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sdbbq1234
12-19-2013, 10:08 PM
Anybody know of a way to extend the distance for the CyberQ WiFi transmit? It seems to be pretty limited and I am hoping that someone has devised a way to boost the power range for it.

Thanks.

Merry Christmas!

wallace

unixadm
12-19-2013, 10:18 PM
For some background, I've been working in Information Technology for the past 17 years. You have a few easy options:

1. Look at replacing your router if it's a bit dated with something more modern. As technology has advanced, so has WIFI. Boosting signal strength with more modern TX/RX antennas does help.
2. If you have a way of running a CAT 5e or CAT 6 cable from your router to a location closer to your "BBQ" area, then you can install an access point on your network. This access point could broadcast (or mask) a wireless SSID that is specific to your CyberQ, however a device on your standard wireless network that has limited range will be able to talk to the CyberQ. That's because all of the devices will be on the same IP subnet.
3. Look at a wireless repeater/extender. This will communicate wirelessly with your router and will basically give you a secondary signaling source closer to your BBQ area. All it needs is to be configured to connect to your existing network as a client and then it will be able to extend your network.

http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless-Wireless-N-Repeater-SR150/dp/B004NBN5UY/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1387512834&sr=1-10&keywords=wifi+repeater

Ron_L
12-19-2013, 10:23 PM
unixadm is right on.

FWIW, wifi repeaters or range extenders are just OK. Here is a good article that explains why...

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-extender/

dwfisk
12-20-2013, 05:54 AM
Thanks to sdbbq1234 for the OP and the answers. My inhome wifi is fine but my shop/preferred BBQ area is abot 300 ft east of my house, pretty clear shot but a few trees. Do have any hope of extending wifi over that distance?

woodpelletsmoker
12-20-2013, 06:12 AM
My team are doing something same as CyberQ
I am thinking to use wireless probe which can communicate with the thermostat.
the 433 wireless board has effective distance of 600 feet in open air.
I tested sender and receiver with two rows of townhouse in between.
the Signal is reasonable strong enough to communicate each other.
We also add Cat5 port in addition to WIFI in the thermostat itsself

Untraceable
12-20-2013, 06:41 AM
Thanks to sdbbq1234 for the OP and the answers. My inhome wifi is fine but my shop/preferred BBQ area is abot 300 ft east of my house, pretty clear shot but a few trees. Do have any hope of extending wifi over that distance?

sounds like a prime candidate to run a hardwire out to there.

cpw
12-20-2013, 07:50 AM
I bought a wifi repeater (Belkin, I think) and it was horrible. Not only was it slow and disconnected all the time, it seemed to slow down the speed of the base wifi router. I ended up running a cat6 cable and buying a second access point (which was also a cheap Belkin, and had to be rebooted all the time. Upgraded to an apple, and everything works great).

Jorge
12-20-2013, 08:26 AM
Thanks to sdbbq1234 for the OP and the answers. My inhome wifi is fine but my shop/preferred BBQ area is abot 300 ft east of my house, pretty clear shot but a few trees. Do have any hope of extending wifi over that distance?

Cable is your most reliable and probably easiest solution. With WiFi, you have spectrum issues at 2.4G. It's a garbage dump. Moving up to the 5.0G range you run into distance problems and the higher wavelength doesn't penetrate walls, trees, etc. as well. The new Asus 802.11AC I've been playing with has decent range and power but I don't know that it would be reliable for your application.

Cost is probably about the same depending on your preferred solution. Cat 5e-6 for outdoor application will probably run .30-.40/ft. Don't let someone talk you into cheeping out and using cable manufactured for indoor use. It will not stand up to the weather, unless you want to spend the $ to run conduit. Which you may consider anyway if you have a lot of rodents.

Untraceable
12-20-2013, 08:39 AM
all those tech specs on new routers make me want to get one. mine is over 5 years old and if I remember right is wasnt even an N router. durring summer we spend so much time in the backyard (patio is up against the house) and the wifi signal is sketchy. Now that I have a CyberQ, its even more inspiration to upgrade

Jorge
12-20-2013, 08:48 AM
I bought a wifi repeater (Belkin, I think) and it was horrible. Not only was it slow and disconnected all the time, it seemed to slow down the speed of the base wifi router. I ended up running a cat6 cable and buying a second access point (which was also a cheap Belkin, and had to be rebooted all the time. Upgraded to an apple, and everything works great).

Apple builds some good hardware. I have a couple of Airports (Express) for audio around the house. I have one older Extreme that I used for my iPhone to connect to the AT&T Microcell since cell coverage for the house sucked. The phone connected quickly with the Apple router. Linksys, Netgear, and D-Link, not so quickly.

cpw
12-20-2013, 09:27 AM
Apple builds some good hardware. I have a couple of Airports (Express) for audio around the house. I have one older Extreme that I used for my iPhone to connect to the AT&T Microcell since cell coverage for the house sucked. The phone connected quickly with the Apple router. Linksys, Netgear, and D-Link, not so quickly.

The ONLY thing I don't like about the airport is that I can't seem to get my Stoker Wifi to connect to it. I haven't sat down and troubleshot it extensively, but I can connect to my older Linksys no problem, but for whatever reason it won't connect to the airport.

sdbbq1234
12-20-2013, 05:30 PM
Thanks very much for the info and advice.

But, I think I got this started off on the wrong foot. I want to extend the GURU's transmit ability to my iPad. The GURU acts as the router/transmitter and connects to my iPad. I do not connect the home network to the GURU.

But, the WiFi extender might be an option as I never considered that to be honest.

My initial thought was something along the line of extending the transmit of the Maverick "mod" that was presented a few years ago. Although, I do not want to open the unit and fiddle with any of the internal workings.

Again, thanks!

wallace

Untraceable
12-20-2013, 06:38 PM
Thanks very much for the info and advice.

But, I think I got this started off on the wrong foot. I want to extend the GURU's transmit ability to my iPad. The GURU acts as the router/transmitter and connects to my iPad. I do not connect the home network to the GURU.



It'd be a lot cooler if you did


http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/dazed_and_confused.jpeg

Hoosier1960
12-21-2013, 08:45 AM
EnGenious makes an outdoor long range access point. It is very reasonably priced.
I put one up for a trucking company that wanted an access point for the truckers parked in their lot. I checked the signal at about 700' and it was still very strong there.

moontz
12-21-2013, 12:26 PM
Thanks very much for the info and advice.

But, I think I got this started off on the wrong foot. I want to extend the GURU's transmit ability to my iPad. The GURU acts as the router/transmitter and connects to my iPad. I do not connect the home network to the GURU.

But, the WiFi extender might be an option as I never considered that to be honest.

My initial thought was something along the line of extending the transmit of the Maverick "mod" that was presented a few years ago. Although, I do not want to open the unit and fiddle with any of the internal workings.

Again, thanks!

wallace

We have the same issue at comps with range when trying to connect direct to the guru. Our solution is we bring an old linksys wifi router and then setup the guru with the router (similar to infrastructure mode). So then when we connect via tablet, we are connecting through the router's wifi signal which then communicates to the guru. The router wifi can do about 3x the distance vs the guru by itself (from our experiences at least).

sdbbq1234
12-22-2013, 10:22 AM
Thanks for all the suggestions. I need to dig up one of my older routers and see if I can't get this bad boy to work!

Thanks.

wallace