My new neighbor: The most evil man on earth

[Bozo]

Is there anyting in this article that will help you?

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040527.html


Bozo :mrgrn:

 

[time]

I don't mean to be insulting, but IMO that article is mostly drivel.

Two years ago, he said this.

I think now I got it wrong when I predicted the ubiquity of 802.11 networks.
...
WiFi networks will become ubiquitous because Intel has plans to pull the technology right into its processors intended for notebook computers. But where I had it wrong, I now believe, was in my prediction that this would make WiFi the default home networking technology of the future. I no longer think that.

Well, Max Levchin, CTO at PayPal, can't get a WiFi network running in his one bedroom apartment because the signals won't get through his reinforced concrete bedroom wall.
...
Of course, this problem is one that will be fixed by Ultra Wide Band (UWB) networking, but UWB is still a couple years away from primetime.

UWB is just baseband, i.e. it is not encoded on a carrier. The FCC is understandably concerned about interference and reluctant to permit usage at any frequency not above the currently reserved spectrums.

The only way transmission through steel-reinforced concrete is going to improve is with significantly lower frequencies, not higher. :roll:

 

[Bozo]

No problem

I don't know a thing about wireless. Just trying to help.

Bozo :mrgrn:

 

[Mercutio]

I ordered a 2W, 2.4GHz amplifier. I plan to use it on channel 11, which is not in theory used by any cordless telephone. If my neighbors - within the probably 4 or 5 block radius 2W should give me - want to listen to their infants with stupid monitors, they can all buy 900MHz jobs and work the interference out their damn selves.

 

[Handruin]

I don't know much about wireless and watts, but 2W seems like a lot, no? I mean, don't most cell phones push 1/3W? I'm probably comparing apples to oranges here, but I think your 2W amplifier is way overkill.

:mrgrn:

 

[Mercutio]

Yup. It's supposed to be.
If other people can't be bothered to fix their radio emissions then I'm just going to override them (probably not that many, though, not using channel 11). Then it's their problem.

Yeah, I feel like a jerk for doing it, but since the $500 worth of 802.11A stuff I have sitting around is worthless right now, I also feel more than a little justified.

Plus I'm pretty sure that makes the park near my house part of my "coverage area".

 

[ddrueding]

Excellent "measured response", Merc.

A great solution IMHO.

 

[ddrueding]

Just don't forget to secure the heck out of it, that many more people can now try to hack it.

 

[The JoJo]

Just don't stick your head near it when it's transmitting, or you'll warm up your brain

I like your solution, total domination of the surroundings :mrgrn:

 

[Howell]

Where did you get the amp?

 

[Mercutio]

Through one of my father's employees. I won't actually have it until Friday.

 

[Howell]

Fair enough. Must be secret alien technology.
Where would a normal person purchase this item.

 

[Mercutio]

He's a Ham Radio fanatic. I imagine these are similar.

 

[mubs]

Do you need an FCC licence for it?

I bought a pair of GMRS walkie-talkies recently for next to nothing, and found out I need an FCC licence for them because they have a 5 mile radius (don't remember the watts). The licence costs $75. I returned the radios - just wasn't worth it. I believe the FRS radios (with a 2-mile radius) don't need a licence, but hardly anybody makes them anymore.

 

[Mercutio]

I think I don't care.

 

[Bozo]

Good for you.

Actually, it's not your neighbors fault. It's the manufacturers of the equipment. Most of the general public has no clue about technical stuff and how to set them up. They just want "Plug-n-Play". So the manufacturers cater to this and build their equipment to work under all most any circumstance. It's great for advertising too. But to build it cheap, specifications are not very tight.

I'm just as guilty. I bought a Linksys router for my cable modem. It has four RJ45 ports plus wireless. I had it online for two months just using the copper connections before it dawned on me that I could be broadcasting too. Sure enough, the ports and wireless are both 'on' by default. And, none of the security measures were on. It was "Plug-n-Play". It took about an hour to figure out how to kill the wireless. I wonder if any of my neighbors were using my internet connection???

Bozo :mrgrn:

 

[Adcadet]

I was using "my" wireless network for a few *months* before remembering that I turned my wireless off. No wonder I was only connected at 1 Mbps.

 

[Mercutio]

The amplified range of my 802.11 equipment is pretty good, but not quite as good as I'd expected. I don't have any trouble getting my laptop to associate with my AP 4 blocks from my house.

2000 feet of wireless goodness. Wish I left the house more often.

 

[The JoJo]

:wink:

 

[Bozo]

Would this help?

http://www.tritium.co.uk/


Bozo :mrgrn:

 

[Mercutio]

Probably. But for now the problem is solved.