Another WIFI to the shop question

[KJINTF]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008F537KC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Been using 6 of these in different locations for several years now
If installed properly they work great

One has been installed 800ft down the driveway at the entry gate in an enclosed water proof box but not temperature proof, it has had a consistent connection for over a year now through; snow, rain and +90 to -15F temps. Data speed easily handles audio/video streaming of 4 IP 5mp cameras

Not sure why other poo poo them - for less than $40 give it a try

 

[mustangcrazy77]

Several folks have recommended mesh pucks, I do NOT do anything Google.

There are plenty of other mesh networks other than google. Virtually every major router manufacturer makes them.

 

[ixlr8]

I found a USB to ethernet adaptor I had laying around. Used it with my PC to verify that the WiFi to ethernet adapter was working in the house. I plugged in the cable going to my shop to the WiFi/ethernet adapter and then went out to the shop to verify I had signal there. I had internet connection in the shop and the upload/download speeds were the same as my home WiFi router connection. Now to get a WiFi AP going in the shop.

 

[ixlr8]

There are plenty of other mesh networks other than google. Virtually every major router manufacturer makes them.

I know, but everybody seems to recommend the google ones. I also have no clue how a mesh network works and it is not clear to me how it would get signal out to my all metal shop.

 

[boatshoes]

I found a USB to ethernet adaptor I had laying around. Used it with my PC to verify that the WiFi to ethernet adapter was working in the house. I plugged in the cable going to my shop to the WiFi/ethernet adapter and then went out to the shop to verify I had signal there. I had internet connection in the shop and the upload/download speeds were the same as my home WiFi router connection. Now to get a WiFi AP going in the shop.

You're almost there! Like I said, I recommend disabling DHCP on your shop router and plugging into a LAN port (some routers have an AP mode which does the same thing, it depends). Your router in the house will issue IP addresses and do the routing. The shop wireless should just be passing traffic at that point. You can give them the same SSID or different ones, I personally like to know which wireless I'm connected to (so I can manually select the closest signal if desired) and keep them named differently.

 

[loganb]

Getting close... well done!

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[ixlr8]

You're almost there! Like I said, I recommend disabling DHCP on your shop router and plugging into a LAN port (some routers have an AP mode which does the same thing, it depends). Your router in the house will issue IP addresses and do the routing. The shop wireless should just be passing traffic at that point. You can give them the same SSID or different ones, I personally like to know which wireless I'm connected to (so I can manually select the closest signal if desired) and keep them named differently.

The "shop" wifi router only gives me the choice of being a "router" or a "client bridge", no option for being an AP. I will give disabling the DCHP and plugging into one of the LAN ports a try, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. The "house" wifi doesn't make it to the shop so I am not worried about SSID naming and I would like to keep it seamless between the house and shop as much as I can. At this point I think I will keep the SSID's the same. But with more experience I might find it best to change them, easy enough to do. The 'shop' router does give me the option to turn off the WAN connection, so I think I will do that as well.

 

[Negen]

What model or brand of router in shop. You probably need to update the firmware to wrt to get actual use out it. If Asus then simple.

The "shop" wifi router only gives me the choice of being a "router" or a "client bridge", no option for being an AP. I will give disabling the DCHP and plugging into one of the LAN ports a try, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. The "house" wifi doesn't make it to the shop so I am not worried about SSID naming and I would like to keep it seamless between the house and shop as much as I can. At this point I think I will keep the SSID's the same. But with more experience I might find it best to change them, easy enough to do. The 'shop' router does give me the option to turn off the WAN connection, so I think I will do that as well.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[mustangcrazy77]

I know, but everybody seems to recommend the google ones. I also have no clue how a mesh network works and it is not clear to me how it would get signal out to my all metal shop.

They are typically simple plug and play. You hook one up as your main router and then place the rest wherever you want. They all use each other for signals. What I did was place one in a location close to where I was going to place the ubiquiti. You then run an Ethernet from your mesh device to the ubiquiti transmitter. You’ll still need to poke a small hole through the house for the cat5 cable, but keep in mind that the ubiquiti devices use power over Ethernet, so you only need the cat5 cable.

At your metal building, you would run the ubiquiti receiver and attach that to the router with a cat 5.

 

[ixlr8]

What model or brand of router in shop. You probably need to update the firmware to wrt to get actual use out it. If Asus then simple.

