MrBill <NoSpam@nospam.com> wrote:
> I have 2 houses on my property and am about to set up a wireless
> receiver in the other house. Since the Gateway and network adapter
> will be about 75' apart through thick adobe walls, and since there is
> another network adapter in a completely different direction, I figure

How far is it to that "other" adapter? I run about 60 feet through a
couple of sheetrock/pressedboard siding walls with one reflector and a
normal laptop card, which gets "excellent" signal according to WinXP.
Another laptop card, not in the nominal direction that the reflector is
aimed, is still quite serviceable. Directional antennas are not absolute
beams. There are side lobes and back lobes.

What is on the far client? Can you put a directional antenna or reflector
there? 75 feet of free air would be easy. Adobe is not so easy, but there
might be some windows. My best shot is not a straight line, but offline
through a window, and then also off line through a sliding glass door.

My favorites in this area of exploration:
http://www.freeantennas.com Windsurfer EZ-12.
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/EZ12-windsurfer.jpg

I have used the "Hawking HAI6SDA Directional 6dBi 2.4GHz Antenna" with good
success on a Netgear WG311 PCI card. $20-30.
<http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=58&ProdID=122>

Hawking and others have USB clients built in to antennas. That might be
handy.
<http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=60&ProdID=280>

A cantenna with a USB dongle inside. The USB allows some freedom in
position the dongle, which can then be used with all sorts of reflectors or
cans.
Bob's single can:
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/images/IMG_1571.JPG
Clarence's double can, with a 10-24 nut soldered on as a tripod mount.
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/u...42-800x600.jpg
I used the turnpoint calculator to decide where to poke the hole.
http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html
I have used a larger single can to access a hotpoint that was indoors a
couple of blocks away with a stock antenna.

Miscellaneous reflective gadgets for USB dongles:
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/

I have seen a cheap USB dongle sealed into a pill bottle that was then
mounted to the exterior of a metal building.

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Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5