Ok, so here's the story:

Where I live, there are two connection options. The first is Dial-Up, which needless to say bites. The second is business-grade radio. My home, connected through Dial-Up, is around 400 feet from my place of business, connected through the radio link. What I need to do is connect the shop and the house within one network.

Here's the problems I face:
1) Running a wired network would be very expensive, as I would have to bury the CAT-5, install surge protectors, and the line would have to cross a large stream.
2) The shop is totaly surounded by sheet metal.

Right now I am trying to figure out a way to mount a wireless router outside the sheet-metal shell of the building so that the WiFi signal can propegate to the house. My main consern is the router getting damaged by the elements.

I was thinking about putting it in a tuperware container, sealed with urithane calk. The container would be afixed to the roof (somehow) with holes drilled in the botom for the power and networking cables. Think this will work?

Anyone with experiance or input in the matter would be a real help. I've been after my father (he's also my employer, and the owner of the business) to set up a wireless network for a long time. Now he's finaly agree to let me install one, and I find myself up against some challenges.

Thanks for your time,
QBRADQ

Here what i would say to do. I do have some knowlege of wireless networking. for that what I have here at home. I also have a garage that is detached from the house. What i did was install a signal extender in the garage. And placed the router in the window of the house with those extra length antennas on it. belive you are still with in the range of the router to the shop. Only problem is that others my beable to tap into your link make sure you place it under secure network. hope there is a window on the side of the shed faceing to your house as well to your busness. from what it sounds like is that your house is first then your shed then the busness. you need to installl the range exstender at the point that is the furthes from the router. the router should be conected to the radio link. and I belive you can have a cable ran to a point near the exterior wall of the busness near a window the signal can go throught glass easer than walls. the shed and house now are the problem. The range expander would be placed I quessing in the house wich is farthest from the busness. from the shed to the house if there is no windows run a caple to the shed from the house and connect it in a small hub and use the house as a gateway to the network for the shed. Or the shed might be able to get the signal just fine for the range expander is on one side and the busness is on the other. the range expander is about 85 dollers more or less. Im far from a expert on it just someone that likes toying around with computers.

I personally would suggest first going with a SuperG system. Then I would go with a range extender put in the building that is in the middle. Beyond that I'll have to do some research.

Here is a cheap $6 solution (if not approved by the FCC)

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448

Opps I did fail to mention the wireless-G part. But the instructions that came with my link systems wireless g range exspander says to place it at the furthes point from the router. I tryed to place it half way and I got a feed back or what you may call a ghost network the one I normaly use and one that the computers picked up from the expander. I quess it takes the weak signal and then gives it a boost when at the furthest and if in the middle it makes it own for it says that it is fine so we need to find something out side the good signal?

Thank you kindly for all of the replies. I would have checked in to this post earlier today, but I was quite busy. After sleeping on it, I called the wireless ISP. They agreed to install an antena on the house and link it with the POP free of charge! I was stuned to say the least.

This is a small local ISP, ran by one man, and I go to trade school with some of his family members. He told me over the phone that more than a dozen people had signed up for his service and told him that I recomened it to them over the past year, and that's why he would hook me up for free.

Sometimes living in a small town does have it's benifits. Now all I need to do is crawl up in that boilling hot attic and make a drop into my bedroom. I'll do that in the morning I supose. Till then I supose I'll get one more night out of my new modem.

Ohh, and thanks for the link. Antenna in a Pringles can! That's some funny stuff. Sure to get a laugh at school

Thanks again,
QBRADQ

and if you get hungery you can always eat the chips when you wait for the download to finish. But hey that sounds like a good deal you have their. Be looking for you out there.

Forget all that wireless crap!!!!! I spent a long freakin time trying to fix my friends internet problem.. He lives in a cottage next door to the house that has the wireless router.. We used range expanders, wireless G boost Pre-n routers, and it all boiled down to one little solution that I could kick myself in the ass for not trying before.. Here is your solution....


http://www.netgear.com/products/details/XE102.php



Granted, you have to be on the same power grid, you probably are... It's this easy... Get a router, doesn't need to be wireless, and get the wallmount plugs, you plug in one wallmount into the LAN part of your router, and the wallmount plug into a good electrical outlet, Now your whole building, as long as it's on the same power grid is live and ready for high speed LAN... So now, for each PC you have to buy another wallmount plug, just plug into wall, then into ethernet port on your PC, and be completely surprised.. Repeat this for each of your PC's... It's not the least costly thing in the world, they're about $50 a piece, but it's the most reliable solution for getting your building wired.... DO NOT USE ANY OTHER POWERLINE WALLMOUNT< AND DO NOT GET USB VERSION... Make sure you get this model exactly, they are not all created equal.... Hope this helps... I cannot tell you how much it has helped me...