[gentoo-user] gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[gentoo-user] gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[Jens Reinemuth]

Hi list,

i currently live in an appartment that has a very lousy 
wlan-access-point for the people. There is an AP with dd-wrt and 
WPA2-PSK... currently i only have wlan at the window in the kitchen and 
my gentoo-pc which stands about 5m away from that does not even see the 
ap while scanning.

As i also have a gentoo netbook, i thought about using this one as a 
kind of repeater for the wlan.

Both have ath5k-cards, on the netbook i use wicd (as it changes the 
networks more often...) on the PC i hardcoded the access-data in 
wpa_supplicant.conf (as the ath5k is kind of "interim-solution" until 
our house is built and i will have real wired network there)

Has anyone allready set up something like that? Which settings are 
necessary, is the ath5k able to be used as repeater (as it has to be 
client and ap at once...)?

The alternatives are a old Fritzbox 7140, a Netgear router and 2 
Fonera-Boxes (which all are packed in boxes and wait until the house is 
ready).

So i really would prefer the solution with using the gentoo-netbook 
instead of the routers...

Regards,

Jens

[gentoo-user] Re: gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[James]

Jens Reinemuth <jens <at> reinemuth.info> writes:


> i currently live in an appartment that has a very lousy 
> wlan-access-point for the people. 

OK. The most important issue is the power (watts) output
of the transmitter (and sensitivity) of the receiver.
You can hack together fantastic software, that will not 
work well. Make sure that the hardware you select
works with the softare(gentoo), before making a final
purchase of hardware. Personally, I'd find out the maximum
power wattage of what is allowed in your country, and
go right up to the max allowed.

An external antenna and a booster amplifier will really
make your AP usable. It's also a magnet for hackers, so
you really have to be on top of your (iptables) security 
game. You have to research these issues and then
according to what hardware you find, what you can construct
outside of your unit and what the laws/rules are 
for your (Rf_police) country. Here in the US, it's the 
(FCC). Each country has their own Rf_police, some
do nothing and others are borderline criminal in 
Rf spectrum enforcement.....

Often the ISP's that dominate your local service market,
are rather ruthless in not allowing heavy traffic thru
your AP; so you have to assess the ferocity of your 
local ISPs, imho.

caveat emptor.


hth,
James

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[Jens Reinemuth]

On 10.11.2011 16:48, James wrote:
> Jens Reinemuth<jens<at>  reinemuth.info>  writes:
>
>
>> i currently live in an appartment that has a very lousy
>> wlan-access-point for the people.
> [...]

Hi...

all you mentioned is really true... i don't care really much for the 
security as i don't provide the AP, i just want to connect to it ;-)

i just want to make the signal - which is ok at the kitchen window - a 
little bit stronger, so my pc (about 3m away) can connect to it.

I found some howtos about this issue (mainly debian) in which it ist 
described to "split" your interface in 2 virtual interfaces 
(wlan0:repeater and wlan0:ap)... You connect with wlan0:repeater to the 
AP of the WLAN and provide another access point via wlan0:ap...

After this, you have to forward your traffic in both directions.

Just wanted to know if this is going to work on a gentoo-box with 
ath5k... And how!? Simple iptables, or do i have to work out some 
bridging stuff?

If i had to provide the main-access-point, i think i would have chosen 
"freifunk" or something like that, as the appartment is in the plain 
country, no houses around, even if some hackers try to connect, you 
would see every car, every person that is in the radius of 2km around 
the house ;-) And even if someone really manages to connect - so what!? 
There are as many court judgments which say you are responsible for ALL 
traffic via your wifi as the ones saying you are not! I have a "legal 
expenses insurance"... Aren't we all hackers?

As long as german politicians think (and insist that) it's legal to 
install trojans on computers, i think it's legal to share my bandwith!

regards,

Jens

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[Michael Mol]

On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 10:48 AM, James <wireless@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
> Jens Reinemuth <jens <at> reinemuth.info> writes:

[snip[

> An external antenna and a booster amplifier will really
> make your AP usable.

A cheap alternative is a simple passive repeater. Cantenna pointed in
the direction of the original AP, normal dipole deeper into the
apartment, and some coax connecting them.

-- 
:wq

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[William Kenworthy]

On Thu, 2011-11-10 at 17:10 +0100, Jens Reinemuth wrote:
> On 10.11.2011 16:48, James wrote:
> > Jens Reinemuth<jens<at>  reinemuth.info>  writes:
> >
> >
> >> i currently live in an appartment that has a very lousy
> >> wlan-access-point for the people.
> > [...]
> 
> Hi...
> 
> all you mentioned is really true... i don't care really much for the 
> security as i don't provide the AP, i just want to connect to it ;-)

problem->low signal->solution:bigger antenna, directional antenna,
antenna on the end of a cable, ...

google home made 802.11 antenna for some cheap and usable ideas.


BillK

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: gentoo as wlan-repeater...

[Jens Reinemuth]

On 10.11.2011 23:24, William Kenworthy wrote:
> On Thu, 2011-11-10 at 17:10 +0100, Jens Reinemuth wrote:
>> On 10.11.2011 16:48, James wrote:
>>> Jens Reinemuth<jens<at>   reinemuth.info>   writes:
>>>
>>>
>>>> i currently live in an appartment that has a very lousy
>>>> wlan-access-point for the people.
>>> [...]
>> Hi...
>>
>> all you mentioned is really true... i don't care really much for the
>> security as i don't provide the AP, i just want to connect to it ;-)
> problem->low signal->solution:bigger antenna, directional antenna,
> antenna on the end of a cable, ...
>
> google home made 802.11 antenna for some cheap and usable ideas.
>
>
> BillK
>
>

Hi...

that are great ideas, but i don't have physical access to the router! i 
am just living there...

No ideas how to solve that via software? Currently i am downloading 
zeroshell, which seems to be able to build up repeaters very easily, but 
i would like to do it in gentoo...

i really only need to repeat the signal for about 3 more meters...

Jens
>