Wireless ISDN
 

Hello,

I live out in the sticks - just. Actually, 4.01 miles from the telco's CO so they won't entertain DSL and the cable company aren't interested, either. So I've got ISDN, instead.

Problem: the ISDN line terminates at the house but we have an office in our detached garage/barn/behemoth. Currently, I have a 100' telephone cable going from the where the ISDN terminates at the house to the garage. The missus really wants it to go away but I don't want to bury it (brick path, gravel driveway etc to contend with).

I've searched high and low for a simple device that will basically transmit/receive the ISDN signal via AM/FM/whatever. The nearest I have found is a Siemens widget but it doesn't seem to be available in the US.

I could build my own transmitter/receiver units but I'm hoping there is an existing solution. I've tried the widgets that let you use the existing wiring in the house but the garage is on a totally separate supply, so that avenue is closed.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

You might want to look into sattelite broadband. Pretty decent on downloads from what I hear, but also slow on uploads.

I've investigated that - even the newer WildBlue. Installation is expensive and I have to use ipsec tunnelling a lot. The latency is too high for it to be useful. Also, the ISDN is used for telephone/fax, as well as internet, so I'd still be in the same boat....

Have you considered using wireless routers to network with your garage?

a reqular isdn/cable wireless device won't work?

or is there no such thing?

i don't know how the isdn comes into the house, but you muct be able to put it into a modem of some sort that has a ethernet comeing out, you could then run that to a wireless router. That work?

For the LAN side of things, I do already have a wireless configuration and it works great.

For the fax/phone side of things, though, it's more problematic. I need a widget to bridge the ISDN line from the house to the garage....

I have a wireless router in my house and it is great. Even take my laptop out into the garage and motorhome without problem. I have a 5 year old Linksys and I think the newer ones are even better. Probably much cheeper than buring a cable.

Mike

I have the net side on wireless - I agree, it's great. It's the ISDN line itself I need in the garage without a physical connection to the telco's network interface (i.e., where the incoming line terminates at the house).

I'm confused, why do you need the ISDN line itself in the garage? Explain.
Why not just a wireless reciever?

Mike

Our garage has an upstairs office. My wife runs her own business from there. It's also my playground! "Garage" is a bit misleading. Yes, it has a concrete floor and garage doors but it's also a place to make loud noises and a way to keep our house from looking like mission control.

In fact, our garage is bigger than the house I used to live in in the UK - and that had a garage built in! It's 1.5 storey on a 32' x 30' slab. Board and batten cedar siding, red tin roof - very rustic looking. A/C that's more efficient than in the house - but no plumbing. Not to worry - for the "number one" needs, I frequent the shrubs and bushes in need of deer repellant!

I know I'm a little thick, but you can hook as many receivers as you like to the wireless hub. Is what you want a regular phone line?

Mike

If you switched to VoIP phone service that need would disappear. Then you could have a phone connection anywhere your LAN signal reaches.

http://www.thetwistergroup.com/categ...one-jacks.html

wireless phone jacks work?

Yes.

Here's a schematic of the layout.

The problem is with the non-computer stuff - the fax and the phone. Especially the fax.

Can't get VoIP service...no cable/dsl availability! No point paying for ISDN and then for VoIP on top of it....

What is the distance? I guess just put a pole on each building and run a wire. Keeps it off of the ground!

Mike

I've tried the kind that use the AC wiring - no good. The garage is on a separate supply than the house. Separate meter panel etc. Probably even a different phase from the nearby pole.

But it will look ugly (at least, that is what I will be told!) and I'd still have to run it some distance on/underground to the pole.

Really just want something to plug in. Like a cordless phone. A base unit connected to the ISDN in the house and a cordless device that can connect to a fax or whatever (i.e., not just a cordless handset).

And I want to win the lottery! Just hang lights on it and tell her it's Christmas.

Mike

You certainly have an "interesting" setup :-) Sorry, I don't have any ideas for you, but just thought I'd add my own experience with satellite interent service for anyone else who might be eavesdropping. I researched this a bit before moving out in the middle of nowhere myself. I didn't like what I read about any of the consumer level systems, so I got the small business package from Hughes which uses a larger dish and more powerful transmitter. It is surprisingly robust; I don't even notice any slowdowns during big thunderstorms. Haven't spent my first winter here yet.

Just ran a speed test at testmy.net right now; getting 1.6Mbs down and 289Kbps up. But you're right - the latency can be very annoying for some things and there are other odd glitches on graphics heavy websites. And you're also right that it's expensive, about $900 installation and $100/mo for the package I got.

But to add insult to injury, after I moved I learned that I am now able to get DSL... after signing a 24 month agreement with Hughes that has a big penalty for bailing out. So you need to keep checking the availability of DSL, they seem to be rolling it out constantly in new areas. Just out of curiousity, how much is your ISDN service? I always heard it was very expensive and also slow (something like 128k I thought?). Years ago when I was teaching one of my student's father worked for the telephone company. He said that ISDN stood for "Integrated Services customers Don't Need." ;-)

ISDN is a bit tricky in these regards. I think you're wireless solutions are limited in this scenario.

