Slashdot Mirror


A Wireless Network for a 4-Story Apt. Building?

zzzreyes asks: "I live in a 4 storey building, and pretty much everyone in this building is into gaming and computers. I have just received, through the death of a great aunt, about $7,000. I want to know how and what I should buy, to provide wireless access through out the whole building, so we can all share one connection. There are 6 double-room apartments on each side, and we only have four floors. I'll hopefully have access to the elevator shaft, in case I need it. Will $7,000 be enough?" How cheaply could you do something like this, assuming you had access to much of the building? What would be the best way to set up the access points to guarantee the best coverage for the whole building?

22 of 578 comments (clear)

  1. I'll do it! by SkunkPussy · · Score: 3, Funny

    if you give me the $7000 I'll get you the equipment you need.

    ahem

    --
    SURELY NOT!!!!!
  2. Roomie by savagedome · · Score: 2, Funny

    There are 6 double-room apartments on each side, and we only have four floors. I'll hopefully have access to the elevator shaft

    Do you, ummmm... or someone in the building, maybe, needs a roomie?
    I dont' even need the elevator. I will take the staris. Promise.

  3. Invest in Nano technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    use the interest/dividends to buy the stuff you need.

  4. My estimate by yo303 · · Score: 3, Funny
    It will cost exactly $7000. In fact, just give the money to me and I will fly over, install the network, and take care of everything.

    yo.

  5. And this was... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    posted why/how? How does this qualify as news/interesting story/informitive?

    Are you "special"? Is this one of "those" types of buildings?

  6. A good start by veg_all · · Score: 3, Funny

    The elevator shaft will be useful as those wireless packets will need some way to get from one floor to another and packets are far too small to negotiate the 4" riser on a common apartment stair. They can easily shimmy up and down those cables, though.

    --
    grammar-lesson free since 1999. (rescinded - 2005)
  7. Re:Where is this place? by PopCulture · · Score: 1, Funny

    >I live in a 4 storey building, and pretty much everyone in this building is into gaming and computers.

    >>Is there a vacancy? I want to live there!

    Is that so you can win the annual spelling bee???

    --

    Here's to finally giving Bush his exit strategy in November
  8. Make $15 million dollars with your $7000 by wan-fu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Lots of people have given suggestions over the types of hardware to buy or other places to invest your $7000. Why not just reply to one of the many, many friendly people from Nigeria and use your $7000 as a transaction fee for a transfer of funds. You'll receive a good 30% of a $50 million transfer in funds, which is $15 million. It's a no-brainer!

  9. Re:Test signals.. encrypt.. mac restrict by damiam · · Score: 4, Funny

    So downloading kiddy porn is OK with a business account then?

    --
    It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  10. Where in gods name!!! by unicorn · · Score: 2, Funny

    can you buy a house for $7000??????

    --
    "Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
  11. Re:Fascist moderators prove their hypocracy AGAIN! by Penguinshit · · Score: 5, Funny


    it allows you to run your way at up to 1500 watts

    Good God.. warn me so I can get to the Minimum Safe Distance before you turn that thing on...

  12. Re:Pay off debt or buy a house by fatboy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Pay off debt or buy a house? With that kind of money, don't ask me to come take the wheels off of it ;)

    --
    --fatboy
  13. Why settle for Wifi-g? Go gigabit! by dokebi · · Score: 3, Funny

    So you have a wad of cash you don't know what to do with? Want to spend it on something cool but don't have any good ideas? Not a problem. We see this kind of a problem every day, and we have a great solution. If you are looking to install a wireless internet setup, why not invest an additional $2000 and go gigabit wireless? But hey, since you sound like a nice guy, I'll give you a discount, and set it up for only $8000. That's a savings of over 10%! But you have to act quick. I can't offer these kind of rates for ever--we'll go out of business! So here is what you should do now. Put the money in a padded envelope, and mail it to:

    Tony's Construction
    123 Fake Street.
    Spring Field, MA, 18332

    And we'll come out and install it for you. Don't forget to tell us where you live!

    --
    In Soviet Russia, articles before post read *you*!
  14. Re:Pay off debt or buy a house by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Tony Soprano quoting Will Rogers:

    "Buy real estate, God ain't making any more of it."

  15. Re:1 802.11g AP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Dont send stupid like this to London, he will end up here after finishing all his money and we will have to deal with one more stupid. The guy probably never seen that much money together in his entire life and you asking him to stay in a hotel and pay $200 per night, spend $2200 on meal and etc..., what a looser are you.

    > Foreign, but not too foreign.
    You might think that way but for sure thats not the way we think.

    What a stupid idea to bring this "dead aunt" case into slashdot. I can see the point trying to educate people on wireless, but this really sucks guys, this is not the way it should be brought up....

    A suggestion: Buy dope, playstation, xbox, and never come back for ideas about your $7000 to the slashdot.

  16. Re:Don't blow your money.. by chunkwhite86 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I would suggest putting that $7k towards your retirement. Invest it in a solid fund or IRA. This would be much wiser than blowing it on a technology that will be outdated in a couple of years.

    Couple of years?? This shit will be old-hat in a few months. The guy with the $7k is obviously too stupid for his own good so his best bet is to flush the cash directly down the nearest hi-flo toilet bowl.

    --
    I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
  17. REPLY NOW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    DEAR SIR/MADAM,

    I AM MR. LEON BANNAU, THE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL OF NED BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA. I REQUEST YOUR CO-OPERATION IN THE TRANSFER OF MONEY AMOUNTING TO U.S.D. 7000.

    ON SEPTEMBER 1999, AN AMERICAN PILOT, MR. ROY KENOB, AN AMERICAN NATIONAL MADE A FIXED DEPOSIT OF U.S D 7000 IN NED BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA. ON MATURITY I SENT A ROUTINE NOTIFICATION TO HIS FORWARDING ADDRESS BUT GOT NO REPLY. AFTER A MONTH, I SENT A REMINDER AND FINALLY HIS EMPLOYERS WROTE TO INFORM US THAT MR.KENOB DIED IN A PLANE CRASH, THAT HE DIED WITHOUT MAKING A WILL WHILE OUR ATTEMPT TO TRACE HIS NEXT OF KIN THROUGH AMERICAN EMBASSY PROVED FRUITLESS.

    WHEN HE WAS MAKING DEPOSITION IN MY BANK, HE DID NOT DECLARE HIS NEXT OF KIN IN HIS DEPOSIT APPLICATION FORM, WHEN I REMINDED HIM HE SAID HE WISHED IT SO, IN THE CONSERVATIVE MANNER OF OUR BANK, I DID NOT TURN DOWN HIS REQUEST RATHER HONOR IT CONSIDERING HIS HIGH NET WORTH. THE POINT IS THAT HIS EMPLOYER ARE NOT AWARE OF HIS DEPOSIT WITH US, THEREFORE I AM THE ONLY PERSON WHO KNOW ABOUT MR.ROY'S DEPOSIT OF U.S.D 7000 WHICH IS NOW LYING IN DORMANT ACCOUNT PORTFOLIO, THE WHOLE ACCOUNT RELATING TO MR.KENOB'S DEPOSIT IS ALSO WITH ME.

    I AM LOOKING FORWARD FOR A FOREIGNER WHO WILL STAND IN AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO MR. ROY. I HAVE WORKED OUT MODALITIES OF ACHIEVING MY AIM BY APPOINTING YOU AS THE NEXT OF KIN TO MR.ROY AS WELL AS TRANSFER THE U.S.D 7000 ABROAD FOR US TO SHARE A WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION IN A FOUR STORY APARTMENT BUILDING. I WILL USE AN ATTORNEY WHO WILL REPRESENT YOU AS THE BENEFICIARY TO EXECUTE SERIES A WRITTEN WILL AND ATTESTAMENT OF LATE MR. ROY KENOB, IN SUPPORT OF YOUR CLAIM INCLUDING CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN OF THE MONEY, LETTER OF PROBATE WHICH EMPOWERS YOU AS THE SOLE TRUSTEE/EXECUTOR TO THE ESTATE OF MR. ROY KENOB. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO SIGN ANY TRANSFER DOCUMENT, AS THE APPOINTED ATTORNEY WILL DO ALL THAT.

    IF YOU AGREE TO ACT AS THE NEXT OF KIN/BENEFICIARY TO ENABLE ME TRANSFER/CONVERT THE MONEY TO OUR OWN BENEFIT/USE. I WILL GIVE YOU 30% OF USD 7000, 60% WILL BE FOR ME WHILE 10% WILL BE TO TAKE CARE OF ALL UNFORESEEN EXPENSES AS WE MAY INCURE IN THE COURSE OF CONCLUDING THIS TRANSACTION. I AM URGENTLY WAITING FOR YOUR POSITIVE REPLY.

