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Using an Old Satellite Dish as a WLAN Antenna
=m8s=Dark Underlord writes "I was browsing for wireless stuff and came across this link that shows how to use an old satellite dish as an 802.11 antenna." The directions tout the range as being 10 miles given line of sight. We've had other stories about building antennas, but I think these are cooler because of their focused nature, but a Primestar dish is a little tougher to locate than a Pringles can or a floppy disk.
Aren't you supposed to return the antenna at the end of the contract?
Making a WiFi antenna using a telephone poll. You use the red and green wires to transmit a signal to another WiFi device connected to the red and green wires up to 20 miles away. But what would I know? I'm just a naked chick.
--
So I'm naked. So what?
Primestar dish is a little tougher to locate than a Pringles can or a floppy disk.
Will a DISH Network or DirecTV dish work? I can locate hundreds of these without walking too far. Give me a couple of nights and I can send a bulk shipment you're way for a few thousand dollars.
Now, where did I put my screwdriver?
-- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
A few years ago I saw one still attached to a pole near an old trailer foundation along the highway. A few minutes of working it loose and we threw it in the trunk. I had plans to buy a receiver on ebay and get C and Ku band channels but never followed through.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
but it is powerless against slashdotting!
Satellite dishes aren't hard to find; just visit any trailer park or upper-lower/lower-middle class neighborhood, and I guarantee you, there'll be a dish stuck on the corner of every other house. The kids'll be running around half-naked, there'll be a car or two on the lawn, but getting satellite tv still seems to be first priority.
I STILL say my dish is better than anything you can get. Damn, I can WiFi to my brother's computer all the way in Zeta-Twelve!
wwc.edu better set up a bunch of these things and stream the site to someone with more bandwith...
SAILING MISHAP
Given the fact this story was just posted on Slashdot..not for long.
Somewhere, tomorrow morning, some poor satellite dish dealer in East Nowhere is going to be very, very happy and not know why.
Please help metamoderate.
Yes.
I'll sell you a 30" new dish without an LNB (not primestar branded) for $75 CDN. Shipping not included. Add LNB for $10 CDN.
If you're paying $50 US for a heavily used OLD dish, you're being ripped off in a VERY big way.
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
So tell us stranger...
What is it like living in the future?
"- Sir, you are aware that you have a huge TV antenna duct-taped to the roof of your mini-van?
- Hun, yeah, I do
- And that there seems to be 2 sets of eyes in the back of the mini-van that look like they belong on ghouls
- I think you mean geek sir. And don't mind the flashing leds too, we are having a lan party.
- In a mini-van ?
- Mmh, yeah.
- Ok, drive safe"
*rolls up window and keeps on following the signal*
In Canada, we don't fancy things like socks
Imagine the long distance LAN parties.. whoa yah.
Call your buddies up around the neighborhood and your ready.
ogg
Black cat, searing pain, flames...? I must be in Heaven! - Homer Simpson
Wow! You mean you found something actually made in the USA?!
Unless you are actually worried about taking up too much space (and why should we let that get in the way?), why use one of those little mini-dishes? Go all out and find an old 8-ft diameter big dish system. Not only will get a much larger reflector area, but if the control arm and box are still in working order, you can remotely slew over an arc of about 50-60 degrees without modification. This could let you change focus to different nodes from your computer.
Plus it is far more conspicuous, and therefore infinitely more cool.
Charles Miller
The more I learn about the Internet, the more amazed I am that it works at all.