ISO Help/Advice w/Wireless Internet

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
J

jpmcgrew

Executive Chef
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
4,569
Location
Raton,NM, USA
:) Anyone have experience with a ( Hawking) Hi-gain usb wireless dish adapter? My neighbor has dial up and it's the pits. She live about 255 ft from me and can pick up my router but no signal. I looked up all kinds of extenders but found this it seems too easy. It has good reviews and can go 800 ft they are used on RVs etc as well. Is this the miracle we are looking for? Anybody have one?
 
JP, I haven't got any experience with the Hawking device you mentioned but I have do use an extended range wireless router at my place at the coast so that my next door neighbor can log onto my network. Actually, she could log on with the regular wireless router but the extended range lets her take her laptop anywhere in her house and get a clear signal. I googled the Hawking device and it looks like it would work. If you buy it from a Best Buy or someplace similar with a good return policy, you could return it if it doesn't work for your situation. But I think it should work fine. HTH
 
She is 255ft away and it goes 800ft so in theory it would reach here no problem. But, the signal diminishes every time it passes thru something, so make sure there are as few things between it and her as possible. I couple of walls is OK, a few trees and the walls not so good. Also drywall diminishes less than brick, concrete, or other dense solid objects.
Just about any antenna added to your router will boost it. My router has a small port for an external antenna. I purchased one that boosts by about 50ft as my router is in the basement of my 2 story house. I get perfect signal everywhere in the house now, but I also encrypted mine as I don't want my neighbors on it! They are much much closer than 255ft, LOL.
If you can mount it in front of a window facing her or even outside facing her house, I think that would do it for you.
 
Fisher's Mom said:
JP, I haven't got any experience with the Hawking device you mentioned but I have do use an extended range wireless router at my place at the coast so that my next door neighbor can log onto my network. Actually, she could log on with the regular wireless router but the extended range lets her take her laptop anywhere in her house and get a clear signal. I googled the Hawking device and it looks like it would work. If you buy it from a Best Buy or someplace similar with a good return policy, you could return it if it doesn't work for your situation. But I think it should work fine. HTH
Click to expand...

I did the same thing, upgraded to an 'air hog', and even though it is in the basement the antenna attachment is strong enough that it reaches my neighbors only one bar down from optimal.
I know you want to share with your neighbor, but encrypt your network and share the key with her instead. Opening your network to anyone outside your house and within x number of feet opens you up to all kinds of serious problems including identity theft.
Encrypt and give out the key only to those you trust.
 
Oh yeah, that's exactly what we did - I added her to my network with the key. It's absolutely encrypted. But I hear ya. I'm not down there nearly as much as I'd like to be so we split the cost of internet service. She's fairly computer illiterate and we have set up her entire laptop for her. No one else uses it as she lives alone. But even then, I don't do any banking or financial transactions down there (or even on my laptop for that matter.) You definitely can't be too careful!
 
Ahh, that is what you meant by her logging on, OK. I do some financial stuff online, but it is limited to checking account balances, that is it. Well outside of buying stuff off the Internet but I only do so at trusted well known sites no matter how good the deal. If it is phishing and they drain your account, it wasn't such a good deal after all!
Always close your browser out after logging off. Even if you want to keep surfing, close the browser and clear the cookies and cache and then open again to do the rest of your surfing. The most common way they get you is by viewing what you are viewing and if you don't log off but instead just close the browser well now they are in your account!
They will also raid your cookies and cache for saved passwords. But, like I said, when it comes to my bank accounts or any account that would let you transfer money online, I disable that feature so the only thing you can do is look at transactions and balances.
As you said, can't be too careful!
 
a wireless card destroyed my computer. or so we thought. until my brother presses enter key. oops.
 
Maverick2272 said:
I did the same thing, upgraded to an 'air hog', and even though it is in the basement the antenna attachment is strong enough that it reaches my neighbors only one bar down from optimal.
I know you want to share with your neighbor, but encrypt your network and share the key with her instead. Opening your network to anyone outside your house and within x number of feet opens you up to all kinds of serious problems including identity theft.
Encrypt and give out the key only to those you trust.
Click to expand...
:) I'm not worried about ID theft we live 45 miles from town an a ranch you need a password just to get thru the gate there are only 7 houses on this particular area of the ranch amd all here have lived and worked here for years but I will encrypt as soon as I figure out how. I do all right on the computer for the most part but stiil don't know everything since I'm self taught.Here is the gadget I'm talking about it's only $ 62.00 with free shipping from Amazon.

Hawking Technologies
 
Well in your case I wouldn't worry about encrypting then, you only need to do that to protect from outside intrusion and unwanted users bogging down your connection. Doesn't sound like that is even remotely a concern for you.
As for the Hawking, for that price go ahead and give it a try. Since it has a built in signal meter, should be pretty easy for her to point in your direction and move it around to get the best signal. The only possible problem I could see would be that it might have the same problems in bad weather that satellite dishes have.
 
:)Her little dish will be inside I get my internet via satellite I dont usually have a problem unless I get ice or snow build up on the dish. I just hope I can configurate it all I printed the manual off the internet to get more familiar with what I will need to do.
 
I'm sure you will be able to configure it just fine, JP. If you have any issues, you should be able to call Hawkings tech support and they will walk you through it.
 
It will most likely come with an installation CD. Most these days are pretty easy to use and go step by step. Just hook it up to your neighbors computer, point at your house, and follow the instructions.
But, good idea familiarizing yourself with the instructions. If you get it, let us know how it works out for you?
 
Maverick2272 said:
It will most likely come with an installation CD. Most these days are pretty easy to use and go step by step. Just hook it up to your neighbors computer, point at your house, and follow the instructions.
But, good idea familiarizing yourself with the instructions. If you get it, let us know how it works out for you?
Click to expand...

:) It will come with one quick installation guide and one driver/install wizard/manual cd
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Woodman1
Sad Day-Selling my Pit
Replies
18
Views
3K
dollarbill
D

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom