802.11b Homebrew Antenna Shootout (Pringles Wins!)

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html ^

[TopQuark]

Thanks for a great introduction into a part of our culture I knew nothing about. And, it appears, I should. Thanks.

[Clinging Bitterly]

Can't buy broadband at my house, but they can a quarter mile away.

But I think you'll find the FCC type acceptance of these devices places limits on the physical characteristics of any antennas, so there are two issues at play here. Stealing internet service, and violating FCC rules.

I don't personally know anyone who would do either of those things, nope.

But seriously, one should be careful about doing anything like this. The FCC rule thing isn't a big deal, technically a "violation" level federal offense, with a threat of big fine (and in reality, almost never enforced). But in regards to the stealing of internet service, and particularly if the provider is a telco or electric utility, I'd advise one to not just go out and do it without permission from the owner of the LAN to which you are connecting, you could get in some serious trouble. This hasn't become such a problem that the providers are out driving around sniffing for people who are hijacking access, but it will, and they can find you as easily as you can find them.

[SauronOfMordor]

Can't buy broadband at my house, but they can a quarter mile away.

This sounds like something somebody would like if they're engaged in downloading things they REALLY would not like to be tracable back to them

[Cacique]

bttfl

[Elsie]

The PICTURES did not show up! Go here!

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html

[Rodney King]

OK, I need help here:

I have a Dell wireless setup, and I think that right now it is not encrypted. How do I turn encryption on? Can I just turn it on in windows, or wouldn't I somehow have ot turn it on in the dell setup?

Thanks.

[RadioAstronomer]

We used one pound coffee cans, broom handles, and aluminium snow sleds to build makshift S-band microwave dish antennas. They worked quite well. :-)

[longshadow]

We used one pound coffee cans, broom handles, and aluminium snow sleds to build makshift S-band microwave dish antennas. They worked quite well. :-)

Yes, but was it clockwise, or counter-clockwise polarization coffee?

[RadioAstronomer]

Yes, but was it clockwise, or counter-clockwise polarization coffee?

Eat it right out of the can and it will polarize you forward (or possibly to "the can" (pun intended) for sure! :-)

[tubebender]

Why couldn't you just daisy chain coat hangers from the ceiling...

[upchuck]

FReeRepublic...How bad have you got it...

Pretty bad, I guess. I've been given just three months to live.

[boris]

I guess I am a dinosaur, but I simply don't see the utility in "wireless" stuff.

I use computers that sit on a desk and connect with old-fashioned "wires".

All my phones--save one--has a wire.

My portable phone is almost never used. I got it when my local service went out once too often (rain in the switchbox) so I could order-in pizza.

No, I don't want my phone to take (low quality) pictures, nor do I want to send them to anybody.

I'm too disorganized to use a PDA (if I ever got organized, I'd conquer the world, so it is a good thing that I am disorganized).

In any event, I don't want to play games on my phone, or PDA. I don't want to try to access Excel or Word on my phone or PDA. And I certainly don't want to browse the internet on a 2.5-square-inch screen.

So I "don't get it" and probably never will.

--Boris

[LouD]

And the import and relevance of this article is... what?

...theft.

Or improving the performance of your own wireless network. The range of some of the internal antennas is not particularly great. The fact that this antenna is directional will not only improve performance, but make the theft of your own signal less likely.

[Psycho_Bunny]

The number of persons who use these antennas for legitimate purposes is so small as to not be worth mentioning.

You can buy a far more functional and unobtrusive +14 dBi directional antenna for $100.

[Psycho_Bunny]

WEP stands for "Wired Equivalent Privacy" which, in laymen's terms is conceptually similar to "Really cold boiling water".

In any event...there should be some sort of browser interface for connecting to your router/access point.  I assume Dell has given you instructions to "Open your web browser and type the address 192.168.0.1" and configure your router.

The WEP settings should be in there somewhere.  Be certain to setup WEP on the router before setting up WEP on your adapter...if you set your adapater first, you won't be able to connect to the router.

You might also have a router option for denying wireless access to all MAC hardware addresses except addresses you specify.  I'd suggest using it.  Somewhere in your adapter settings you'll see a number like "00:05:5D:95:ED:B2".  That's your unique, hardware MAC ID.

So the setting will end up looking like :"Deny all access except to 00:05:5D:95:ED:B2"

I know this isn't very helpful but I don't know how Dell handles their wireless stuff.  I'm just trying to give you a general idea of what you need to look for.

Remember, if you lock-down your access point with these two security protocols, and you host a LAN party or something, you're going to have to give your guest your WEP code AND enter their MAC ID before they can connect to your router.

 

[Psycho_Bunny]

Personally, I never had any use for WiFi either - until I moved to a new apartment.  My computers are on the same wall in my living room as my cable so, at first, I had a cable connection.  

But my cable was lousy....I had terrific throughput but my ping was in the 500ms range.  Since I work part-time for a online game hosting company, 500ms was totally unacceptable.  80ms is "slow" in the gaming world.

So I switched to DSL; only my phone jack is in my kitchen on the other side of my apartment.  Instead of running 100 feet of Cat5 up the wall, through the kitchen and living room, I just installed a 802.11a access point.

Given the circumstances, It's convenient, easier and looks better.  I'd rather be wired, though.

[Rodney King]

Thanks, that's very helpful. I think when I set this up I recall interfacing with the router, i'll dig through the stuff that came with it.

[Clinging Bitterly]

>> downloading things they REALLY would not like to be tracable back to them

I reckon so, though I'm not sure what sort of stuff that would be. I think most of the folks you find discussing this on the net are simply doing it because they can, and aren't after any particular sort of content.

The point of my earlier post was that if someone was habitually connecting from the same place all the time, they could be easily found, but if neighbors were sharing a wireless network by mutual agreement, I don't think there would be any criminal issues.

[Rodney King]

Since you guys know computers, I was wondering if you could help me with something. At any given time if I do a ctrl-alt-dlt I have like 31 processes running. What are all these, what can I do to get rid of them? These are waht I have right now:

opera.exe (browser)
taskmgr.exe
zonealarm.exe
msnmsgr.exe
ctfmon.exe
qttask.exe
LMpdpsrv.exe
McVSEscn.ece
MCAGENT.exe
MCVSSHLD.exe
ATIPTAXX.exe
Explorer.exe
VSMON.exe
Spoolsv.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe again, and somtimes there are 3 or 4 of these
mdm.exe
svchost.exe again
svchost.exe again
mcvsrte.exe
lsass.exe
services.exe
winlogon.exe
ati2EVXX.exe
csrss.exe
smss.exe
msmsgs.exe
mcvsftsn.exe
system
system idle process

Many thanks to anyone who can help me!!

[Clinging Bitterly]

That looks typical. Those are mostly services that are running as part of the operating system. You can search the names on Google, or wherever, and find out what they do.