connect long-range wireless adapter usb to "repeater" to give other users access

[ekon]

I have 2 x TPLink wireless adapters with antennae. I get internet connection to my laptop fine ...from a hot-spot half a mile away..either adapter works ok. Now I want to connect to a "repeater" like the Alfa 36 one so I can share the internet with other users in the house -http://www.alfa.com.tw/products_show.php?pc=51&ps=11

The Alfa 36 only works well with 2 (I think) of their own wireless usb adapters..& maybe some other makes with the same Realtek RTL 8187L chipset (so I read). The TP link ones I have are fitted with Ralink chipset I think.

Q. Doers anyone know of a similar alternative product? or work-around?

p.s. I have emailed TP link on this one too.
p.p.s. I have the TP-Link WN7200 as one of the 2 ..and it can be used in AP mode with (my) XP ..but not if it is what you are using to get the distant hotspot to connect for i'net.
I have tried using the secondr TP link adapter with antenna (WN722) to get the internet (using one usb port) and the WN7200 set in AP mode in another usb port..but I have had no success. My tablet can see the named AP but cannot acquire ip address. I have no ADSL "supply", router/ethernet connection for a "traditional" AP setup as you would for a house with broadband coming down a wire from the exchange to a modem/router.
thanks for reading.

 

[mauller07]

it would be better to use a wireless access point connected to an external directional antennae on your house, then connect the wireless access point to a wireless router inside your house and then use the wireless on the router for internal connections in your house, this way you will get a far stronger signal to your provider and within your house for better overall performance while allowing your internet connection to be shared.

wireless repeaters do not work very well, it will cost more but the performance in comparison will be greatly better, especially if you cannot get a wired connection.

with the hotspot you connect to do you require login details or does it just require a password to connect like a normal wireless connection?

 

[ekon]

>mauller07..thanks for your interest. The hotspot in question is part of a pay-for-service that I use when I am at a holiday home (it isn't worth paying for permanent broadband the amount of time I am there). The current system I use requires login details (username/password) that you receive by text-message once you have paid online (you can access the pay-for page without the login just by searching for wireless networks in range). The service works very well..normal & download speed is about 2meg (adequate..just) and it is secure (htpps)...I have never had any issues with the service.

I have recently bought a "25dBi 2.4GHz Wireless WLAN WiFi Antenna RP-SMA for Modem PCI Card Router" and a "TP-Link TL-ANT24EC5S Low-Loss Antenna Extension Cable" so I was moving in the direction you suggest..though that was to get better signal. I was going to set it up outside & hook it up to one of the TP-link adapters (instead of the relatively small aerials supplied with them) & then attached to a usb port on my laptop.

I have a few spare routers including a Netgear DG834G router I could use..but what sort of "wireless access point" could connect to the connector on the extension lead?..could you put a link to a suitable example? If I understand correctly ..the newly purchased WAP would be fed by the cable coming from the external 25dBi aerial..then an ethernet cable would connect a port on the new WAP to a port (LAN..not WAN?) on a wireless router. I use my 2 "spare" routers as APs at the moment with DHCP turned off .. my (main) home is large with thick stone walls. I use a 200 mbps "powerline" system to "feed" them from the standard ADSL router my isp provided.

never having actually bought a WAP I am not sure how they work when taking internet from such a source...also what settings would the router have?

 

[mauller07]

something such as this should work fine, it needs to have a removable antennae on it such as this one and the one i have shown has the same connector as your antennae.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WA5110G-54Mbps-Wireless-Access/dp/B002XKFIEI

basically stick the antennae high up outside/inside (depending if its water resistant) and use the access point near the antennae then connect the access point to the router, you may need to check with one of your routers is they can be set so one of the lan ports can be used as a wan port so that the access point gets an ip address from the local network but your router will give out your own ip addresses and keep you in control of your own wireless and router settings and route info between your internall wireless and the access point and the campsites network.
just make sure to put a strong password on the access point since people on the network at the campsite will be able to see it.

doing this it should hopefully trick the system since it should take the ip address of the access point and/or router when you activate your service since your other devices are behind a router and connecting to your own wireless should let all your devices work.

to setup the access point you will need to connect to it first directly (lan cable) and then disable any DHCP on it once it is setup and connected to the campsite network before connecting it to the routers wan port.

 

[ekon]

thanks again..have just taken the plunge and ordered the AP you linked to (£22.72 delivered, not a bad price). I understand what you mean when you say i.e. check on the router that "one of the lan ports can be used as a wan port"..the ethernet cable from the TP-link AP WAN(?) port must use a LAN port on the router..not sure how I find out but will have a look.

