Re: Need HELP setting up Wifi for small Town!!

On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:39:30 -0500, JasonB
<JasonB.34qgid@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> wrote:

a few thoughts:
>
>Hello all! I thank anyone that can help me in advance for your time and
>effort!
>
>Now then, I live in a small trailer park by the ocean in southern
>Florida.

Each residence is a Faraday cage. No radio signal goes in or out
through the metal skin. Most windows will allow some signal in or out
but in Florida most all have metal awnings to protect from direct
sunlight, which also prevents 802.11 quite well.

And lots have awnings (metal) or screen rooms down one side.

So, unless a residence window happens let some rf leak in, true
wireless inside the trailers will require an AP inside each trailer.
Its about the same in a motor home where they want internet access at
the rv campsites.
See the following thread for some info:
<http://groups.google.com/group/alt.internet.wireless/browse_thread/thread/bdb159feb1ceba36/c3dbf7ccdf74e235?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=trailer++roof+wif i+OR+802.11#c3dbf7ccdf74e235>
or this (same thread)
<http://tinyurl.com/yql9s6>

Of note is one of Jeffs comments:
"I have a few customers in trailer parks and have a little experience
in making them work. The metal boxes are pure hell as they create
reflections that cause multipath problems. I found that shooting
across the trailer rooftops is a loser. The best results so far was
hanging the radio in a nearby tree, about 4 ft above the roof line.
That was a ethernet client radio, not USB as the cable would have been
too long. I've had to use directional antennas not to get sufficient
gain to talk to a distant access point, but to reduce or eliminate the
reflections caused by bounces from behind the antenna. An omni will
pickup these reflections with equal strength, while a directional
antenna will pickup almost nothing from behind the antenna pattern."

>The size of the town is approximatly 45 acres, and it is shaped
>in a large block. I have the support of the entire community, and will
>be able to place access points or dishes anywhere to get this up and
>running. I have never setup a network of this size, but I do have a lot
>of experience in residential networking.
>

Somewhere between 250-500 trailers? (my WAG)

>I am posting here to get some of your ideas on what type of equipment I
>should use and placement. I was figuring on subscribing to a T1 line at
>a central location and then using dishes to point the signal to various
>parts of the park. As I understand it, the beam of the dishes is quite
>narrow, so I would then use access points to spread the signal around,
>but I really have no idea if this will even work.
>

Perhaps try a single mast mounted AP with a 7.5-8 dBi omni antenna on
a 20' mast.
Installed in a common location (or at your trailer) it would be useful
for some ppl now & you could start testing to see what range you are
getting.

What about using existing telephone or cable lines? If they go back to
a common distribution point then you have the options. Hardwired beats
wireless (almost) every time!!

kc

>Please Help!!
>Thank you,
>
>Jason
>
>
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