Wireless private network over a km line of sight

use an ext directional aerial at each end, and wpa

Yeah, only if you're dead lucky. A directional antenna is going to have a dramatic signal drop off outside its polar pattern. Likewise all that rocking and movement on a small boat at sea is unlikely to achieve a reliable signal between the two points.

Cheers, Alan

You may get away with a reasonably directional antenna in your home pointing at the area where you use your boat. This bunch sells a decent range of antennas:

If you look at the beam angles you can work out how high a gain antenna you can use and still cover the area (the higher the gain the narrower the beam).

It's not guranteed to work though, particularly if your laptop has a poor antenna. And any trees or greenery in the way will suck up the signal.

Dunno if you've ever used a laptop outside. They don't work too good. Plus the fact that when you're outside, a computer is the last thing you want.

Notebook + boat = disaster

Take a fishing rod instead

-Andrew M

kilometers

"Alan Rutlidge" dramatic signal drop off outside its polar pattern. Likewise all that

Over the surface of water, the wi-fi signal actually gets further with less dropout.

Does he actually LIKE fishing?

Shit, take a chick or a slab then.

Agreed to a point, but with a directional antenna and a boat bobbing and moving about on the ocean how do you anticipate they will maintain alignment? Even if the laptop has in-built, PCMCIA or USB wireless the range isn't going to be very good due to the small RF output power and bugger all antenna gain. Then there's propagation issues at 2.4GHz. I'd be interested to see it work over those distances previously mentioned.

Cheers, Alan

"Alan Rutlidge" bugger all antenna gain. Then there's propagation issues at 2.4GHz. I'd

There's not much doubt about it.

You can boost the base signal and have a high gain antenna but the laptop is stuck with a flea-fart of power and is omni-directional if it's wireless is built in.

You would need to seriously pump up the laptop output power to get anywhere - especially if you have encryption on.

My Sony ( with inbuilt wireless) can just see the neighbours network 2 houses away - sometimes.

Granted, it's still line-of-sight so even if just one end is moving (like a boat on water) it'd be challenging.

Chris.

Come again. You say you can see the neighbours network?? Does that mean what I think.

Cheers, Pete.

Why? What do you think that it means?

--
Chris.

it means you think what he thinks your thinking but not what the neighbour is thinking.... or am i confused with the boat bobbing on the rough swell of the mooring with the sun blinding me, so the laptop is useless!

Dunno what you think but I suspect I may have left the wording ambiguous !!

The Sony detects two networks mine and his. Both are secured. So, it's situation normal in the city or suburbia, AFAICT.

No, it means you took my suggestion and took a slab out to the boat.

No reason at all why that shouldn't happen. I was on an island a few weeks back and almost everyone had a laptop and connected to one of the AP's in the village. Several newbies had brought their own AP's (told it was a good thing, apparently) so everything was trying to yell at everything else. Not much throughput till some selective power-downs took place. :-) Never seen so many AP's appear on my laptop network screen though.

Cheers.

Ken

Shit, if you were in Oz I would think you were on that Telstra payback trip to the Barrier Reef.

What are you doing with a PC on an island anyway. The're for getting pissed and eating too much.