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Domain: hyperlinktech.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to hyperlinktech.com.

Comments · 53

  1. I don't see why not! by funky+womble · · Score: 3, Informative · on Wanted - 45 Mile Wireless Broadband?
    Of course the exact setup will depend on factors such as terrain and which licensing restrictions you are subject to, but providing you can find locations for repeater stations (which can be solar powered, so you don't need a mains electricity supply) this should be feasible.

    Here are some URLs you might find interesting: HPWREN (featured here recently) have a 45mb backbone using western multiplex tsunami kit, and 802.11b access points. They use solar power and batteries to power some backbone nodes.

    Some other people using mostly 802.11b kit who will have some information you can use: BAWUG PersonalTelco.net NoCat.net Freenetworks.org

    Using 802.11b or similar tech, you should expect each wireless hop to add about 5ms of latency, maybe a little more depending on distance. You can quite easily build a repeater by connecting two bridges together by a X-over cable. You could probably do this with Linksys WAP11 or similar, but over this type of distance you will find it much easier to use something like the high-spec version of Cisco Aironet 350 bridges (the 100mW versions will push the signal a lot further - 25 miles with 24dBi antennas - you can use Cisco's own, alternatives include Superpass (based in Waterloo), HyperLinkTech and others.

    Aironet bridges let you set the distance of the link which modifies timing parameters (a slight problem with standard 802.11b over long distances), and their security is better than WEP.

    There's plenty of homebrew opportunities for antennas and other related kit, although I guess they're probably of more use to people who don't have a budget to play with (: There's a collection of links on this page with a particular focus on homebrew kit.

  2. Really going to work? by GuyZero · · Score: 3 · on Wireless Freenets
    You know, with the huge use of the 2.4 GHz band, I gotta wonder if these networks will really achieve any decent throughput. Sure, I know, they use spread sprectrum to get over all that unpleasant "noise" stuff, but look what you've got on 2.4 GHz already...

    • 802.11b. And maybe lots of it in some places. You can only have so many overlapping networks before performance degrades.
    • 2.4Ghz cordless phones. By FCC regs, these can transmit as much power as an 802.11b card, so it only takes a few of them in your neighbourhood to start running over your wireless LAN.
    • Cordless anything. Keyboards, mice, gamepads...and funny, what are these usually right next to... your 802.11b card!
    • Microwaves. Which can pump out a shit-load of power and noise into the 2.4GHz band
    • Other industrial ISM-band equipment
    While you can boost performance by using a high-gain directional antenna and putting it up high (like the top of your house) the legal limits on trnasmitted power are still really low - like 1 W RMS (according to the article - I thought it was 1mW RMS, but my memory is bad). I toyed briefly with the idea of setting up an 802.11b antenna on the top of my new house as I work fairly close to where I line and it would just be, you know, cool. But it's expensive and the only way to really get decent range is to use a number of cells (and I don't have the capital to build out a city-wide network) or crank the power, which is fine by me, but technically illegal.

    Anyway, I don't really have enough spare time to hand-roll and antenna like these freenet guys, so I was thinking about buying one from HyperLink Technologies, but then I'm too cheap to do that.

    Anyway, sounds like fun. Anyone building one in Toronto?

  3. a good antenna can help a lot by jbridge21 · · Score: 3 · on 802.11, Horizon Drop-Off And Range

    You can get antennas from such places as HyperLink Technologies that can give you up to a 24 dBi improvement. A combination of a good antenna with good outdoor placement can do wonders for a lot of people.

    [Disclaimer: I don't work for HyperLinkTech.]
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