Help with extending network vertically

eitai2001

Expert Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
4,329
Reaction score
2
Location
Jhb
Hi Guys.

I need some help. I need to extend my wireless network vertically through 2 floors, I think which are concrete.
Currently, my wireless router is in our study which is upstairs. 1 floor down is our kitchen, dining room and lounge.
1 Floor down from that is the car parking area (I stay in a complex), as well as workers quarters and store rooms.

I have turned our storeroom into a so called entertainment room, but there is 0 wireless signal down there. Now in our
lounge, our wireless signal is extremely weak if any at all sometimes. I would like to somehow extend the signal down
to my storeroom, but am worried that an accesspoint in our kitchen or dining room won't be strong enough (do they
repeat vertically as well as they do horizontally?)

Now the storeroom itself sits on the same side of the building as my study, and is roughly below the study give or take a
few meters either side. There are windows in the storeroom, but unfortunately, I cannot run a cable down from the study
to the storeroom because it would be against body corporate regulations to have a cable running outside.

I have put a slightly larger aerial on the wireless access point I have which I got from Dions, it is quite long ... but not sure
of the strength or if it even improved anything :P

Currently I have a D-Link 2500U modem connected to an Asus WL-520GU. I have set up the Asus to basically be an intermediary
so that actually the D-Link assigns the IP Addresses and not the Asus, the Asus is just a pass-through to make it wireless.

Any help you guys can give would be appreciated :)

Regards

Itai
 
Run a network cable from the one floor to the other then have a second AP.
 
Reinforced concrete = concrete with steel grid = no wireless transmission.

You will need to extend with a cable somehow. Either that or place the router in the room right above the entertainment room near a window and hope for the best...
 
Either plenty ap's or a cable.

See if you can't get the cable to run downstairs from the inside.
 
I won't be able to, because the cable would be messy as it would have to run down the stairs, and while I'd love to do that ... I won't be allowed to cause it's my parents house ... not mine :P ... thus cabling isn't an option.

What about putting antenna's by the Window ... would that work ... does wireless signal transmit vertically too?
 
Reinforced concrete = concrete with steel grid = no wireless transmission.

You will need to extend with a cable somehow. Either that or place the router in the room right above the entertainment room near a window and hope for the best...

Yeah, I figured as much :/ ... sigh.
 
Go through the wall (to the outside), then run the cable down, and then back in through the wall on the other floor. Put it in some trunking to make it look neat.
 
Drill trough the floor or try and run shielded cabling through the electrical conduits if possible.
 
if you buy enough ap's you can turn the whole house into a hotspot but it will be cheaper to just run a cable through.

Get creative to make it invisible.
 
Thanks guys ... drilling and cabling isn't an option for me, because externally, I am not allowed to modify at all, even if I make it look neat (I've asked), and internally my step-dad who owns the house doesn't want me running cables all over the place ... trust me, I wish I could do this option.

When I used to run DA, I had something in the storeroom (My old office :P) that somehow got a signal from upstairs, but I can't figure out how it did it ... although, I may have had the ADSL line in the storeroom receiving upstairs ... I can't remember now :P

The point is ... I have to do this wirelessly, what hardware would be appropriate and cheapest to bounce the signal?

@Grimstoner, will have to watch the video later, I can't access Youtube at work.
 
eitai, you may have to boost the signal from your originating point to ridiculous levels, then get repeaters in the locations you're looking for....

Pity that drilling etc isn't an option though.
 
Thanks guys ... drilling and cabling isn't an option for me, because externally, I am not allowed to modify at all, even if I make it look neat (I've asked), and internally my step-dad who owns the house doesn't want me running cables all over the place ... trust me, I wish I could do this option.

When I used to run DA, I had something in the storeroom (My old office :P) that somehow got a signal from upstairs, but I can't figure out how it did it ... although, I may have had the ADSL line in the storeroom receiving upstairs ... I can't remember now :P

Maybe try a LAN over power adapter, your milage will vary though. http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=533

Do you have telephone lines running between the floors as that's another option?
 
Last edited:
Eish ... this is starting to sound way too expensive :P ... I like that youtube vid ... I wonder if I can make something that boosts to omnidirectional and then just need to get aerial extension cables ... then can put them by the windows :P
 
lan over power adaprets are going for R150ea at esquire.

Methinks R300 (plus an ap if you don't have one for downstairs) is not to bad a price.
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X