May sound a dull question..but is it possible to replicate this at home before I go on hols? i.e. by "tuning into" my normal wireles (router) newtork with the aerial I have bought and the AP (when it arrives) & spare router?

 

[mauller07]

yeah should be able to do it at home perfectly fine to set it up and test, it does not matter what wireless network it connects to.

you connect the lan on the WAP to the lan on the router but on the router itself you need to check that you can set one of the ports to act as a WAN port instead of a lan port otherwise it will not perform routing. the routing will normally only occur between the lan/wireless and the DSL connection.

 

[ekon]

ok..thanks..will have a bash at a simulation when the WAP arrives (and if I solve the "LAN needs to act as a WAN" router issue you spoke of).

I may well be back on here in a few days time!!

You really have been of great assistance today Mauller..I am most grateful.

just one more query though before I retire to the pit!- I read on a thread here:- " An AP by itself cannot connect to the ISP since it does not use a WAN port"..so thats why I need to connect the WAP through to a router yes?..if I just had the WAP (with no additional router)..& were picking up the "signal" OK from the hot-spot... via my directional aerial &cable... connected to the aerial connector on the back of the TP Link WAP....then... what would I get if I connected my laptop by ethernet cable to the (single) "LAN" output of the WAP? Anything?

(initial version of query edited at 21.33 UK time)

thanks again for reading

 

[mauller07]

your not connecting to an ISP your connecting to a wifi hotspot which works in a completely different way, the router basically makes the wifi hotspot controller when you order your internet use, think that just one person is using the connection since all you pay for is a single connection, the service is then set against the ip that has been given to your pc and its mac address which is why only one pc will work at a time.

the wap and router get around this since the wap gets given the service access and your router then uses the connection and give out its own ip addresses to your own pcs internally.

 

[ekon]

thanks..so if I connected the LAN output on the WAP by ethernet cable to my laptop I would get internet?
What if I had a "powerline" system (say 200mbps) using the mains electric circuit..could I take an ethernet cable from the WAP's LAN port to the "donor" powerline unit..then at the required room/place put the 2nd powerline unit (the "receiver") in a mains socket then connect up to the lappy with another ethernet cable?..and get internet?

 

[mauller07]

While at the holiday camp, only after a router since your PC'S need to be given different IP addresses since like I mentioned only one PC gets wireless access.

You can always try it but I do not think it will work without a router between your PC's and the campsites network.

 

[ekon]

hey thanks again Mauller..can you just explain to me (as newbie) why the LAN port that the cable from the (newly ordered TP=Link) WAP goes to...needs to be configured as a WAN port?..& how that is done? (the router I would most likely use is the Netgear DG 834G on which I know my way around better than the other, a Technicolor 582n).
I have been trying to read up on this rather than pester you but no great joy so far!
Happy to buy an new router to simplify matters if it'll do what you suggest/what I want easier..any suggestions gratefully received.

p.s. Anyone else out there got a working set-up like the the one I want to create? i.e. hotspot signal ----via directional high-gain aerial----- to devices(?) which can create shared internet wirelessly in house to lappies/tablets/smartphones...just like you would from a normal isp/phone-line/ADSL wireless router set-up.

 

[mauller07]

Its one of the LAN ports on the router that needs changing to a wan port, you need to check that one of your routers supports this.

 

[daisick]

hey thanks again Mauller..can you just explain to me (as newbie) why the LAN port that the cable from the (newly ordered TP=Link) WAP goes to...needs to be configured as a WAN port?..& how that is done? (the router I would most likely use is the Netgear DG 834G on which I know my way around better than the other, a Technicolor 582n).
I have been trying to read up on this rather than pester you but no great joy so far!
Happy to buy an new router to simplify matters if it'll do what you suggest/what I want easier..any suggestions gratefully received.

p.s. Anyone else out there got a working set-up like the the one I want to create? i.e. hotspot signal ----via directional high-gain aerial----- to devices(?) which can create shared internet wirelessly in house to lappies/tablets/smartphones...just like you would from a normal isp/phone-line/ADSL wireless router set-up.

Hi Did you ever get this system working and what did you use? I have an Adaptador WiFiSKY USB Ralink 3070 26dBi outdoor / 2000mW which works great when pluged into the laptop usb port via the 5m cable but I would like to be able to plug it in to something else that can be used as a 'hotspot' in the house so my girlfriend can get on the internet with her ipad??