Wireless internet antenna

[SlickWillie]

I hooked the flat panel up yesterday. It is soooooo much better than the SMC card. No comparison! If you are near another park that has free WIFI, you will receive it. The park we are in has no internet, other than cable and DSL, and we don't want a contract. Coach Connect is across the road; no problem. Now I'm not a computer geek by a long shot, and this panel (Tranzeo) was a booger to set up, but with a little help from the son (communications tech) we got 'er goin'. The Tranzeo is a little pricey, but there are cheaper panels out there. Here's an example; http://www.radiolabs.com/products/an...flat-panel.php

[Countryfolks]

Do you have their [Coach Connect] permission? Free is usually for paying customers of the provider [Coach Connect in this case] only.

Skip

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Countryfolks

Do you have their [Coach Connect] permission? Free is usually for paying customers of the provider [Coach Connect in this case] only.

Skip

I don't really see where that particular question is any of your business, but if you would have done a little research, you would know that Coach Connect is a pay service. The same company owns Road Connect, which is available free in some TX roadside rest areas. Also, I would suggest if you have wireless and don't want someone to use it, it should be encrypted.

[Trailer Trash 2]

quote:Originally posted by SlickWillie

I don't really see where that particular question is any of your business, but if you would have done a little research, you would know that Coach Connect is a pay service. The same company owns Road Connect, which is available free in some TX roadside rest areas. Also, I would suggest if you have wireless and don't want someone to use it, it should be encrypted.

So does this mean If I did this the way you discribed it, I would be sorta stealing a WIFI from another sorce? so that makes it ok to use my neighbors signal from there internet conection too.

I do remember seeing this happen on the news at a coffee shop, and WIFI was free for there customers, this one person would use there WIFI without purchasing anything from the coffee shop, He was forced to stop by the law. It seems that the store had a sign stating WIFI was free for paying customers.
I dont need WIFI that much where I have to resort to intersepting a signal from another area.

[Countryfolks]

The post was a heads up and it was a rhetorical question, and I didn't expect an answer. If you're using TX rest area facilities I think you only get 7 hours free, then you pay. Using a business's [or individuals] wifi without there permission, or buying their product, is illegal [federal and state] whether it's protected or not. It can also be risky because of 'blackhat' activity. When you connect to a 'free' or unprotected AP, you don't know who operates it regardless of the SSID [what it calls itself] and you don't normally use any kind of password which means you're wide open also. Some 'free' sites redirect you to a page that require a password which you get from the business. They aren't really free since you're supposed to be a customer to get the password.

Skip

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Trailer Trash 2

So does this mean If I did this the way you discribed it, I would be sorta stealing a WIFI from another sorce? so that makes it ok to use my neighbors signal from there internet conection too.

I do remember seeing this happen on the news at a coffee shop, and WIFI was free for there customers, this one person would use there WIFI without purchasing anything from the coffee shop, He was forced to stop by the law. It seems that the store had a sign stating WIFI was free for paying customers.
I dont need WIFI that much where I have to resort to intersepting a signal from another area.

If I had a neighbor that had unencrypted wireless, I would give them the same advice I gave in the previous post. Encrypt the signal! But you can bet if I'm by a park that offers a "pay service" such as Coach Connect and I subscribe to it, from what I know that ain't stealin'. And as for the ones that advertise free WIFI, and don't encrypt the signal, I see that as their problem. Kind of like the apples falling over the fence.

[sreigle]

Just to clarify for those who might be trying to learn from the contents of this thread... encryption is always a good idea whether using someone else's wireless or your own. Encryption does not stop anyone from using your wireless signal. It just encrypts your transmission of data, making it a little more difficult for someone to understand what is in your transmission. However, those with the proper software can probably decrypt it anyhow.

Putting security on the wireless to make it more difficult for unauthorized users to connect is probably what you'd want to suggest to your neighbor. Even the standard security methods available on most wireless systems can be cracked by those with the proper software and knowhow but it does keep 99.9% of potential users from getting onto your system.

You can put security on your wireless system and also encrypt the transmissions, if desired.

Securing your system to outside intrusion is in itself a whole different question and not the subject of this thread. Securing a wireless system is just a part of that.

As far as not being someone's business to ask the question, I think the question is valid. If you don't want to answer it, you don't have to. But the question itself is valid, in my opinion, for whatever little that is worth.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Just to clarify for those who might be trying to learn from the contents of this thread... encryption is always a good idea whether using someone else's wireless or your own. Encryption does not stop anyone from using your wireless signal. It just encrypts your transmission of data, making it a little more difficult for someone to understand what is in your transmission. However, those with the proper software can probably decrypt it anyhow.

Putting security on the wireless to make it more difficult for unauthorized users to connect is probably what you'd want to suggest to your neighbor. Even the standard security methods available on most wireless systems can be cracked by those with the proper software and knowhow but it does keep 99.9% of potential users from getting onto your system.

You can put security on your wireless system and also encrypt the transmissions, if desired.

Securing your system to outside intrusion is in itself a whole different question and not the subject of this thread. Securing a wireless system is just a part of that.

As far as not being someone's business to ask the question, I think the question is valid. If you don't want to answer it, you don't have to. But the question itself is valid, in my opinion, for whatever little that is worth.

Good post Steve, that's what I was trying to explain. I merely posted to give my opinion on the performance of the panel. I felt the question was a little out of line. Oh well, stuff happens. The flat panel is great if you are looking for an outside antenna.

[Trailer Trash 2]

Slickwillie. If a person was to use this flat pannel you are discribing will it help in making a signal stronger if the park you are in has a weak wifi signal.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Trailer Trash 2

Slickwillie. If a person was to use this flat pannel you are discribing will it help in making a signal stronger if the park you are in has a weak wifi signal.

No doubt in my mind. It is directional also. Just aim it toward the access point.

The Tranzeo panel I have has a 15db gain. I think I posted a picture of it on another thread. I just mounted it on a PVC pipe on top of the ladder. The reason this panel is high (price) is that it can be programmed to be used as an access point. I have been looking for the last year for some sort of external antenna, and didn't have much luck. I was told to stay away from the USB type, that they will cut down speed if you extend the length of the cable. I had thought about building one from an old DirecTV dish, but decided that was too much trouble for a fulltimer. Also, my son works with these panels every day, so I have good tech support (ha!).