Please help a Pocket PC Damsel in Distress!!! I'm lost in the wilderness.

[reedrummond]

Hey, all you smart Pocket PC guys out there. I just got a new HP IPAQ 5555. I'm completely new to the Pocket PC world, and I'm afraid I overestimated what I'd be able to do on it. Here is what I want to do: I want to connect to the internet using only my IPAQ, out in the middle of nowhere (I live in the country). Obviously, Hot Spots are not an option for me, so is there any such thing as setting up a wireless network on my home computer (which has a satellite internet connection), and accessing that connection with my IPAQ say, 1 or 2 miles away from my home? Is this even remotely (no pun intended) possible?
I know nothing about this, so don't laugh if this is the craziest notion you've ever heard.
Please tell me I can do this, because I love the IPAQ already...but I really need to be able to check email and futures quotes out in the middle of a pasture if I need to!
I will love you for any information you can give me...

[nosmohtac]

I'm writing this with my pocket pc with a wi-fi connection. I don't know how your land is set up, but there is a way to do it. I may not be an expert at it, but I do believe there is a way to reach that far. I think the best bet would be to put a wireless router on your home computer, and if you have a building closer to your pasture (with power), you could put a wireless access point there, repeating the signal from your home. If you don't have a building closer to your pasture, you should be able to rig an external antena to the router to boost the signal strength. I've never done this, but I have spoke to someone who was able to connect about 15 miles away, with there antenna modified. Good luck, and please post your results if successful. 8)

[Janak Parekh]

nosmohtac is correct. I've never done it myself either, but if you have close to line-of-sight to your home from where you want to surf, there are directional external antennas which you can hook up to a WiFi access point to boost range considerably. Mind you, this will take some monetary investment -- it goes out of the range of typical "consumer" product.

One place to look for such equipment is Proxim (www.proxim.com); they're one of the larger WiFi manufacturers, and support such external gear.

--janak

[mountainfrog]

Another option would be to use a cellular phone with a data plan and use a cable ot bluetooth to connect to the internet via the cell phone. The big advatage to this is that you can connect ot the internet anywhere you have cellular coverage. You are not limited to a point of sight distance from your wifi access pont. The drawback is the monthly cost of cellular service with a data plan and the relaince on cellular coverage, which may be poor in a rural area. Hth.

-Julie

[reedrummond]

This is SO much more info than I had before...thank you so much for taking the time to help. :D

[ddavtian]

Nothing to add to the previous posts,just wanted to share my experience :-)

I have wifi at home/work and Sprint phone when there is no hotspot. I use gomadic cable and get reasonably fast connection, up to 80-90 kbs. No data fees, it is included in my vision plan.