I don't know what you mean by "wrt". The shop router is a 4 year old Trendnet TEW-631BRP. It does have a firmware update available, but I get nervous about doing an update and ending up bricking the unit.

 

[Negen]

Historically the best WiFi router was the wrt54 after a lawsuit due to something about open source violations they were forced to release source code. Asus and buffalo routers get shipped with a version of wrt. For Asus routers there is a custom firmware called Merlin wrt. For others there is dd wrt. Your unit looks not compatible. But with compatible devices bricking has gone the way of the buffalo for the most part.

I don't know what you mean by "wrt". The shop router is a 4 year old Trendnet TEW-631BRP. It does have a firmware update available, but I get nervous about doing an update and ending up bricking the unit.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[boatshoes]

The stock firmware will work fine for your purposes. No need to go down the path of dd-wrt or OpenWRT or Merlin or Tomato or any of those other 3rd-party firmwares unless you decide you're having stability problems, or you just want to get fancy, like adding VPN capability to a router that was sold without it. Wireless switching (what you'll be doing) doesn't need any of that stuff and it would add needless complexity for you. Try it with what you have and see how it goes, it'll probably be fine as-is.

(I say this as a current DD-WRT user, which I switched to after my router stopped receiving security updates. Once you get it set up right with the correct firmware it's very stable, but there's a lot of research, trial and error involved)

 

[boatshoes]

They are typically simple plug and play. You hook one up as your main router and then place the rest wherever you want. They all use each other for signals. What I did was place one in a location close to where I was going to place the ubiquiti. You then run an Ethernet from your mesh device to the ubiquiti transmitter. You’ll still need to poke a small hole through the house for the cat5 cable, but keep in mind that the ubiquiti devices use power over Ethernet, so you only need the cat5 cable.

At your metal building, you would run the ubiquiti receiver and attach that to the router with a cat 5.

But he already has ethernet pulled from his house to the shop...

 

[mustangcrazy77]

But he already has ethernet pulled from his house to the shop...

Lol, missed that one.

 

[ixlr8]

Well, after spending more time than I care to admit, it looks like my 'shop' router has a connection issue. It connects for a few seconds before it says that it is not connected and then a few seconds later it says it is connected. This isn't going to work. Time to figure out a plan B and execute it. At least now I have a wired connection to the shop.

 

[eacmen]

Well, after spending more time than I care to admit, it looks like my 'shop' router has a connection issue. It connects for a few seconds before it says that it is not connected and then a few seconds later it says it is connected. This isn't going to work. Time to figure out a plan B and execute it. At least now I have a wired connection to the shop.

I second the other post where you dont want a router in the shop, you want to put it in Acess Point mode or just connect the ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports. You only want one router in play, makes things simpler.

 

[ixlr8]

I second the other post where you dont want a router in the shop, you want to put it in Acess Point mode or just connect the ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports. You only want one router in play, makes things simpler.

I was going to put the 'shop' router in AP mode, but with it's connection being inconsistent it is not going to work. I need wireless access to connect to my car. Presently I am looking to see what I can find for an Access Point.

 

[loganb]

Its likely inconsistent connection because it's NOT in AP mode.

If its still configured as a router when plugged it its going to fight with the current router. For this to work that shop device MUST be configured as an access point

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[ixlr8]

Its likely inconsistent connection because it's NOT in AP mode.

If its still configured as a router when plugged it its going to fight with the current router. For this to work that shop device MUST be configured as an access point

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The problem at the moment is that I can't get into the setup screen to reconfigure it. I took it out to the shop so there is no way it could see the 'home' router. I tried reseting to factory configuration and I still can't get in to set it up as an AP. It will pass the signal from the house to the LAN ports, but I can't get into the configuration setup. Time for a new unit that is an AP to start with.

 

[boatshoes]

If you want to save some money, I would spend some more time trying to access your shop router's config page. Wired connection is easiest, but most operating systems will ignore a connection with no internet by default so turn off your other adapters. You'll want to navigate to your adapter gateway's IP address, seen in the internet adapter connection properties. It's probably the default IP printed on the bottom of the router.

If you prefer to spend a little money and save some time, I highly recommend a Unifi AP-AC-Lite in standalone mode (configured from a free app on your phone), they are rock-solid. Only one ethernet port though, so if you need more ports out there you'd need to add an unmanaged switch ($10 or so) ahead of the AP.

