Newbie - need help with a basic problem

[TreeJoe]

All,

I'm asking this forum's help with a fairly basic problem, of which there are a ton of guides, but for which I can't earnestly determine the right course of action FOR ME and at the risk of significantly overspending or employing the wrong tools for the job.

My wife and I just bought a family vacation home/rental property near a friend's home (300' away per google earth). We have line of sight slightly, but there is one house and various trees between our homes. His standard "top consumer end" netgear router provides a signal my laptop adapter can see, and connect to, but no real service is available.

He has offered us to do anything we want (short of butchering his home) to get signal to our home so that we don't have to pay Comcast $70/month for a home that will primarily be used 5 months a year. I just have to buy the equipment. Our use is minor and maybe 1-2 devices at a time, minimal streaming - our main concern is reliable service, not speed.

As far as I can tell given his existing router (a netgear nighthawk I believe) does broadcast a strong local signal around his home, I can tap into this from distance. So my thoughts are:

1. Do I seek to increase his broadcasting strength to try to power through to my home? His router is in a closet space right now, but closest to my house. So short of putting it outside, it's not going to get any closer to my house.

2. Do I mount a marine-grade/outdoor wifi network adapter up high outside my house pointed at the home and then run a line to a bridge router so I can run both hardwired devices as well as broadcast my own wifi network?

I'm looking for guidance here. There's tons of marketing info and BS out there that could easily lead me to spending gobs of money on a questionable end result. I'm hoping for advice on how I can reliably achieve my ends for minimum spend.

Thanks for your time - Joe

 

[JackMDS]

Usually that means that at the source there is a second Wireless Router/Access point that has to be connected with a wire to a port of the Main Router and placed in the first facing Windows.

At the destination the second Antenna has to be connected according to the Needs there (depending on the environment at the destination might be that a regular omni directional Antenna can be OK).

Thus in many case it means that the whole network has to include 3 or 4 Wireless Routers, and at least one good Directional antenna. That will bring the cost to be in the $150-$300 range.

 

[boomerang]

Comcast, in some markets will allow an account to be put on a seasonal hold for a minimal ongoing cost.

Also, I was told by a Comcast employee at one of their xfinity stores that this fall there will be some major changes coming from Comcast. Instead of regional accounts, they will be switching to national accounts. When I asked if that would mean that hardware could be moved from residence to residence she got a look on her face like she had a secret she couldn't share.

I pressed her a little bit and she told me that she had attended a seminar on the overview of the program the week prior but that she could neither confirm nor deny the transporting of equipment between residences saying that she was on an NDA about the details until the rollout happened. When I asked again if she thought this would be part of the move to national accounts, she got a big grin on her face, shook her head a bit from side to side and told me she couldn't tell me.

With two residences in Comcast markets this could be a great thing for me. Maybe for you too.