Re: Using vs. Avoiding Steel Structures

jlaham wrote:
> I have this issue that I've been toying around with for the past few
> weeks as a solution to my lack of wireless coverage in my house. The
> building i live in is made of concrete and steel (don't know what it's
> called exactly). However I live in a duplex, so there is a bright side,
> that being that there is a big hole in the floor/ceiling acting as an
> open space between the two apartments. Here's where the problem is, the
> staircase that links the two floors together is an aesthetically
> pleasing, well-decorated STEEL STRUCTURE. Of course that may be good on
> the eyes, but it kinda sucks for wireless networking not to mention that
> comes right smack in the middle of the house, so it kind of cuts up the
> house into zones.
>
>
> |---------------------|-----------------------|
> |Upper Floor Left Zone | Upper Floor Right Zone |
> |---------------------|-----------------------|
> |Lower Floor Left Zone | Lower Floor Right Zone |
> |---------------------|-----------------------|
>
> So as you might have realized by now, I am facing issues deploying a
> wireless network to cover the whole house. As I can see it, I have a few
> choices:
>
> 1. Buy extremely high gain antennas to get a signal penetrated from one
> zone to all three others.
> 2. Buy APs/routers and use them as range expanders.
>
> One other option that I have been thinking of is, what if I could
> actually use this immense steel structure as an antenna? Just a little
> bit of applied physics, if I were to wrap a coil round my routers
> antenna and attached it to the steel of the staircase, wouldn't that
> induce a current to and from the steel stair case from/to the antennae
> of the router? this in turn would turn my greatest obstacle into the
> greatest catalyst that ever happened to my house (from a wireless
> networking point of view).
>
> Any ideas, suggestions, comments (bashful or not)??
> All is welcome.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>

That steel structure is not an effective antenna at WiFi frequencies.

That opening makes it easy to run wiring (Cat5). No point in trying to
jam wireless into a building where wired can be done; wired LANs are
more secure, more stable, and faster than wireless LANs
--
Cheers, Bob