[tmcquinn]

This is my first post. I hope I am meeting the expected etiquette here.

Platform:
2 Linksys WRTGL54 routers, DD-WRT v3.0-r35531 mini (03/26/18), Windows 10, Homemade cantennas (carefully measured but time will tell...)

Experience:
I've used DD-WRT with some old WRTGL54 routers to help the inlaws with a wireless repeater. It was not easy but I stuck with it.

Also, I had my PC hiccup while trying to flash one of the new routers last night. I thought it was bricked. I got it going again via TFTP but I probably made about a dollar fifty an hour by the time I got it to work (as opposed to just buying another one). I'm just trying to show that I'm willing to do the work. I would appreciate a sanity check by those who've gone through this before or any advice to get me back on track if I'm missing something basic.

My Goal:
I am trying to get internet access about 300 feet away, let's call it from house 1 to house 2. Each cantenna can 'see' the other, no obstructions. The houses are not required to share any printers or other devices, I only want internet access in house 2. It is perfectly acceptable to only have wired access in house 2.

I realize the cantennas may or may not work. Assuming they do, I'm wanting to put one of my DD-WRT routers in house 1, the other in house 2. With the cantennas concentrating the RF to just point to each other, I'm thinking that I should just use a wired connection in house 2 and put in another router if I decide later that I need wireless. Am I thinking right?

I've tried to read the various options and I get confused every time. So a client bridge is not reliable? Is WDS what I need to connect the two units? Simpler is better but whatever speed I can get out of it would be nice. TIA

[Sam1789]

Great use for Pringle cans !!!!

works for sniffing up to ~2.5 miles.

[Alozaros]

by its means Wi-Fi is not designed to have a greater range than its limited power of 30 Mwt...
even worst your router does not support 25 or more than that if im not wrong...
so what ever you do its a no winning game, of course you can try with Yagi antennas but it must have very short cable literally mounted next/on to the router and in your case you'd need 2...
300 feet is way to much than 50-60 feet normal wi-fi range
even if you succeed your client devices may not be able to
cope....
you may try those wi-fi boosters available on the market
you will get much better success...

[tmcquinn]

[bushant]

[mrjcd]

If the antennas can see each other then you got it made.
Yes, WDS is best to use and also only have the two routers wireless to each other.... no other wifi clients.
I have somewhat same setup only mine is approx 500 yards. Goes thru power lines and over a state highway.
If you can get line-of-sight that is very good. I put this together 18 years ago and still working fine today.
Using 25ft LMI 400 cable attached to 24dBi directional grid parabolic antennas at each end. When fist setup
I only had WRT54G units to use and they did fine for several years till I got a couple E2100L units (WRT160NL do the same thing)
With the E2100L I get a sustained 40 mbps across the WDS (sometimes more sometimes a bit less).
Many clients on each end but there are other router devices attached for all clients wired & wireless.

Some folks close by had similar setup but was doing 20+ miles using boosters plus was on 100 ft antenna.
The reason this was setup in first place was our ISP when we first got broadband their system did not allow
any communication between any devices within ISP network. Many of us went around their poorly setup system by using long distance wifi links.
The ISP system is now straightened out and all of us are now with fiber but I have always let my WDS link be as was....since there
no reason for my folks to pay for internet when I already have it at my place.

[tmcquinn]

[ian5142]

This is the WDS article. It is updated, I did it myself recently. https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/WDS_Linked_router_network

Atheros based routers are best for WDS.

I actually have a large WDS network, with many wireless clients connected to routers throughout my property that connect to a main router, that connects to my EdgeRouter X (wired), that connects to my modem.

[tmcquinn]

Thank you, ian5142. That is actually where I started. It looks like I have Broadcom based devices so I printed out that section and put it with my hardware.

I'll keep an eye out for a deal on Atheros based routers. At this point I'm waiting for a couple of cables to ship from China.

[Alozaros]

all my experience with different then stock antenna had very
small benefit and it was so sketchy to make those short very short cables behind the router..
i wont lie yep it was working but compare to the other options it was not worth the investment
and time.....

So that's y i mentioned boosters or chain of routers using WDS or client/repeater...
Those last two as well WDS are so tough to set up but once you find the wright build and SoC
compatibility yep they do work...
and still the boosters is the best option set it forget it no sketchy
at all so you decide...at last...either waste your time ....or get the real deal
of course its another game if you have DD-WRT compatible units, with WDS approved in the cupboard or at the attic...