Solution to extend wifi to approx. 80/100m - rural area

[Sir Dan Baker]

Hej everyone, after receiving a couple years back some brilliant advice on how to upgrade my wifi in our city house I am now returning for some advice on another topic.

We have a farmhouse in a rural area deep down in the Belgian Ardennes and recently I’ve built a tree house about halfway down the field toward the forest. Basically we had the garden and field area leading up to that point covered with wifi by using an old Asus RTN66u with some hack on it (can’t remember exactly but I believe it’s set to 400mW using merlin firmware). As an extra I’ve put longer tplink antennas on it but it’s not reliably reaching the treehouse.
There is no wat to get out there with cabling so I have to make do with whatever I can put on the outside of the main house.
Does anyone have tips on what kind of equipment could be used? The reason I mention ‘rural area’ is the fact that there are no other wifi signals present on that location, it’s rather secluded.
Any advice is welcome! Thans in advance

 

[Piotrek]

See https://www.snbforums.com/threads/request-suggestions-on-a-wireless-bridge-between-two-homes.84049/
Maybe just a simple AP?
WiFi 4

300Mbps Draadloze N Outdoor Access Point

300Mbps Draadloze N Outdoor Access Point

www.tp-link.com

WiFi 5

AC1200 Draadloos MU-MIMO Gigabit Indoor/Outdoor Access Point

AC1200 Draadloos MU-MIMO Gigabit Indoor/Outdoor Access Point

www.tp-link.com

WiFi 6

AX1800 Indoor/Outdoor WiFi 6 Access Point

Powered by the latest WiFi 6 technology, the AX1800 Indoor/Outdoor WiFi 6 Access Point EAP610-Outdoor delivers WiFi speeds of up to 1.8 Gbps, ideal for use in outdoor environments, such as outdoor swimming pools, cafes, and amusement parks.

www.tp-link.com

It's best to check for yourself.

 

[fryedchikin]

Bridge in a Box

Connect buildings, garages, machine shops, sheds, boat docks, video cameras and more quickly and easily with Bridge-in-a-Box.

www.cambiumnetworks.com

 

[ueevii]

Does anyone have tips on what kind of equipment could be used? The reason I mention ‘rural area’ is the fact that there are no other wifi signals present on that location, it’s rather secluded.

I am the vendor of the UeeVii wireless bridge! Our wireless bridge kit is a great solution for extending Wi-Fi coverage to your treehouse in a rural area, but not sure if there is a power source available in your treehouse! The kit is designed to be powered using standard 12V DC power, which can be sourced from a nearby power outlet or through alternative power options such as solar panels or battery packs.

 

[tgl]

We have a farmhouse in a rural area deep down in the Belgian Ardennes and recently I’ve built a tree house about halfway down the field toward the forest.

Nice!

Basically we had the garden and field area leading up to that point covered with wifi by using an old Asus RTN66u with some hack on it (can’t remember exactly but I believe it’s set to 400mW using merlin firmware). As an extra I’ve put longer tplink antennas on it but it’s not reliably reaching the treehouse.

What you want is point-to-point wifi. @ueevii sells some of that, and I can personally attest to the usefulness of Ubiquiti's comparable gear (NanoBeam etc, see the thread @Piotrek linked to). This is very different from run-of-the-mill wifi APs because the units' antennas are highly directional. You will sweat a bit on getting the antennas lined up accurately, and you need stable mounting arrangements so that they stay aligned, but once they're locked in you will be very happy.

 

[Sir Dan Baker]

I am the vendor of the UeeVii wireless bridge! Our wireless bridge kit is a great solution for extending Wi-Fi coverage to your treehouse in a rural area, but not sure if there is a power source available in your treehouse! The kit is designed to be powered using standard 12V DC power, which can be sourced from a nearby power outlet or through alternative power options such as solar panels or battery packs.

Thanks for your response, but no power source available unfortunately, the main house is where it all has to come from.

 

[Sir Dan Baker]

Nice!



What you want is point-to-point wifi. @ueevii sells some of that, and I can personally attest to the usefulness of Ubiquiti's comparable gear (NanoBeam etc, see the thread @Piotrek linked to). This is very different from run-of-the-mill wifi APs because the units' antennas are highly directional. You will sweat a bit on getting the antennas lined up accurately, and you need stable mounting arrangements so that they stay aligned, but once they're locked in you will be very happy.

No power source in the tree house, unfortunately p2p is not an option

 

[Tech9]

NanoStation as AP on 2.4GHz pointed to the treehouse direction.

https://dl.ubnt.com/datasheets/nanostationm/nsm_ds_web.pdf

 

[tgl]

No power source in the tree house, unfortunately p2p is not an option

So you're hoping that a standard portable wifi device (laptop or smartphone) in the treehouse will work without any other infrastructure? I'm afraid you're doomed to disappointment there. Even if you put a wifi AP with a very directional antenna in the main house, it's not gonna work because the portable device has an omnidirectional antenna, so it will simply not have the juice to return a usable signal to the main house.

