TECH Bridging Ethernet to Remote Building

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Given that my pole shed is more of a shop and has a wifi-enabled thermostat, and will eventually have a wifi-enabled garage door opener, smoke alarms, etc., I am/was faced with the problem of how to get a signal out there. It's only about 175 ft from my house router, but with steel siding, the signal drops to 0 when you step inside the building. I was going to try to trench a CAT-6 line from the house, which would require welding a knife to my backhoe bucket, pushing the line in, and digging under a sidewalk, and basically rewiring my whole house system with CAT-6 requiring crimping on the ends.

I finally came up for air and looked at the broad scope of the project and realized, "you're doing it again". Cheap Charlie has had this problem in the past where he saves a few bucks in exchange for hours and days of work cobbling something together ... lots of swearing and several trips back to Menards to get forgotten items. So, I said "screw it". Crumpled up the drawing and list of items, then went to Amazon and ordered an 802.11ac directional wireless bridge and ALL the proper length cables with ends for the whole job. It's still going to require one trip thru the attic of the house to pull my router lead to a distribution switch in the garage, but in the end will be MUCH easer than burying a cable, going under a walk (only to have a rodent chew it apart in a year or two), and crimping all those ends.

At present, my fiber modem and all gadgets are on a high shelf in a closet, where the jumble of cables makes a bird's nest look like an over-hand knot. All that's going away and the distribution will now be on an easily accessible shelf in the garage, and everything will be upgraded to CAT-6. It'll be nice to finally get this behind me.

 

[Nowski]

This is what my company used to do.

Go to Radio Labs. They have everything that you will need,
to extend your WiFi network down to your new building.

Please be safe everyone.

Regards to all.

Nowski

 

[Kris Gandillon]

Still seems like you are trying to make wireless work?

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Still seems like you are trying to make wireless work?

Wireless is no problem. It's just a range and steel siding issue out to my shop.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

What I'd really like for the shop is a dual band wifi router with a few POE ports. Looking around online, it seems it might be easiest to just get a normal router and hang a POE switch off it.

 

[alpha]

My barn is almost 300' from the house... I reprogrammed an old router to perform as a bridge router and then hung a POE switch onto it for the five cameras. Works like a top!

 

[LoupGarou]

Wireless is no problem. It's just a range and steel siding issue out to my shop.

Any trees or other vegetation, or worse a small hill in the way? If no, then the 5GHz 802.11ac should be good for the hop. I usually suggest going with the lower frequency 2.4GHz 802.11bgn systems as they don't have as much attenuation with vegetation and water in the air (rain/fog), but under 200 feet you should have no problem with either. I have a 2.4GHz bidirectional bridge running just over four miles between two buildings in Richmond, as well as a 5GHz one jumping a mile and a half gap between two other buildings with no problems.

I second the Radio Labs as a good source of equipment, but also suggest Ubiquiti as I have used them for years and had no problems. Engenius and Fortinet are two others that I suggest as well.

Loup

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

At present, there's no obstruction other than the walls of the house. By the time you're at the shed, outside, the signal is way down in the weeds; even the 2.4 band. Go inside the shed and it's gone, of course. I tried a passive Yagi, but didn't do a damned thing. 9 * 0 = 0.

I went with the Engenius AC867 AP and client pair. It's overkill for the distance I'm going, but I don't trust anything cheaper to reliably deliver the 5G band I need out there.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

My barn is almost 300' from the house... I reprogrammed an old router to perform as a bridge router and then hung a POE switch onto it for the five cameras. Works like a top!

Yep. A couple of cameras is on the list a bit down the road. The big thing I need to control / monitor from the house is the furnace. 2nd is a smoke/CO/gas detector. The latter will give me peace of mind and will help with insurance. For the eventual cameras, I'd like one on the front of the building which would let me see the house driveway, and another on the back of the building which is the most likely ingress for burglary. One inside as well would be nice. Thus, I guess a simple little 1Gb 4-port POE would do the job.

 

[jward]

I have that feeling that "if only" I understood the language being spoken, all my questions about interneting in my metal sided buildings strewn around the property would be answered.

I'm saving this thread, just in case, and looking around for an 11 year old to translate, in the mean time.

 

[alpha]

Thus, I guess a simple little 1Gb 4-port POE would do the job.

