Can this be done - add a wireless extension to a broadband router?

[robsamui]

Just moved into a new house - "with free WiFi" This turns out to be a TOT IPTV connection with WiFi speeds of between 0.5 and 1.5 Mbits.

Because my house is about 100 metres away from his house (and with nothing else around it) the owner now proposes to install a 3BB basic 10Mbit connection in his own house - and then create some kind of a wireless link between his router and a router (receiver?) in my house.

Which I will pay for, of course.

The owners' words - "The router in my house will connect wifi with the router in your house."

I get all itchy at the thought of this. It just sounds totally wrong somehow.

My feelings are that

1. direct router to router connection isn't possible in the first place

2. thus some kind of booster device will be needed

3. for this kind of a distance it will need to be powerful and expensive

So can anyone tell me how this kind of process works? Is it possible through 100 metres of trees and vegetation?

The owner is in the process of doing this - so I want to be able to stop him before he uses my money to get connected to his house then finds out - OH SORRY - that he can't connect to mine!

R

Edited June 6, 2015 by robsamui

[nev]

Get 3bb to put in your own line and connection, it is free to install and only 600 baht a month, it was free when I installed and a free box too, I am very happy with 3bb.

[rwdrwdrwd]

Agreed - it's going to be very sketchy over 100 metres - not an expert on ranges but this site says max 92m outdoors, and that's not considering vegetation or bad weather. just get your own installed if possible.

Also why does he want it in his house? Are you also going to be sharing it with him? Or maybe he's concerned that you'll leave and lumber him with a billable, unusable and unwanted connection, in which case just pay a year up front.

Other (nice unselfish gesture but not practical) reason could be that your house happens to be far enough away from existing 3bb connections that there will be an additional line fee (quite possible if you're 100m from them) and he thinks he's saving you cash - I'd just pay it.

Edited June 6, 2015 by rwdrwdrwd

[robsamui]

I deliberately found myself a house in the jungle (Koh Samui) that was miles away from partying neighbors, noisy kids, howling dogs and constant construction. This the nearest house (that is not a tin shed) is the owner's house - about 100m away - maybe even more.

It is a safe bet that 3BB would have to run a cable for possibly 150 - 200 metres to get to my house. (There is a patch of 15 - 20 houses not far my my owner's house. Good bet that one of them has 3BB)

I am sure that my owner would be happy enough for me to install my own line. As it happens, the terms of the contract includes "free wifi" . I didn't realise that IPTV (the free wifi referred to!) was as useful as a choco teapot. The end solution was that my owner is willing to pay the 650 baht a month wifi fee - but now it looks like I have to pay for the 3BB installation and the 2 routers needed myself in order for him to then foot the monthly payment as agreed!

If satellite TV dies because it's raining - I'm sure the fragile router-to-router signal over 100 metres will be worse.

Plus the added problem of configuring 2 routers - one of which is attached to a desktop PC at my end and needing a LAN cable connected to the router. This is my workhorse - my wi-fi-enabled laptops are just mobile extensions of it.

R

Better that I just ask him to do a new install direct to my house I think.

Edited June 6, 2015 by robsamui

[robsamui]

Get 3bb to put in your own line and connection, it is free to install and only 600 baht a month, it was free when I installed and a free box too, I am very happy with 3bb.

Are you sure that 3BB installs for free? Hundreds of metres of cabling for free?

Or are you thinking of a connection from the next house or condo?

:-)

[nev]

Get 3bb to put in your own line and connection, it is free to install and only 600 baht a month, it was free when I installed and a free box too, I am very happy with 3bb.

Are you sure that 3BB installs for free? Hundreds of metres of cabling for free?

Or are you thinking of a connection from the next house or condo?

:-)

I am very lucky as the village I am in has excellent 3bb service, there is a limit to the amount of cable but we are only 20 meters from the connecting point.

[thedemon]

If extending the 3bb line to your house isn't possible then a LAN connection between the 2 houses would be a good solution. 100M is about the maximum distance for CAT5/6 but there are solutions to extend further than that.

100M is no problem for a wireless bridge and it doesn't require expensive equipment. A pair of wireless bridges can be bought on ebay or Aliexpress for about USD100. I have a similar setup at my office and it works perfectly. Unfortunately though you do need good clear line of sight between the 2 antennas. Any trees in the way and I think it almost certainly won't work, especially when it rains.

[slipperylobster]

Get your own cable, as said earlier. Pay for it in advance, and lock it up with a WPA-2 password. Make sure you secure the Router setup page as well..with your own password. If you share bandwidth/router with him, then he can screw up the setup page...deny access at times...(a form of control/punishment)...or download bit torrent files for 24 hours...robbing valuable bandwidth. Just three simultaneous wifi connections on one router slow it down. Also, how would you reset his router, should the power go off, if you have no access. Sometimes I need to unplug for 30 seconds and plug back in. You need to control that.

[robsamui]

If extending the 3bb line to your house isn't possible then a LAN connection between the 2 houses would be a good solution. 100M is about the maximum distance for CAT5/6 but there are solutions to extend further than that.

100M is no problem for a wireless bridge and it doesn't require expensive equipment. A pair of wireless bridges can be bought on ebay or Aliexpress for about USD100. I have a similar setup at my office and it works perfectly. Unfortunately though you do need good clear line of sight between the 2 antennas. Any trees in the way and I think it almost certainly won't work, especially when it rains.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, there is 100 metres of jungle between my house and where the owner lives.

As he wants to honor his contract, the only solution seems to be that I pay for a new 3BB installation to my house, then I simply get him to pay the monthly bill.

That way I get the non-shared connection with good transmission times and he still pays the 650 baht or whatever which he agreed to do.

Plus it's me that downloading torrents 24/7 and not him. I like that idea . . . :-)

(Although I'm 99% certain he's never heard of torrents . . .)

R

Edited June 6, 2015 by robsamui

[robsamui]

Get your own cable, as said earlier. Pay for it in advance, and lock it up with a WPA-2 password. Make sure you secure the Router setup page as well..with your own password. If you share bandwidth/router with him, then he can screw up the setup page...deny access at times...(a form of control/punishment)...or download bit torrent files for 24 hours...robbing valuable bandwidth. Just three simultaneous wifi connections on one router slow it down. Also, how would you reset his router, should the power go off, if you have no access. Sometimes I need to unplug for 30 seconds and plug back in. You need to control that.

Yep - this is the way to go, I think.

Thanks

R

[robsamui]

Many thanks to all who posted replies here.

Your input has now sorted out my lack of knowledge and indecision.

Much obliged.

R

[momtaz]

Get direct connetion to 3bb and they will intall a router for wifi as well, by this u can connet ur laptop or pc desktop directly to the modem/router as well can connect other decives to ur wifi,

keep in mind that to get wifi signal from the owner he should keep it turned on 24 hrs 7/7 days, as well the distance is a major part to get stable signal,

[samuijimmy]

Rob, I would do the line yourself, rather than the landlord doing it, just go down to the 3BB office next to Tesco, in Chawang, they are usually quite helpful there, and should be able to tell you how much for new line... it's so much a metre... after a certain length... (they will find your house on their map and tell you the cost, before hand)

If you are using the Internet a lot, you will be better off with the 900 +- baht a month plan.... as they cut you off if using a certain limit... You will probably need to pay a year in advance, for which they give you an 8% discount.

They won't let you change service mid stream, so consider which you can want, before you commit! I rarely have a problem with 3BB...

[NeverSure]

You could try a wireless repeater. You don't want an extender which requires its own login. You want a repeater which will boost the signal he has. Repeaters are cheap and easy to set up. They receive the signal and boost it and forward it.

Put the repeater in a window in your house, facing his house. There are repeaters that advertise 300 meters but I've never tried that. That would require one in his house and another in your house.

It would be really nice to also have one in his house in a window facing you, or to put his router in a window facing you.