Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New WiFi Link Distance Record

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the wifi-vs-rfc-1149 dept.

Espectr0 writes "A Venezuelan professor along with his team have set a new record for the longest WiFi link. Using commodity hardware, they established a connection between a PC in El Águila, Venezuela, and one in Platillón Mountain, a distance of about 237 miles. The previous record was 193 miles. Slides [PDF] are also available."

7 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. I've come close by nolife · · Score: 5, Funny

    I almost get a usable signal in my bedroom which is 237 decimeters away from my access point in my basement. Oh... the article claims 237 miles. My "of the shelf" equipment must have come from the clearance shelf.

    --
    Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
    1. Re:I've come close by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Funny

      the distance you can go is essentially limited only by earth curvature.

      That's why I use a moon bounce for all of my wi-fi communication needs. Sure, the latency is a bitch, but I don't have to deal with that pesky curved Earth limiting my range.

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    2. Re:I've come close by addie+macgruer · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've got that, but it only seems to work half the time. Still, it's more reliable than my ISP.

  2. Nice work but... by Aqua_boy17 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good for them. But since WiFi is line of sight, the only way they can do this is by using mountainous regions. I guess us flatlanders will have to resort to bouncing our signals off of blimps or flying pigs (coated in foil, of course).

    --
    What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
  3. In unrelated news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news...

    Cuban government officials have begun a new, lucrative service where they have established a WiFi base and are charging $10/day to residents of southern Florida for unfettered Internet access. "We have very good download rates for Sicko and, of course, for all your favorite music artists," Castro's spokesperson is quoted as saying. In the background this reporter could hear maniacal laughter and intermittent shouts of "See what the RIAA thinks of that!" and other such obscenities.

  4. Re:These guys are in BIG trouble with the FCC! by jd · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nono, it's ok, they weren't swearing or having sex at the time of the transmission.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  5. They used 1 meter dishes. Of course it works. by Animats · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The technology is straightforward. They had line of sight, used 1 meter dishes at each end, and aligned them with telescopes. Point to point microwave links have been doing that since the 1950s. After all, you can get a signal to and from geosync orbit with a dish of that size.

    The most interesting thing about this is that they found two points on the earth's surface 273 miles apart with a clear line of sight between them.