Don't overspend on such a fast switch if your bridge router is merely capable of 10/100 mb

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Don't overspend on such a fast switch if your bridge router is merely capable of 10/100 mb

True, but my home has fiber, and the router is 1GB. The wireless bridge devices I bought run on the 5G band, so it would be somewhat of a waste to put them an a 100BT switch.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

I have that feeling that "if only" I understood the language being spoken, all my questions about interneting in my metal sided buildings strewn around the property would be answered.

I'm saving this thread, just in case, and looking around for an 11 year old to translate, in the mean time.

Sigh, I feel like I need to dig out one of the old "Fun with Dick and Jane" books and start from the bottom again; apparently I missed a lot of stuff somewhere along the way.

 

[Mr.Smith]

There are inexpensive ethernet devices that work over the power line. As long as the AC feed to your building returns to main panel its a snap. Otherwise simply put in a direct bury ethernet cable. Its cheap and reliability is 100%. As long as you're under 300 ft. no issues.
My nearest outbuilding is 750 feet from my home so I set up a small ADSL system to the building. Its running on a direct bury cat 6 cable and works great.

 

[Knoxville's Joker]

Any trees or other vegetation, or worse a small hill in the way? If no, then the 5GHz 802.11ac should be good for the hop. I usually suggest going with the lower frequency 2.4GHz 802.11bgn systems as they don't have as much attenuation with vegetation and water in the air (rain/fog), but under 200 feet you should have no problem with either. I have a 2.4GHz bidirectional bridge running just over four miles between two buildings in Richmond, as well as a 5GHz one jumping a mile and a half gap between two other buildings with no problems.

I second the Radio Labs as a good source of equipment, but also suggest Ubiquiti as I have used them for years and had no problems. Engenius and Fortinet are two others that I suggest as well.

Loup

Ubiquiti is a l-com.com house brand. l-com purchased hyperlinktech.com a few years back and now has a full lineup of communications antennas.

 

[Ku Commando]

Given that my pole shed is more of a shop.....

Heh-heh........secretly gaming in the pole shed, eh?

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Actually, I'm planning on moving my office out there. I work from home and need a lot of beta test units and it's cluttering up my room in the house. Belongs out there. An yes, I guess there might be some gaming from time to time

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Sigh, I feel like I need to dig out one of the old "Fun with Dick and Jane" books and start from the bottom again; apparently I missed a lot of stuff somewhere along the way.

If it's not your occupation in some way, it can be hard to keep up. Networking and things like this aren't my direct occupation, but I've always had to use it in my job to some extent so I know enough to be dangerous.

 

[The Mountain]

If it's not your occupation in some way, it can be hard to keep up. Networking and things like this aren't my direct occupation, but I've always had to use it in my job to some extent so I know enough to be dangerous.

And that means you'll put in the appropriate devices to get just the connection you want. Idiots like me would vastly overcomplicate things by trying to put in a microwave or laser link or set up WiMAX or something equally absurd.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

If it's not your occupation in some way, it can be hard to keep up. Networking and things like this aren't my direct occupation, but I've always had to use it in my job to some extent so I know enough to be dangerous.

Definitely not my occupation, but I used to at least know some of the basics/terminology; not any more.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

And that means you'll put in the appropriate devices to get just the connection you want. Idiots like me would vastly overcomplicate things by trying to put in a microwave or laser link or set up WiMAX or something equally absurd.

But unlike yesteryear when we had to pick this stuff up as we grew, you can now learn how to do just about anything from a YouTube video. Information is everywhere, and mostly free.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

As mentioned, I went with the Engenious wifi bridge. Got them hooked up today and plugged a D-link AC router into the shed side. Speed test with my phone gives me ~300mb inside the shed. I'm pleased. The
Engenious device just plain worked right out of the box. Painless.

 

[SmithJ]

As mentioned, I went with the Engenious wifi bridge. Got them hooked up today and plugged a D-link AC router into the shed side. Speed test with my phone gives me ~300mb inside the shed. I'm pleased. The
Engenious device just plain worked right out of the box. Painless.

Which specific model of the Engeniouus bridge do you go with? Where did you order it?

 

[Kris Gandillon]

Which specific model of the Engeniouus bridge do you go with? Where did you order it?

Post #8 above answers half your question.

 

[SmithJ]

Post #8 above answers half your question.

Ah, thanks. I read that the other day and then came back when he posted the update and forgot that h had already listed the model!

