- Feb 3, 2000
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I am pretty much a total noob when it comes to wireless, and for the longest time, I simply haven't trusted it. I've wired my house (and my previous house) with Cat5 becaue none of my wireless experiments have gone well...granted, I haven't actually tried in several years.
The time has come where I have a situation that would genuinely benefit from a GOOD wireless network, but I am still a bit fearful that I won't have the solid connection that I need.
What I am looking to do is run a high-speed photofinish camera for timing track & field races. The camera would be placed outdoors near the finish line, usually run off AC power. I would like to be able to maintain my primary computer in the pressbox (out of the elements) 200-300 feet away. I can run Cat5 and probably keep it under 300 ft, but it would be a pain to do it for every meet, and I worry about rain messing with the cables as well as people tripping over them or messing with them if I can't get them completely out of the way. I envision working at different sites, so not every situation will be the same, and permanent cables won't be an option.
I need my transmission from the camera to the pressbox to be nearly as rock-solid as a wired connection would be. The other stations need access, but a little interferance is not a life-or-death thing. If I need to have multiple antenas or anything at certain locations, then I can probably hook up those sorts of things easier than running 300 ft cable every time.
Here is the setup I am looking at:
Camera at position "1" outdoors, at ground-level near the track.
- Camera normally is hooked up directly to Computer "A" via standard ethernet connection. I would be replacing this direct connection with a wireless one.
Computer "A" at position "2", probably in a pressbox about 200ft away (usually) with a fairly unobstructed view of the camera except for the walls/windows of the pressbox itself, and people walking around. Computer "A" will communicate directly with the Camera, and (the way it was explained to me) if the data from the Camera is not received by Computer "A" in a wireless situation, then the data is NOT resent and is essentailly lost forever. THIS WOULD BE A DISASTER. The camera is sending the photo-finish results and the race times to the computer operator. If they are not picked up, then the results are lost.
Computers "B" & "C" also at position "2". These computers do not need to communicate with the camera direclty, but they will communicate with Computer "A" and may utilize a wired-connection if that is easiest. These computers will be taking saved data from Computer A and will be using that data in a seperate software program to create meet results. They will need printer access, possibly on the network.
Computer "D" & "E" at position "3", probably within a couple hundred feet of Computer "A". These computers will take the saved data from Computer "A" and will use that data to create picture printouts for sale to customers at a different location. They may, at times, need to be hooked up to as many as 2-3 printers (possibly on the network) at that location to keep up with demand.
With the data that I will be working with, speed is not a concern. Files will generally be a few MB or less. Range and reliability are everything.
First off which network type (if any) should I look at?
Are there specific hardware recommendations that I should look into?
I could use info on anything from routers, to antenas to laptop cards/adapters...whatever I might need.
I don't have a specific budget (and I will probably be working with a wired setup to start with), but if I had to come up with a number, maybe $2000? But, it should be noted that I DON'T have money to burn, so less (or much less) is always good as long as I can get the reliability I am looking for.
I hope this all makes some sense.
The time has come where I have a situation that would genuinely benefit from a GOOD wireless network, but I am still a bit fearful that I won't have the solid connection that I need.
What I am looking to do is run a high-speed photofinish camera for timing track & field races. The camera would be placed outdoors near the finish line, usually run off AC power. I would like to be able to maintain my primary computer in the pressbox (out of the elements) 200-300 feet away. I can run Cat5 and probably keep it under 300 ft, but it would be a pain to do it for every meet, and I worry about rain messing with the cables as well as people tripping over them or messing with them if I can't get them completely out of the way. I envision working at different sites, so not every situation will be the same, and permanent cables won't be an option.
I need my transmission from the camera to the pressbox to be nearly as rock-solid as a wired connection would be. The other stations need access, but a little interferance is not a life-or-death thing. If I need to have multiple antenas or anything at certain locations, then I can probably hook up those sorts of things easier than running 300 ft cable every time.
Here is the setup I am looking at:
Camera at position "1" outdoors, at ground-level near the track.
- Camera normally is hooked up directly to Computer "A" via standard ethernet connection. I would be replacing this direct connection with a wireless one.
Computer "A" at position "2", probably in a pressbox about 200ft away (usually) with a fairly unobstructed view of the camera except for the walls/windows of the pressbox itself, and people walking around. Computer "A" will communicate directly with the Camera, and (the way it was explained to me) if the data from the Camera is not received by Computer "A" in a wireless situation, then the data is NOT resent and is essentailly lost forever. THIS WOULD BE A DISASTER. The camera is sending the photo-finish results and the race times to the computer operator. If they are not picked up, then the results are lost.
Computers "B" & "C" also at position "2". These computers do not need to communicate with the camera direclty, but they will communicate with Computer "A" and may utilize a wired-connection if that is easiest. These computers will be taking saved data from Computer A and will be using that data in a seperate software program to create meet results. They will need printer access, possibly on the network.
Computer "D" & "E" at position "3", probably within a couple hundred feet of Computer "A". These computers will take the saved data from Computer "A" and will use that data to create picture printouts for sale to customers at a different location. They may, at times, need to be hooked up to as many as 2-3 printers (possibly on the network) at that location to keep up with demand.
With the data that I will be working with, speed is not a concern. Files will generally be a few MB or less. Range and reliability are everything.
First off which network type (if any) should I look at?
Are there specific hardware recommendations that I should look into?
I could use info on anything from routers, to antenas to laptop cards/adapters...whatever I might need.
I don't have a specific budget (and I will probably be working with a wired setup to start with), but if I had to come up with a number, maybe $2000? But, it should be noted that I DON'T have money to burn, so less (or much less) is always good as long as I can get the reliability I am looking for.
I hope this all makes some sense.