The problem, as I understand it, is that you want to be able to maintian voice and fax service at the garage, not just internet connectivity. You may have to bury the line, or run it overhead as suggested. How do you currently have the line connected? Laying on the ground? If so, I would route the cable at the base of the building (garage) just below ground to a point that's closest to the house and then go underground from there. Or, come out of the garage and down the side of the building to that same point to make the trek across to the house. You could paint the cable in a color that is identical or close to the color of the building exterior.

By the way, you don't have to rip up sidewalk or brick to bury the cable, there are water powered 'tunneling devices' that will get you underneath. That's how we got the water lines for my sprinkler system under the front sidewalk.

Just be creative and you can get that cable hidden.

-gb-

VoIP does not specifically require cable or DSL, just a broadband connection.

Good point. But, if no other good solution presents itself, you may be stuck with either the existing ISDN line to your garage - that your wife doesn't like as it is now ;) - or VoIP.

You did mention brick and gravel. If the brick is loose, just pull up and put it back down. If it has concrete between maybe not so easy, but maybe trench around it. You don't have to go in a straight line you know. As far as the gravel goes that is easy, just trench and refill. The gray PVC for electric lines is very cheap and easy to lay down. I used it for lights to my shed.

Just about your only options at this time.

Mike

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I may just have to succumb and bury the cable.

Re the cost of ISDN, it adds up - I pay Sprint (Embarq or whatever they are now) $50 a month for the 128K set up. Then I pay my ISP $29 a month. But, they also host two websites for me and I get that at a very cheap rate as I have the ISDN package). Also, they are a local ISP - excellent support and literally just down the road.

My main (but rare) gripe with ISDN is that thunderstorms seem to upset it at the telco end and I have put in a call to get the switch reset...usually happens on the weekend and I have to wait until Monday...

I live in a rural area, so I don't expect Time Warner or any of the DSL outfits to come knocking any time soon.

Still, if I have a critical need for a fast download, I can just go to our local coffee shop or pharmacy and hook into their wireless network for free (with their permission, of course!)

I mentioned Siemens earlier - on their European website, they have all kinds of interesting stuff for ISDN expansion but not on the US site. Perhaps ISDN + US is too 'metric'(!)

Happens to me with DSL also.


I think it's because ISDN was/is too expensive and has been supplanted in many areas by other less expensive broadband technologies.


-gb-

John, I feel your pain. I've been reading, with great interest, your whoa's with ISDN. We live about 11 miles from the nearest switch (40 miles from town). I don't know how I was able to do it, but I talked Ma Bell into running ISDN out here to us. Of course, we're paying for it now. Our bill is about $60 to Bell and $98 to my ISP, although the ISP is giving me a "deal" on the business ISDN package they offer. They let me stay online 24/7 for my house/security cams and have a commercial site they host, so I guess it all comes around.

The line comes straight to a box underneath the house (we're on stilts) and I run Cat5 to inside to the ISDN (LinkSys) modem/router. I'd like to know what solution you're using for wireless within the house. I've got a LinkSys wireless router but, everytime I try to use it, it's trying to take over the IP assignments on our po'dunk network and, invariably, only one machine can log on. So, we've got 3 systems WIRED in to the modem.

Have fun with the DitchWitch! Gonna run conduit, too?

Heh, most of us have "woes," but in Texas you've got "whoas" ;-)

Wow, that's an awful lot of $$$ to pay for a slow internet connection. You really might want to investigate the satellite service I described above. For $100/mo I'm getting better than 1.5mbs down and 256kbs up with a fixed IP address. AFAIK there's not limitation to how long you can stay online either, the modem/router is on 24/7.

I started with a Linksys ISDN modem/router connected to a Adtran ISDN TA. The 230kbps serial connection was unreliable and I would have to keep rebooting the system. Likewise, a DIVA T/A ISDN modem was problematic with the same router. Linksys tried to help - sent me beta firmware to try etc but it didn't help. Now I have a laptop slaving away as a Wingate server. It is hardwired to a Linksys WAP54G wireless access point. The DIVA ISDN unit connects via the laptop's serial port (actually, via a USB/serial adapter since the built-in serial only goes to 115kbps). This is all in the office above the garage. There is also a wireless repeater in the living room in the house so basically we can set up anywhere.

And it runs $$$ but since both my wife and myself run businesses, we can at least write off some of the cost. Like you, I have unlimited bandwidth, 24/7 connection etc. What I do like about ISDN is that I also get two new phone lines - one is for a fax. The T/A takes care of the the bandwidth allocation etc.

The problem with satellite is that I'd have to either change my web host or pay even more to keep the same host. None of the satellite ISPs offer the service my ISP do and I have a need for IPSEC-based VPN. Very sluggish via satellite. Plus - I can't stand it when a little rain drops the signal!

"Why live with cable?" - I can think of many reasons!

I'm waiting for the high altitude drones that are supposed to have been launched to provide low-latency, cheap broadband from the skies...haven't heard much about them for a while, though.