How to Capture and Boost Remote Wi-Fi Signal?

TheUberProf · #1 03-26-2006, 10:03 PM

I'll be attending a very traditional college in the fall, and they're not very "connected." They do have a wi-fi network, but its centered around the admin building only. It can't reach the men's dorm (around 200ft away, open air), where I'd like to be able to use my laptop.

What I want to do is capture the admin building's wi-fi signal for internet access, and then run a private "men's dorm only" network for file and print sharing.

WDS seems like it would work, but that would require a custom firmware for the admin router (a linksys wrt54g). I won't have that kind of access to it, only to my stuff.

Could I use a wireless bridge connected to a wireless router? I'd use the bridge to connect to the admin network, then plug it in via ethernet to the router's WAN port. I'd also need some type of directional antenna to boost the bridge's signal... Any ideas on that?

Thanks for any advice.

JackMDS · #2 03-27-2006, 02:57 AM

[q]Could I use a wireless bridge connected to a wireless router? I'd use the bridge to connect to the admin network, then plug it in via ethernet to the router's WAN port. I'd also need some type of directional antenna to boost the bridge's signal... Any ideas on that?[/q]

Yap, this is probably your best bet.

Wirelessly Bridging Home / SOHO Network.