Build Your Own Outdoor Access Point

The neighborhood is mapped out in glorious color maps. There’s an antenna on your laptop, a cantenna on your desktop in the basement, and an external antenna feeding them both. You can surf in the backyard, the front yard—but not quite from the park down the street.

Your neighbors are starting to ask what’s going on. They’re feeling left out. There’s only one logical conclusion: Provide wireless Internet access for everyone on your street. Hey, why shouldn’t they reap the benefits of your expertise? Besides it’s a great way to introduce yourself: “Hi, I’m the geek on your street.Would you like free high-speed Internet access?” Before long they’ll be throwing parties in your honor and waving as you walk down the street with your laptop open—instead of looking at you strangely and shaking their heads.

Or, maybe you just want to extend your range a little further, or you just like to climb up on your roof. Read on for how to get started. You can build an outdoor access point using several different parts (different enclosures, antennas, mounting hardware).To get started, you will need the following items:

➤Access point

➤Power-over-Ethernet adapter

➤Waterproof box

➤Mounting hardware

➤Lightning protector and grounding wire

➤Antenna and mounting hardware (see Chapter 4)

➤Matching pigtail (see Chapter 1)

➤Ethernet cable

➤Electrical tape

➤Waterproof sealant

Location, Location, Location

Wi-Fi range is all about line-of-sight. That is, if you can see the antenna, you can get online. If you can’t see it, all bets are off. Most of the time the antenna should be nice and high, where everyone can see it. If you added an external antenna as described in Chapter 4, then you discovered this during the site survey.

There’s a Catch-22 with antenna placement. You need a longer cable to put the antenna in a better place, but the longer the cable, the more signal you lose. The solution? Move your access point closer to the antenna—put it right on the pole. Thiskeeps the cable nice and short and transfers all the power where you want it—into the air instead of into the cables and connectors.

Line-of-Sight

As discussed in Chapter 4, good line-of-sight is the best predictor of a successful installation. The site in Figure 8-1 has clear line-of-sight. Consider the following when trying to pick a good location for outdoor access:

It’s possible to get a good wireless connection through the outside walls of most buildings, but rarely through multiple walls, and especially if there are no windows.

Big leafy trees absorb a lot of signal, especially when they’re wet. Remember trees if you’re choosing a location in winter, so it doesn’t slowly stop working as spring arrives and the leaves grow back.

Use natural obstacles to block coverage where you don’t want it to go. The side of a building is better than the rooftop if you only want coverage in one area.

Remember, you can use an antenna to boost reception at the receiving end as shown in Chapters 2 and 4. This is handy if you’ve found the perfect location, except for that one place where it’s unreliable.

Prioritize within your coverage area. Sometimes there is no perfect solution, so knowing what’s most important will help you make tradeoffs. For example, if you only want coverage across the road, there’s no need to mount an omni antenna on a high mast on the chimney. Instead, mount a directional antenna above your (street-facing) garage door. It’s much easier to get at, and you won’t waste half the signal on an area you don’t need and create radio interference where it’s not wanted.

Providing Power and Data

Your outdoor access point will need a source of power and a connection to the Internet.We’ll get sneaky and provide both of those in a single cable using “Power-over-Ethernet” or PoE for short. Running Ethernet cable is far easier than antenna cable. It’s much cheaper, more flexible and can go up to 328 feet (100 m) without data loss.

PoE injects direct current (DC) into two of the unused wires in standard Cat-5 Ethernet cable. By combining the power and data into a single cable, only one cable is needed for the longer runs going outside to the access point.

One end of the cable will go into the outdoor box you’ll build. The other end will go to your digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable connection to the Internet (or an existing router). You’ll need a power outlet at that location to provide power for the access point. See Figure 8-2 for an example PoE setup.

Something else to consider is whether you want wired connections to the Internet as well as wireless. A fully wireless system may give you more flexibility. You could relocate your cable or DSL box away from your computer where it’s more convenient for outside installation, such as in the attic, an upstairs room, or the garage.

Safety

Lightning can strike almost anywhere, but it generally goes for high points, and if they’re metal, then so much the better. You should take lightning protection seriously and plan for it in your installation. Don’t think, “Come on. The outdoor gear is only worth $100, I’ll take my chances,” because that’s not the issue. Even with good lightning protection, the outside gear is likely to be toast anyway. You need lightning protection to prevent a fire, and to ensure the safety of both the people and electronics inside the house.

You need to install lightning protection to protect against fire, and to reduce damage to people and equipment inside the building. Lightning protection is covered in more detail later in the chapter, but think about where the copper grounding wire will go when you’re planning the outdoor location. If electrical storms are common in your area, and the mounting location is high and exposed, you must take this very seriously indeed. See Figure 8-3 for a diagram on lightning strike protection.

Other common sources of accidents are ladders and high places. Be careful up there. No matter how good a job you do the first time, chances are you’ll be up there again to fix something, so it might be worth compromising a little on the best location to provide safer and simpler access to the equipment.

Balance the Trade-Offs

There’s rarely a perfect place to put the outdoor access point and antenna. It’s a balance between the following factors:

Line-of-sight to the desired coverage are Physical access to the equipment for ease of installation or repair Suitable route for Ethernet cable from inside

Suitable route for lightning ground cable

Protection from the elements (sun, rain, lightning, snow)

Aesthetic appeal: will the neighbors or landlord complain?

You can save some time, effort, and money by making an early decision about where the antenna and box will go. For example, if you choose a sheltered location tucked under an eave, you won’t need a more expensive highly waterproof enclosure. If you already have a mast with a TV antenna, then half the job is over.