Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 00:49:34 +0200 From: Brad Knowles <brad.knowles@skynet.be> To: "Brandon Johnstone" <bjohnstone@skynet.be> Cc: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: General Wireless Questions Message-ID: <p0600202abc90f94a1c2c@[10.0.1.2]> In-Reply-To: <000a01c41760$56507830$0201a8c0@linernet.com> References: <000a01c41760$56507830$0201a8c0@linernet.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
At 10:40 PM +0200 2004/03/31, Brandon Johnstone wrote:
> I recently purchased ADSL wireless. Modem/router is the Siemens Santis
> ADSL 50 with a Santis WLAN PC card (802.11b). My service provider is
> Skynet via Belgacom in Belgium. What I would like to know if I
> purchased a router and PC card that supports 802.11a or g, will the
> skynet network support this?
Should do. Make sure you use a Belgacom-approved ADSL modem, and
you should be able to connect that to any wireless access point you
want.
I'm using Apple Airport "Snow" base stations with a
Belgacom-approved ADSL modem and a Skynet account, and I'm going to
be soon switching to Apple Airport Extreme base stations (including
WDS mode so that I can get better wireless coverage over the house).
After that, I'm going to be using Soekris 4521 and 4501 boxes
running OpenBSD (or maybe FreeBSD) on CompactFlash and using Senao
high-power/high-sensitivity 802.11a/b/g cards with external antennas.
I'm seriously thinking about tying them all together with a home
power network backbone (~14Mbps theoretical), so that I can put up a
base station and extend my coverage anywhere I have an outlet.
> The reason I ask is because the signal
> strength when moving around drops to an unacceptable level. Does
> the difference in 802.11 standards effect the signal strength?
The 802.11a stuff will not get nearly as good coverage, due to
the higher frequency. If you're using 802.11g, that might cause
problems with other 802.11b devices, depending on the configuration.
If you're using it in 802.11g-only mode, you will probably get less
coverage than if you were using it in backwards-compatible b/g
combined mode.
If you're having problems, you could use
higher-power/higher-sensitivity cards in your computers, as well as
perhaps using external connected to the card via special cables, and
that might do what you need. If not, you'll need to replace the base
station with something more powerful/sensitive, or possibly use
multiple base stations and connect them all up together.
--
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles@skynet.be>
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.
SAGE member since 1995. See <http://www.sage.org/>; for more info.
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?p0600202abc90f94a1c2c>