any networking Gurus here?

[FSANE]

Here is the Situation.

I have a apartment in Miami, FL that I go to once or twice a year.

I have a TV there and I bring my laptop with me. When I get there I always need some kind of internet service. I live on the 9th floor I get a lot of Wifi networks from my neighbors but they are all Password protected. Now I am not here to ask how to Hack into my neighbors Wifi. I do however have a neighbor that lives on the 7th floor on the same side of the building, but just a few doors down. I know him personally. His Wifi is PW protected as well, but he gave me the PW and a full access to his network.

Now my problem is that I can't catch his signal from my floor. I need to extend his signal probably to his balcony, so this way I can catch it from my balcony. He has a cisco router. How do I go by doing that?

The reason for this is that I can watch my TV through Slingbox and of course use internet when needed.

thanks.

[chrisj]

You need either an external antenna hooked up to his router (I've installed a few hotels the same way) or a range extender.

This one looks nice...no wires.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1533895&CatId=4026

There are other solutions, but they all come down to extending the range of your friend's signal.

[BailOut]

I've deployed several Linksys WRE-54G (Wireless Range Expander) units at work and they have performed well over several years now:

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-Wireless-G-Range-Expander-WRE54G/dp/B00021XIJW

[FSANE]

the thing is that his cisco router does not have any antennas sticking out. everything is internal

looks like this

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/33-124-333-TS?$S300W$

[fnkngrv]

The thing about extending his signal will be that you will end up purchasing something that you will have to bring with you and have him plug in while you are there. The above mentioned solution is a pretty solid one however you will be spending around a C note. It would be your best bet though. Be aware however that if you see that there are several wireless networks around the above mentioned box could NOT work because it auto configures and if for some reason it sees other networks it could either become confused or extend a neighbor's signal rather than your friend's. I have experienced that helping out a few friends in college dorms trying to LAN party across a building. I know that it might sound silly however if you are not there for long periods of time what would be the possibility of purchasing a 50 or 100 ft cat 5 cable and slinging it via the balcony to each other just for that time period? You didn't actually say if your friend is either directly or close to directly below you? It might sound pretty ghetto, but if you keep the cable tight outside of the building and route it correctly in the building then I don't see how it is a big deal? The other option would be to pick up an actual Access Point or Bridge. This would connect via a cable to your friend's router and be configurable specifically to his/her network.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124012



This is in the same price range as the extenders.

[chrisj]

I've deployed several Linksys WRE-54G (Wireless Range Expander) units at work and they have performed well over several years now:

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-Wireless-G-Range-Expander-WRE54G/dp/B00021XIJW

Exactly the one I gave a link for! :thumbsup:

[FSANE]

ok just ordered

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11N0PSTR6GL._SL500_AA300_.jpg for $21.99 (ref)

and

booster antenna just in case.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11%2Bj-gIcjWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg for $7.99

[chrisj]

^ Sweet. That should do it.

[fnkngrv]

^ Sweet. That should do it.

have you ever installed one of those where there are several wifi signals overlapping each other?

[chrisj]

^ No. Signals I had were all from one router in the same hotel. I used to be contracted to install WiFi in various hotels in my region, but the signal was always from one source. I see what you mean though, being in an apartment building. Surely it can be locked into just one source...the strongest?