How far can you push the range of Wi-Fi connectivity in an ideal environment?

Discussion (3 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

CobaltFire•23 minutes ago

They address that they were looking at the maximum unlicensed power.

In HAM circles some people do use WiFi in an arguably legal manner by making the SSID their callsign and either making the network open or putting the password somewhere public. This is because you are not allowed to use public bands for encrypted communications (with a carveout for satellite control, for obvious reasons).

I'm unsure what ranges can be hit with that setup, but I know it can be far enough that LoS due to curvature of the earth becomes a factor.

I do think just getting a wireless P2P bridge is easier and smarter and why this hasn't seen more use.

firesteelrain•about 1 hour ago

I am still reminded of early WiFi and ways to extend it with Cantenna or foil backed contraptions made out of cardboard.

CobaltFire•35 minutes ago

Used a cantenna and a PCI card with modified firmware to great effect when I only had WiFi for internet at the barracks in Japan in the 00's. I was absolutely outside of the legal limits on power, which I didn't really know at the time.

Extreme contention when 250 people had 3 APs as their only connection and half were trying to play WoW at the same time.

How far can you push the range of Wi-Fi connectivity in an ideal environment?

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Discussion (3 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews