RE: [Thinkpad] General wireless ISP question(s)

> From: David Reid
> My fingers are crossed, hopefully, I will soon have broadband
> at my rural home, via a new upstart local wireless broadband
> provider. I'm just over 2 miles from their current
> transmitter site, can see the tower they're on from my front
> porch so I'm hoping that will be an even better advantage.
>
> Anyone else on this list, a fulltime wireless customer? I
> would be interested in your comments about the service, maybe
> some "out of the box thoughts"

I'm not, but I have some comments anyway. :-)

> Just wondering about a few things,
>
> I've seen external antenna's advertised, for instance,
> Computer Geeks has something that looks like a Pringles
> Signal finder, advertised as great antenna for increasing reception.

Pringles antennas are quite the rage:

http://www.google.com/search?q=pringles+antenna

> Is there any means to connect our "xxx p" wireless thinkpads
> (I have an A30p) to an external antenna? Do they (ext ant.)
> really work?

There's no external connector for the A30p's mini-PCI radio.

> In speaking to the owner of this new company, I asked if it
> were feasable to setup a remote reciever. Much of my office
> work done outside and throughout the County. If I were on the
> fringe of the wireless signal area, he stated I could indeed
> setup a temporary antenna to pick up a signal.

Bring a Pringles can? :-)

> I suppose I'd have to have this connected to a small router
> or hub and hard wire via ethernet cable to my Thinkpad?

Yes and no. Do use a router, but make it a wireless one. Run your own local
WiFi network just as you would for cable or DSL, using any wireless router,
Linksys or whatever you like.

Then on the WAN side of the router, where you'd normally connect a cable or
DSL modem, instead you connect a wireless bridge connected via coax cable to
your Pringles antenna. This bridge could even be another router configured
with the routing functions turned off.

So on the LAN side, you have a very typical home wireless network. The only
difference is that the WAN side connects to another wireless network instead
of a cable or DSL modem.

For local travel, you probably wouldn't want to bring the router and bridge.
Instead, I think I would get a spare Pringles antenna (so I don't have to
disturb the alignment of the one at home), and get a WiFi PC Card with an
external antenna connector, such as one of the old ORiNOCO cards. The A30p
works fine with both internal and PC Card wireless cards together.

-Mike

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Received on Sat Aug 21 05:30:19 2004