grab remove the existing antenna and run a cable to outside the building. Place a 2.4Ghz Yagi Uda Array onto the wall and point it exactly at the other building. Then in the other building have a wireless repeater that picks up the signal from the Yagi and redistributes it through the building as a standard signal. The problem with this is that if the host computer goes down then everyone's internet is down.

If it is some sort of router based device i would do the exact same as above except split the antenna from the router so that it uses 1 dipole antenna and the other goes again to a yagi uda. Repeat the step above and direct it to a repeater in the other house. If the router didn't have an smb connector for example the cisco routers that UPC supply i would crack open the case, find the antenna and do some soldering and make a port (you would need a drill bit too do a tidy job)

Been having issues with one myself I've got the small dongle but the drill bit what size I know I can obtain a small one, but would have to pop out for a bit

rcanpolat · 03-10-2012 05:31AM

Wee Willy Harris wrote: »

Been having issues with one myself I've got the small dongle but the drill bit what size I know I can obtain a small one, but would have to pop out for a bit

I don't understand Harris.

You have a dongle for your laptop? Dremel it open and solder on an antenna or buy one off ebay with an antenna (very very cheap)

You need to drill your UPC Cisco Router to install an antenna? Use a digital caliper to find the right size for the antenna. Then buy a drill bit and drill into the cisco at a very slow speed (remove the circuit first) Then solder in and hot glue a SMB Connector and the required wires and your done

STForSale · 03-10-2012 08:30AM

rcanpolat wrote: »

I'm only working off the top of my head now but this is what i would do.

For starters i don't know how wimax is supplied (small dongle, big wimax modem etc) but here goes

If it is a small dongle i would connect the dongle to the computer. Then buy a standard wireless card with a removable antenna. Install that into the computer and set up wireless sharing so that the computer shares the connection from the dongle to the wifi card. Then on the wifi card grab remove the existing antenna and run a cable to outside the building. Place a 2.4Ghz Yagi Uda Array onto the wall and point it exactly at the other building. Then in the other building have a wireless repeater that picks up the signal from the Yagi and redistributes it through the building as a standard signal. The problem with this is that if the host computer goes down then everyone's internet is down.

If it is some sort of router based device i would do the exact same as above except split the antenna from the router so that it uses 1 dipole antenna and the other goes again to a yagi uda. Repeat the step above and direct it to a repeater in the other house. If the router didn't have an smb connector for example the cisco routers that UPC supply i would crack open the case, find the antenna and do some soldering and make a port (you would need a drill bit too do a tidy job)

NOTE: I would not use standard coax cable. It will seriously downgrade the speed and you will have a massive amount of spill through the cable. You would have to buy a special cable to do the job.

NOTE: Yagi Uda: i've tested mine that i use with a 1 watt wireless card and with a clear line of sight i've got connected up to 1.5 km's away.

Another option that we can expect to see in the near future is using the analog tv spectrum. Ireland is switching off the old TV system and bringing in Saor View (im sure you heard of it) Anyway this will free up the spectrum for internet devices which will mean people living in the sticks will be able to receive broadband connections. Its not the fastest (maybe around 1mb or 2mb) but its still a connection and its better then nothing. Its tricky to set up at the moment because you would need to buy a router and build a frequency changing device that can drop the 2.5Ghz frequency down to the analogue TV frequency's. It does have the benefit though of being able to penetrate buildings and trees and works over several miles.

For myself i can't wait to try it out because its going to mean "serious pwnage" when it comes to sniffing wireless networks. Think of scanning hundreds of people on a wifi network from your home... (asking them all for permission of course :P)

Holy sh1t man. :eek:
The wimax is the big modem / router job.
Was hoping to position a repeater stategically in the house and another one in the out building or something simple like that but thanks, plenty of food for thought in there.

STForSale · 03-10-2012 10:47AM

Just ordered a range extender, hi gain usb N adapter and a 9 dbi outdoor directional antenna panel from amazon.

Not nearly as interesting as the suggestion above but hope it works out ok.

rcanpolat · 03-10-2012 08:32PM

STForSale wrote: »

Just ordered a range extender, hi gain usb N adapter and a 9 dbi outdoor directional antenna panel from amazon.

Not nearly as interesting as the suggestion above but hope it works out ok.

lol, mate, just do what works for you and fits in your budget. the above is more of a mash up and being a geek i tend to take the messy hacker route. its what i know would work for me however it doesn't work for everyone's setup as there is a lot of fiddling around. i hope your project works out for you

Imagine WiMax range extender

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