I wonder whether you could stick a solar panel on the treehouse and extract enough power to run a p2p AP. Without local power, it seems like what you're left with is running wires (might as well do both power and ethernet) out to the treehouse.

Is there decent cellphone coverage in the area? Tethering laptop to smartphone and using cellular internet seems like the only other alternative.

 

[Tech9]

it's not gonna work because the portable device has an omnidirectional antenna, so it will simply not have the juice to return a usable signal to the main house

No, it will work. The high gain antenna on the AP works both ways. The device will hear the AP and the AP will hear the device from a greater distance. What you are saying is valid for same gain omnidirectional antennas when you increase the Tx power on the AP only.

I wonder whether you could stick a solar panel on the treehouse

This is a good idea, but increases the cost significantly. Solar panel, invertor, battery, DC-to-DC convertor, etc. Has ongoing expenses as well (battery).

Is there decent cellphone coverage in the area?

The best option. No one is going to live in the treehouse, I guess. Internet may be needed occasionally only. Not sure what is Internet for there.

 

[tgl]

No, it will work. The high gain antenna on the AP works both ways.

Hm, maybe. (I concede it's been a few decades since undergrad EE.) However, that just reduces to the previously unsolved problem, where to find standard WiFi kit with a sufficiently directional antenna. I am certain that Ubiquiti's P2P gear will not work -- they use some mildly-nonstandard radio protocol, so you need a Ubiquiti device at both ends. Sounds like @ueevii's gear has the same issue. Used to be you could buy aftermarket antennas for WiFi APs, but that's gotten harder of late.

I too wonder why you need internet when you're out there communing with nature ...

 

[ueevii]

Thanks for your response, but no power source available unfortunately, the main house is where it all has to come from.

FYI, we can offer a 30W,12V solar panel for the power source!

 

[drinkingbird]

Hm, maybe. (I concede it's been a few decades since undergrad EE.) However, that just reduces to the previously unsolved problem, where to find standard WiFi kit with a sufficiently directional antenna. I am certain that Ubiquiti's P2P gear will not work -- they use some mildly-nonstandard radio protocol, so you need a Ubiquiti device at both ends. Sounds like @ueevii's gear has the same issue. Used to be you could buy aftermarket antennas for WiFi APs, but that's gotten harder of late.

I too wonder why you need internet when you're out there communing with nature ...

The nanostations can run standard 802.11, airmax can be disabled in AP mode.

Even with the increased rx gain on the directional antenna, it may still be a stretch at that distance, but can use a simple USB wifi adapter, preferably one with antennas, can probably even track down a directional one. Just use an extension cable and have it mounted somewhere that it has a clear view. But try with just the directional AP first. If there isn't a lot of competition on 2.4 in the area it might be fine.

 

[Tech9]

where to find standard WiFi kit with a sufficiently directional antenna

In post #8.

NanoStation locoM2, AirMAX disabled, bridge mode, 20MHz 2.4GHz band, 60-degree beam, 8.5dBi antennas, outdoor - €64

 

[tgl]

The nanostations can run standard 802.11, airmax can be disabled in AP mode.

Oh ... interesting. I had noticed that the GUI's "Warning: Only airMAX AC stations are supported" message goes away with some configuration choices, but I hadn't really looked into what that meant.

Possibly the nanoBeam 2AC model (what I have) would work better than the locoM2, as it's got a 13 dBi antenna instead of 8.5.

 

[Tech9]

Possibly the nanoBeam 2AC model (what I have) would work better than the locoM2, as it's got a 13 dBi antenna instead of 8.5.

Not needed. Yours is made to cover distance in km as a bridge. If an old RT-N66U was almost there LocoM2 will do it. Won't break speed records, but it's cheap. I guess no one is going to run speed tests in the treehouse or download torrents. The device is very compact size as well.

 

[tgl]

Not needed. Yours is made to cover distance in km as a bridge. If an old RT-N66U was almost there LocoM2 will do it.

Fair point. Should be less finicky about the antenna aiming, too.

 

[drinkingbird]

Fair point. Should be less finicky about the antenna aiming, too.

I remember playing with freespace optics that came with a built in calibrated telescope for aiming and fine tuning knobs for elevation and azimuth. Now THOSE were finnicky about aiming. I don't recall exactly but I think at 1KM the light was a few inches across. And a big warning sticker NOT to look into the telescope when the remote end was powered on.

 

[drinkingbird]

Fair point. Should be less finicky about the antenna aiming, too.

Dunno the 2AC is way cooler looking though.

 

[Tech9]

cooler looking