The OP wants to know if a wifi card for openbsd will give a better signal than a second wap11. And if he chooses for the first option, what chipsets are supported.
The first answer is: any device that is stronger (100mW) than the wap11 will give you better signal (wap11 is about 30mW), either PCI or external. The second answer in the man pages. I don't think we can say much about his basement situation. Maybe there are enough rat holes for the waves to go through, maybe not. N.J. Reuvers wrote: > Both networks in the basement. So you want the signal to travel through > walls AND lots of ground? That ain't gonna happen, I can tell you that. > Unless ofcourse you put an external antenna in front of your basement > window. > > Things like steel will reflect the signal, so it'll bounce around and might > reach its goal. But it wouldn't be a signal you could use. Other objects > will just absorb a bit of the signal, making it weaker coming out of the > object. If you want to know if a material will absorb the signal, put some > in a microwave (ofcourse also with a glass of water in it) and check if it's > getting hot. If it is, it is absorbing. If it isn't, the signal will not > notice the object and go straight through. > > Nils > > -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- > Van: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Namens Dimitri > Verzonden: dinsdag 28 juni 2005 19:52 > Aan: David Hill > CC: misc@openbsd.org > Onderwerp: Re: wireless support > > David Hill wrote: > >>Hello - >>My neighbor has a Linksys WAP11 access point. We would like to join >>networks. Both our networks are in our basements. The distance is >>about 70ft. Would I get better signal/performance buying something >>similar to my neighbor, or purchasing a wireless PCI card for my >>OpenBSD box? If the PCI card would be the better solution, which >>chipset should I look into getting? >> >>Thanks >>David >> > > > For chipets man wi, man ath, man ral. > > For the rest, noone can tell if you will have enough signal to go through > the walls unless you try. > > The wap11 is 30mW and pretty deaf. If you find a similar device, chances are > that you won't get a decent link. If you want an external device, the > Engenius/Senao CB3 is pretty strong(100-200mw) and sensitive and will > probably compensate for the wap11. > > To get a decent answer you need to describe the current and the desired > network topology, 'join networks' just isn't enough. > > --dg