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Which specific model of the Engeniouus bridge do you go with? Where did you order it?

EnStation5-AC, Amazon.

 

[lanningro]

When I built my shop I bit the bullet and had a crew angle bore from my house to the shop and install some 2 inch duct. Had 3 ethernet cat 5 and a phone line and a co-ax so I could have TV pulled. No problems ever.

 

[Repairman-Jack]

I've become a big fan of Unifi/Ubiquiti. I just ordered a 3rd Unifi Access Point for wifi and a 24port POE+ switch.

If you're going wireless I'd look at these:

airMAX NanoBeam 5AC - Ubiquiti Store

Compact, UISP-ready, 5 GHz WiFi bridge with enhanced surge protection and an optimized radio and antenna.

store.ui.com

There was already an existing cat5e line run to the shop when we moved in a few years ago. If you're going to be spending more time working from there you might look into either running Ethernet or fiber, mikrotik fiber switch run about $135.

 

[WTSR]

Have you tried Ethernet over Powerlines?

They have over 1 gbps speeds now, If you wiring is in the same fuse box it should work.

 

[Kable]

Or the nanostation or nanostaion M Ubiquiti - NanoStation® M

Use them on my farm. I shoot back thru trees and barely clear the hill sides in Eastern KY. Use it for web, firestick, and IPphone/Wi-Fi calling.

 

[Capt. Eddie]

I have almost the exact same set up as you FaithfulSkeptic. My shop is double wall steel insulated (Hardsteel Buildings). I ordered the TP-LINK bridge from Amazon and attached it to the exterior by the walk in door. Now have great signal throughout the shop. It's a hitch to set-up, instructions aren't great, but once up and running it's worked like a champ through several Iowa winters and summers.

 

[Tex88]

What I'd really like for the shop is a dual band wifi router with a few POE ports. Looking around online, it seems it might be easiest to just get a normal router and hang a POE switch off it.

POR is the worst.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Not sure if I get the jest, if it is one.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

I have almost the exact same set up as you FaithfulSkeptic. My shop is double wall steel insulated (Hardsteel Buildings). I ordered the TP-LINK bridge from Amazon and attached it to the exterior by the walk in door. Now have great signal throughout the shop. It's a hitch to set-up, instructions aren't great, but once up and running it's worked like a champ through several Iowa winters and summers.View attachment 224461

I had considered some less expensive device like the one you linked, and they may well have worked, but I reviews pointed me toward the Engenious solution. As stated before, they're overkill for the range, but I can be sure the only thing they're talking to and listening to is each other. Very configurable and worked out of the box.

 

[WTSR]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-powerline-2000-extra-outlet/6203586.p?skuId=6203586

or

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-powerline-ac1000-wi-fi-access-point-and-adapter-white/4760605.p?skuId=4760605

 

[SmithJ]

At present, there's no obstruction other than the walls of the house. By the time you're at the shed, outside, the signal is way down in the weeds; even the 2.4 band. Go inside the shed and it's gone, of course. I tried a passive Yagi, but didn't do a damned thing. 9 * 0 = 0.

I went with the Engenius AC867 AP and client pair. It's overkill for the distance I'm going, but I don't trust anything cheaper to reliably deliver the 5G band I need out there.

@FaithfulSkeptic

how has/is the Engenius worked out?

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

@FaithfulSkeptic

how has/is the Engenius worked out?

Very reliable, and fast ... up to ~500mb

 

[SmithJ]

Very reliable, and fast ... up to ~500mb

Thank you. Im looking for a similar solution myself and considering this.

 

[knowzone]

Hmmm....go figure.

I recently got internet hooked up. No more coffee shops, et'al....
Didn't like the newly acquired, low throb headache after a few days. (New digs are a MH, like a reverse faraday cage), so I turned the wifi off on my xfinity router, (Now a "Bridge" router), headache and physically felt edginess, gone.

I moved the router from in the very back of my place, to up front where I am, plugged in a 10 ft lan cable, (nice to watch the lights dance with network traffic), and am pulling consistent 58mbs download speeds through my vpn(s).

Who knew nirvana came through an RG-59/U cable?

3:39​

Nirvana - All Apologies (MTV Unplugged) ​

​

kz

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Thank you. Im looking for a similar solution myself and considering this.

I also think they're one of the better choices if you're bridging any distance. Properly aiming them can be challenging, however.