    REGARDS,

    MR. LEON BANNAU

  18. Seen this before by mr_z_beeblebrox · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dear slashdot,

    Recently, due to a family death, I have come into posession of a large sum of money. For reasons that I can not explain I am unable to hold onto this money and that is where I need your assistance. My plan is to purchase wireless network equipment which I will use to improve the quality of life for my people (the other tenants in my building). Upon advisement from you, I will transfer the money to a computer supplier of your choice in return for the goods we decide on. You will receive nothing from this as it is not several million dollars and I am not an African Prince.

    Thank you

  19. Please, can't anyone consider the poor Geeks? by ahodgkinson · · Score: 2, Funny
    Woah! Stop with this $7000 crap. The dude asking the question is using the dead Grandma and $7000 as a red herring to weed out the investment analyists, lawyers and other non-geeks. Most of you failed miserably. :-)

    What you all failed to consider is the geek dimension .

    You're better off installing wires, you have better bandwith and much more importantly, it's much more geeky. Face it, while wireless is considered modern and cool and there are some fairly interest aspects regarding singal attentuation and the like, wireless is basically an easy to install technology. Wires require a messy and geeky installation, and that's what we want, right?

    With wireless:

    • You buy a bunch of little cards and everybody connects them to their PC. Reboot and run the stupid wizard thingie and you're done. Boring, boring, boring.
    With wires:

    • You have to go to special industrial supply stores to buy 500 foot rolls of cable, patch panels and RJ-45 sockets.
    • You have to buy (and use) a bunch of special crimpers and other tools and test equipment that none of your geek friends will have.
    • You get to climb around in an elevator shaft like spider man, with a tool belt and a purpose. (This point alone sells the project!)
    • You get to wire a patch panel.
    • You get to drill holes through thick walls with a kick ass two foot long bit.
    • You take pictures of the experience to post on your geek web site.
    ..but wait, there's more: With all the experience you gain, you'll still be able to find work after after your programming job gets outsourced to India. :)

    P.S. This should all be pretty cheap and you should have tons of left over money at the end (expecially if you ask the landlord to help pay for the wires, since all the tenents can use them for their ISDN telephones :). What to do the cash? Duh.. buy more hardware for that Beawolf cluster, dude!

    --
    ---- It won't be as bad as you fear or as good as you hope, but it will take twice as long as you plan.
  20. Re:Equipment cheap. Labor NOT by lucifuge31337 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Judging by your obviously knowledgeable answer, I'd say you just proved yourself wrong.

    Not really. For example: Am I right, or am I full of shit? How far do you have to dig to figure out who know what they're taking about (because just about everyone asserts their opinions as facts here).

    --
    Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
  21. Re:Equipment cheap. Labor NOT by lucifuge31337 · · Score: 2, Funny

    So my question is... why did they ground it at all?

    [...]

    Second question... sheilded twisted pair? No one with a brain uses shielded cable for networks. That defeats every reason for twisting the pairs. It just picks up currents from everything around it.


    Since your knowledge is out of a book, rather than practice, it's going to be difficult to explain. But it comes down to some things like never installing riser runs without surge suppression, much of which is specifically designed for a grounded shield.

    Third... The number of stories has nothing to do with it... People wire like that you'll get knocked on your butt between apartments... Try wiring in a building where they have split 3 phase to do the wiring. Forget to check a phase crossing and BAM you end up on your butt.

    Troll Troll TROLL! Yet I'm still responding.

    Yes the number of stories matter, as it relates to distance, and just about EVERY building (and residence) in the US has split three phase. Using big terms like that sure makes you sound smart to the /. crowd, who's largest experience with electricity that involves anything more complicated that plugging something in is either "C" or "D" cell. And if YOU knew anything, you'd be aware that standard multi-unit wiring practices are to distribure all three legs of the incoming circuit to the panel in each unit, and split from there. So if there's only one electrical service in the building and you want to get around phase problems, you use equipment that runs on 220.

    That's it. I'm not explaining this anymore. It's actually quite interesting, but probably lost on the trolls and people who thinks that their book knowledge trumps hands-on practical experience.

    --
    Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.
  22. Re:Equipment cheap. Labor NOT by lucifuge31337 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You sound somewhat more like you know what you're talking about in this post. Although you mention no electrical experience whatsoever. 7 years, or even 20 years, as a network engineer means nothing in regards to electricity. As far as who has what service inth where and how it's carved up, that's largely controlled by code, and our various local areas of familiarity very probably differ. And frankly, I'm not going to get into it any further.

    --
    Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.