Village Hall WiFi?

Not too knowledgeable at this, but is there a house nearby with broadband and wifi?

I think you can get directional aerials for a local wifi router to connect to an existing network from a distance (is that what the Poynting antenna Fil mentioned does?)

Or am I spouting b*llocks as usual?
 
You can get directional antennas which do that sort of 'point to point' WiFi extending.

It's almost exactly the opposite of the Poynting which is omnidirectional (i.e. goes out in all directions)

So only spouting one bollock :D

Directional antennas need a clear line of sight so you'd need a house with a clear view of the Village Hall - probably 200m away or closer (unless you want to spend silly money).

The big stumbling block might be getting that household to agree to letting you pinch their WiFi....

But if everything aligns then it's possible, on paper at least!
 
Thanks Fil (I think!)

You think right :D

This is what I do all day, every day, so...

Your idea is not without merit from a technical point of view, sadly, in my experience, unless the house 200m away is the vicarage or belongs to someone with good community spirit then while your idea is a good one from a technical point of view...

People are a bit funny about sharing their WiFi.

I have a 500Mbps connection at home (long story). I don't need anywhere near that much.

So, I have set up a free public WiFi that I offer from my home network.

Not one person has ever connected to it. Ever.

Damned if you do...
 
So long as you don’t stumble across the Vicars’ browsing history you should be fine. :D
 
My WiFi (BT WholeHome discs) has a Guest network, so separate from the house network. Download limit might be a problem if the WI streams too much porn....

Alternatively is there a point-to-point microwave link for long distance extension of a home network? Bit like Powerline extenders but not on mains wiring.

I used a similar 5GHz system to relay my TV signal across the house 10 years ago - it was a rental and I didn't want to drill holes/run cable.
 
Well I've found out what they want it for, it's in case a guest speaker cancels at the last minute and they can find a replacement at short notice to join the meeting by zoom. One of the W.I. said that she has done a bit of research and her friend Flo's husband Andy recommends Starlink. She went into great detail about screwing the self seeking satellite dish to a paving slab placed on the flat roof, how the cable would need to enter the building through a hole that had to be large enough because the plug could not be remove, how it shouldn't be turned off because of the delay caused by the dish searching for a connection.

We advised her that it might well be a solution but all other cheaper options would be considered first, the Clerk will be asking companies to tender quotes for the supply of a broadband connection such as cable, Bt and trooli who keep spamming the area. She is also going to enquire about data only sims and the relevant equipment from the main phone providers.

Thanks for your help everyone, I'll let you know of any developments in a few months time.


If it's the village hall on Ash Road, no need to bugger about with Starlink or mobile broadband. Your local cell tower is probably on the Gallops and mobile service across Longfield & Hartley can be patchy at times.

Do as you're doing, get a broadband only fixed line and manage the wifi access by routinely changing the passcode.
Depending on internal layout (and Openreach engineer on the day), locate the NTE/Master socket in the right place and you may not need to mess around with wifi access points / Mesh systems.

Trooli have unbundled the Longfield exchange so may be able to offer some deals. No experience of their service.

I'm back in New Barn most of July and happy to opine if useful.
 
I've got 500Mbps here as well and I still want more :D
You can never ever have enough bandwidth :cool:

Got 1Gbps here because I needed the higher upload speed to run a VPN server to pipe UK TV etc to forrin parts so SWMBO can watch her crappy live & catch-up TV, and stuff like Amazon Prime as if she's in the UK. Just wish I could get the same deal in the UK as in France (1Gbps synchronous for about £22 pm, and they've got deals up to 8Gbps).
 
You can never ever have enough bandwidth :cool:

Got 1Gbps here because I needed the higher upload speed to run a VPN server to pipe UK TV etc to forrin parts so SWMBO can watch her crappy live & catch-up TV, and stuff like Amazon Prime as if she's in the UK. Just wish I could get the same deal in the UK as in France (1Gbps synchronous for about £22 pm, and they've got deals up to 8Gbps).
I’m more interested in higher uploads as well TBH.
I was supposed to get 75Mbps upload with the 500Mbps package that I took.
For some reason the upload stayed at 50 though, which was what I was already getting previously on the 300Mbps package that I upgraded from
 
I was supposed to get 75Mbps upload with the 500Mbps package that I took.
For some reason the upload stayed at 50 though, which was what I was already getting previously on the 300Mbps package that I upgraded from
Must admit I've been lucky and advertised up/down speeds are as advertised (with Aquiss). It can be a bit of a lottery depending on supplier and contention in locality.
 
Must admit I've been lucky and advertised up/down speeds are as advertised (with Aquiss). It can be a bit of a lottery depending on supplier and contention in locality.
I think my issue is related to old ECI based equipment that my Fibre is running through.

But, we’re starting to get way off topic from the OP here, so I’ll leave it there
 
No idea on the best mobile provider in your area, but I've used a TP Link wifi router on my window sill and an unlimited data SIM card from Vodaphone for the last five years and never had any problems.
 
If it's the village hall on Ash Road, no need to bugger about with Starlink or mobile broadband. Your local cell tower is probably on the Gallops and mobile service across Longfield & Hartley can be patchy at times.

Do as you're doing, get a broadband only fixed line and manage the wifi access by routinely changing the passcode.
Depending on internal layout (and Openreach engineer on the day), locate the NTE/Master socket in the right place and you may not need to mess around with wifi access points / Mesh systems.

Trooli have unbundled the Longfield exchange so may be able to offer some deals. No experience of their service.

I'm back in New Barn most of July and happy to opine if useful.
That's the kiddy, next to the car sales. That's really helpful advice from someone with obvious local knowledge. I'll have a word in the right ears and see about taking you up on your kind offer.

Once again thanks everyone for your input.
 


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