An Alternate Internet

1. 2016-02-25 at 3:03 AM UTC

   #21
   

   -SpectraL coward [the spuriously bluish-lilac bushman]
   Fifty years ago, I used to build crystal radios, and they work just as good today as they did back then. Only cost a couple of bucks for the kit.
2. 2016-02-25 at 3:06 AM UTC

   #22
   

   aldra JIDF Controlled Opposition
   yeah, but now the FCC will literally fuck you if you try to build a network based on AM/FM radio... also crystal radios only receive.
3. 2016-02-25 at 4:12 AM UTC

   #23
   

   -SpectraL coward [the spuriously bluish-lilac bushman]

   yeah, but now the FCC will literally fuck you if you try to build a network based on AM/FM radio… also crystal radios only receive.

   
   Morse Code AM Transmitter.
   
   The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!

   • SBTlauien
4. 2016-02-25 at 1:24 PM UTC

   #24
   LiquidIce Houston
   Those of you who frequent hacker news probably already read this but I think this is highly relevant and super fucking cool: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/02/researchers-create-super-low-power-wi-fi/
5. 2016-02-25 at 8:10 PM UTC

   #25
   

   SBTlauien African Astronaut
   Is it possible to build a router that reaches miles away? I've seen things on Amazon that are shaped like large guns and are pointed at each other from a long ways away to share a WIFI signal, but can I just straight up broadcast my access point throughout a large portion of my city, allow people to connect to it?
6. 2016-02-25 at 8:12 PM UTC

   #26
   

   SBTlauien African Astronaut

   Those of you who frequent hacker news probably already read this but I think this is highly relevant and super fucking cool: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/02/researchers-create-super-low-power-wi-fi/

   
   Combined with solar power...
   
   http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-portable-solar-powered-wi-fi-repeater/
7. 2016-02-26 at 8:45 AM UTC

   #27
   LiquidIce Houston

   Combined with solar power…
   
   http://hacknmod.com/hack/diy-portable-solar-powered-wi-fi-repeater/

   
   That would be fucking amazing. Low-power, mass produced wifi access.
   
   

   Is it possible to build a router that reaches miles away? I've seen things on Amazon that are shaped like large guns and are pointed at each other from a long ways away to share a WIFI signal, but can I just straight up broadcast my access point throughout a large portion of my city, allow people to connect to it?

   
   Those are, I think, directional antennas. You can DIY one (google "cantenna"). They project the signal in one direction (it's a conical spread if I remember correctly). They are also sensitive in that one direction.
   
   If you wanted to cover a large area with a wifi signal, you'd probably have to use an omni antenna that could catch weaker signals and some electronics to feed more power to the signal. This is way above my knowledge level, but I do know that this would be illegal (who cares tho) because the wifi bands are restricted to a certain signal power to avoid interfering with other signals and I think this would obliterate any other signals on the same channel. Ie. if you'd use this on chan 11, I doubt any other router in your hood would be able to use this channel. Im not even sure that clients with standard wifi radios would be able to talk back to the beefed up access point, but you'd need someone with more radio knowledge than me to verify this.
   
   But them solar powered repeaters could be cool and doable with consumer hardware running OpenWRT (https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=39077
   )
   
   Also, totally off topic, checkout this sexy beast:
   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0167HG1V6
   
   
   
8. 2017-12-18 at 2:11 AM UTC

   #28
   The Self Taught Man Black Hole
   I have fucked around with wireless repeating and with mesh networks on WRT 54GLs (I have 6 of them or so). WDS, simple repeating, and using BroadBand Hamnet (a non-wifi technology). It was a complete mess due to the software, and would never work right. WDS would eventually crap out, and the network would need to be rebooted. Broadband Hamnet is just a complete piece of shit,
   it meshes just fine, but it's slow and drops connections like crazy. I'd never take on to do it again.
   
   I have a WRT 54GL in my attic with ddwrt, radio at full power, and big omni-antennas on it, so I can get wifi from around 200 metres away.
   
   If you want to mess around with long range wifi you more or less need to buy specialised kit, Ubiquiti make the best, check them out on amazon. You can get 20 miles using some of their consumer grade stuff no problem, but make sure you are going for the high dB models.
   
   Messing around with home made networking solutions is generally a bad idea and you're going to have a bad time. Spending the money on quality kit is usually worth it.
9. 2018-01-01 at 4:32 PM UTC

   #29
   

   Grimace motherfucker [my enumerable hindi guideword]
   Something like the "dial-in BBS", but over radio wave is the only real solution to your proposed question.