 

[Greenlawnracing]

you can put a wireless access point and set to repeater mode in your basement and connect a hard line over to your shop with the conduit.

i have a metal building and no conduit, i installed one of these outside to pull the signal into the building. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FT3LFD6/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Totally don’t want to steal the thread, but......

Was just at the in laws, who cannot get much of anything to penetrate the metal shop 100 feet from the house. Router is on the side of the house that faces the shop.

Would this work, or do you still need some kind of external antenna on the shop?

 

[ixlr8]

If you want to save some money, I would spend some more time trying to access your shop router's config page. Wired connection is easiest, but most operating systems will ignore a connection with no internet by default so turn off your other adapters. You'll want to navigate to your adapter gateway's IP address, seen in the internet adapter connection properties. It's probably the default IP printed on the bottom of the router.

I unplugged and disconnected the 'house' router and the other adapter, then I plugged the 'shop' router directly into the modem, still can't get to the config page. The default IP is not listed on the bottom of the router, only the MAC address, that is why I did a factory reset to ensure it was back to the default IP, which I know. I'll check out the AP you mentioned.

 

[boatshoes]

You didn't mention if you did, but oftentimes you need to reboot both the modem and the router so that the modem assigns the WAN IP address to the new router.

 

[Innovate1]

I suggest you look into some surge protection. Connecting a low voltage line like that between buildings is asking for trouble - during a thunder storm there may be quite a bit of voltage difference between the grounds in each building. You could put a wifi to ethernet unit in the house to avoid the direct connection to the rest of the house network and/or put surge protection at both ends of the wire between buildings.

Mesh networks. I just picked up two Asus RT-AC68U routers. They can mesh with each other. Some of the other brands like TP-Link the routers cant mesh with multiple routers - you need one router and then a different unit for the additional nodes - seems like a dumb limitation. It doesn't sound like you need mesh but that's just my opinion.

 

[ixlr8]

Just a quick update on this project.

I installed this near where the conduit comes into the house;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0118SPFCK/?tag=atomicindus08-20
This prevented me from having to cut holes in the living room wall to run the Cat5e cable to the router. This made the wife very happy and raised the WAF of this project. (Wife Acceptance Factor)

Ran 150 ft of Cat 5e solid Cu wire cable from the house to the shop. Found that the length of the conduit was 114ft.

I put this Access Point in the shop;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LFSDZCU/?tag=atomicindus08-20
I had some issues with the setup, but a quick call to Netgear helped sort out the issue.

I used the same SSID in the house and shop. I can go seamlessly from the house to the shop without loosing connection or having to wait for the new connection to be made. Everything is working exactly like I wanted it to.
It also extends WiFi coverage on my property so I can listen to tunes while I work in the yard. If I leave the garage doors open.

Thank you everyone for your help and guidance, it is very much appreciated.

I have whole house surge protection, the power outlet strip has a surge protector as well. I suspect I need to find a way to ensure the Cat5e cable shield is properly grounded.

 

[boatshoes]

 

[boatshoes]

Writeup of the TP-Link bridges: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...ing-between-buildings-the-cheap-and-easy-way/

 

[minytrker]

I originally used wifi to the shop and it was ok. Finally ran cat6 underground (200 ft) and never looked back. I get the same exact speed in the house as shop. With the shop hard lined I added an AP there and have wifi all outside of my shop and in the shop.

 

[inphx]

Same here with steel building, wifi was ok but probably hardware - it required repower once a month it seems. I bought some direct bury cat6 off of ebay , waited till after a nice rain storm and did a hand trench and bury as I went. In the ground about 6 to 8 " and good enough for me.

 

[Metal-Marc]

Of course it's been said before, but it's worth repeating.

Telecom copper cables between buildings is a big no no.

You run the possibility to fry every electronics connected to the network the day a thunderstorm hits your area.

 

[like2wheel]

Of course it's been said before, but it's worth repeating.

Telecom copper cables between buildings is a big no no.

You run the possibility to fry every electronics connected to the network the day a thunderstorm hits your area.

But they mentioned surge protection.
Not sure what that looks like for ethernet cables.

Edit:
A quick Google yielded several types.
Hoping someone has recommendations

 

[dcg9381]

There is also shielded Ethernet - which can be grounded. But yea, last 2 homes have had impact on Ethernet cables with nearby lightening... If I was doing it over, it'd be fiber outside... I may get the chance to do it over. :-(

 

[glend123]

This is exactly how I did mine. Been working great.
YouTube video.
Access point