Greetings, This isn't really windows related but I am looking for a large fo rum which deals specifically in wireless solutions. I live in a rural area of British Columbia and while there are several high speed options inside town I have about 10km outside and cannot use the DSL / Cable options offered there. Recently a wireless tower was placed ontop of the highest mountain here and this looks to be a viable solution. However, t he only place that I can put the antenna to face the mountain is about 200ft away from the house and this computer. The antenna that points at the wireless station atop the mountain is powered via the ethernet cable that runs from it. The installer told me that it pro bably wouldn't reach 200ft and still maintain enough power for the antenna. If it was I would just run an outdoor cat-5 to the house. Therefore, I think my next viable solution would be to use some sort of wireless option. What I was thinking was to run the cat-5 from the antenna to a wireless rout er (Linksys WRT546) that I could mount on the outside of the building in som e sort of clear plastic box, and upgrade the antenna to some sort of outdoor omnidirectional deal. There is a clear view from the outdoor router antenna to the house. The question/problem I have is I would like to have a wired s olution inside the house as I have several other items that need to use ethe rnet (x-xbox, ps2, linux box) that I don't want to use wireless with and wou ld be easier to hookup with wires. Is there any way to do this? Could I have another wireless router in the house connect to the wireless router on the outside building? If you have any other options of getting the internet from a building 200ft away to the house I'm all ears. Thanks for any support.

Outside wireless units, like the DWL-1700AP for $700-$1,000, should allow access to your mountaintop tower. It uses power over ethernet and sends a signal about 1/4 mile out. Some units are good for 5 miles. By the time you piece together your cheaper wireless units for a signal, you may spend about $700-$1,000. Look for commercial units to help you instead of residential units. Invest the extra money for a good, solid connection, something most residential units lack. Hope this helps...

What do you mean? They provide me the antenna that points at the mountain to get the internet, I am just looking for a way to get that internet from a building 200ft away from the house to inside here.

I guess I'm not fully understanding your situation, so I'll list a couple of options. Packet loss on CAT 5e usually does not start until the cable is longer than 328 FT., more than enough to run outside CAT 5e between buildings. If your building where the antenna will be has power, install a switch there, plug in the antenna, then run outdoor CAT 5e to your house to another switch in the house. This gives you a "wired" solution between buildings. If you want a wireless solution, you will need to install a bridge, router, or Access Point in your house that will reach the antenna 200FT away. Most of those will need to be commercial grade, if you want a good, solid connection. Then have the bridge, router, or access point, (some access points have DHCP available), connect to a switch that all your other computers, game equipment, etc., can connect to. Just remember that if you connect to the "internet" using an antenna, then regardless of a wired solution in your house, all your connections to the internet are "wireless", not exactly great for online gaming, according to other forums I've read. Hope this helped...

Ah, I never thought about using a switch and running cable. If this wireless doesn't pan out I'll end up doing that. You've been a great help. Thank you.