[AktiviX-discuss] WIFI question: picking up with one antenna, forwarding with another

[jeff]

mp wrote:
> hi,
> 
> we need to build some internet connection at the edge of the rain forest
> here in ecuador, and have some questions about hardware choices.
> 
> there is a wifi service being beamed from huge antennas on a hill-top,
> but it is not quite strong enough and so we need to have an outdoor
> antenna on the roof. this means that we need either loads of cabling,
> which is not really an option, or we need to be able to pick up that
> signal with one antenna and then broadcast locally a new signal
> (preferably with a DHCP server) from another antenna- and in the best
> case scenario it would all happen with one and the same little access
> point style piece of hardware. 
> 
> is it possible? what hardware can do this?
> 
> it is not really an option to configure a box to do the trick for a
> variety of reasons, including money, space and unstable electricity

You'll need two radios to do this. One to receive the signal and another 
to rebroadcast it. Usually this means two units (e.g. a couple of cheep 
linksys running openwrt or something).

You can do it with a single unit using a soekris board that can handle 
two radios. I've used these before and the hardware is quite nice:
http://www.soekris.com/  <-- motherboards
http://metrix.net  <-- complete kits

This is a good place for antennas:
http://www.hyperlinktech.com/

The soekris boards will take some setup--they can run GNU/Linux or *BSD.

If you are interested in either option let me know and I can answer more 
Qs/give more detail.

-Jeff