Computer help forum: What Do I Need To Pick Up WiFi From 175 Feet?

How to use a router as a WAP?

Now you have a WAP to put at the best spot on the house and then google this -> How to use a router as a bridge? and see if your bridge can be on the best spot on the shop.

Some will ask if this will work.
Bob

I would look into high gain directional antennas that you could mount on the house or in a window pointed at the shop and then you have a subsequent receiver which then converts the signal back to a wired one.

Otherwise, you could always string a cable through the air between buildings. No particular reason you need to go underground with it. Just get some PVC pipe, run the cable through it so the shielding doesn't rot away after a couple of months exposed to the elements (and squirrels and the like don't chew through it), you may need a single support beam somewhere along the middle, but that should be reasonably simple I would think, and there might already be something you can sort of work off of.

There's also no particular reason you have to take the most direct route between the house and shop. If you've got a big slab of concrete in the way, just go around it. You'll want to double check this, but I think ethernet cable has an effective length of 300m before you need some kind of repeater. Maybe it's 300ft, I forget, but the point is that even if it's 100m, you should be able to practically circumnavigate the shop. So again, just bury some cable in a PVC pipe, pop it up either near or inside the shop, and there you go.

It's all about the about the "antennas" if you haven't brought anything. Buy one to replace the current ones as they are normally 5dbi and increase that value to 9dbi or better. You can replace at both ends, xmit and rcv side. Otherwise, you need a "bridge router" which effectively is a middle junction sorta thing that broadens the area of wifi. I'll go antenna here for most basic setups provided you have screw-in type. You will notice many of the newer routers have more than 1 antenna, this is to increase wifi attenuation. Otherwise, google away for fixes and make sure you have the best "line of sight" between the points of operation. You know a metal sided building and/or solid brick is not good for best wifi operation, etc.. You may want to think ext. antenna routed to outside of building to help increase range as well. idea link below:

http://www.betterwifirange.com/?gclid=CJmRreHko64CFQ9-hwodzDgJUQ

tada -----Willy