An alternative option (especially useful for kilometres long point to point links) is to use a wok antenna or two. Basically a USB WiFi adapter mounted at the focal point of a traditional Chinese wok which approximates the shape of a perfect parabolic reflector to a remarkable degree.
The main advantage of such an arrangement is total elimination of feeder cable losses suffered by a remotely connected external antenna. Using USB active hubs as regenerators, it's even possible to site the wok antenna up to 24 metres away from the host pc without incurring any of the microwave cabling losses associated with detachable antennas connected via a co-axial feeder cable of even the shortest possible length.
In the case of a remote garden shed a mere few hundred metres away, a single wok antenna at the house targeting said shed, should suffice quite nicely. Indeed, at sub kilometre distances, if you want to use an AP rather than tie up a whole PC or repurposed laptop to act as the host to a WiFi dongle, you can probably get away with mounting a separate antenna at the focal point of a cheap wok via no more than a metre or so of feeder without too much of the 12 to 18dB gain that a wok can provide being consumed by feeder cable loss.
Alternatively, at sub 300m ranges to the shed, the more modest gain of a cantenna would likely be more than sufficient for the job (neater and more compact than a wok antenna).
and if you get a domain name you can set forwarding based on wildcards
- effectively an infitie number of email addresses.
then hand out a different email within the domain to every company "that needs your email address" and you can track back who sold it on / lost it / got hacked / gave it away.
Depressing sometimes to see the mismatch between the "trust us because we are..." and the reality.
I was going to make a cantenna (in the true spirit of DIY). I had all the bits and had even eaten up the Pringles but ran out of time and bought an off the shelf flat panel 18dB gain antenna instead.
USB Wifi dongle was chosen because it had the right chipset, detachable antenna and expendable since they were remaindered at £5 each. They have gone up a bit to £8 but appear still to be available (newer chipset) :
That's a good reason for NOT using your ISP email service as your main one, that way you can switch whenever you like without worry about this sort of thing.
Now there's a surprise. I didn't know Morgan were still in business. They used to have a shop in Upper Oxford Street more or less opposite a branch of Jessops. They also opened a branch ISTR in the middle of Brum and certainly had one on the ramp approach into Piccadilly Station in Manchester.
Used to have some good bargains. Was dealing with them even in CP/M days in the mid 80's!
Not that BT care, had a helluva battle porting the a base ISDN number from BT Business to a BT residential POTS line. They where totally in capable of talking to each other and arranging some form of synchronised event.
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