"Old Skool" WLAN Network (Old/Recycled Equipment)
THIS DOCUMENT CREATED BY THE LIBERAL PREPPER'S COMMS GROUP
In today's world prepping is not just a crazy lifestyle. Between climate change, government upheaval and civic unrest there stands a solid chance that the ease of access we have counted on with the internet and it's uninhibited flow information could be snuffed out from any number of points in the chain.
Loss of power, provider, lock down by government... there are no few ways needed information might disappear.
So while having a back up in the cloud can be a good thing, having a solid data storage capability for information, entertainment media and local communication is vital.
This document and it's companion post was created to allow a homestead or intentional community access to such a database via a non internet WLAN or Wireless Local Area Network.
Using a home server/router combination in conjunction with repeaters and older cell phones, tablets and/or laptops allows for a system where information still remains in the pocket or hand without having to be tied to the internet or the main system 'back at the ranch", so to speak.
-Wytchcat, Admin OGWL and Liberal Prepper's groups
Constraints and Strategy
Available equipment will largely determine the topology, but using 2015–2020‑era consumer gear we assume old 802.11n/ac routers, and commonly used network “extenders”. Some or all routers should be upgradable to DD‑WRT for extended capabilities and roles.
Most Impactful Elements to Prioritize:
2.4 GHz as the main data network for distance and foliage penetration.
Directional antennas where possible. Improvised radials (aluminum foil, coat hangers) could be employed to add gain to the omni-directional antennas on most routers. These would serve as the points of connectivity and mounted outdoors.
For a 20‑acre roughly square parcel (~935 ft per side), plan for 3–5 “nodes” plus a central base router to provide additional network services, such as a NAS, Web, Media, etc
Core Technologies
Place a base router + switch at the house. This will provide cabled access to additional network resources / services (see above) that can be housed securely within the structure and provide a “kill switch” for connectivity to said resources.
Topology:
The following topology should provide critical coverage at a house, adjacent workshop/barn, gate/drive, and 1–2 field zones. It is scalable over WDS / repeaters, but bandwidth is halved with each hop.
- Base node (house) One “main” router indoors as gateway.
- One old router or outdoor AP on the roof/eave, set as primary 2.4 GHz AP with omni or directional antenna, channel 1 or 6. Elevate 20–30 ft, clear line of sight in at least one main direction.
- Point‑to‑point “spokes” with a clear line between buildings or poles, configure pairs of old routers as WDS bridge or “wireless bridge” paired on 5 GHz (if available) for backhaul.
Each remote end “spoke” then feeds a local AP on 2.4 GHz for clients. This mimics farm commercial “wireless bridge to shed” products that go 300–500 m with clear line of sight.
Repeater / mesh hops for open areas
Use routers that support WDS/repeater or DD‑WRT “Repeater Bridge” mode to create one or two hops out toward your perimeter. Expect ~50% throughput loss on each hop, which should still be acceptable for sensor traffic and simple web use. Sustained throughput, such as large file transfers will quickly saturate the network, so plan usage accordingly.
Place repeaters halfway between nodes and at the same height (if possible) with weather protection. This will help reduce vertical signal loss.
Minimal viable node count for 20 acres
1 base router in the house
1 outdoor AP on the house.
1 Point to point pair to a barn/workshop (Barn AP there).
1–2 repeater nodes mounted on tall posts or trees in the fields, daisy‑chained from house or barn. That gives a usable “spine” across the property at distances similar to people covering 12–35 acres with multiple outdoor APs or field hubs.
Hardware selection and roles
From typical “old junk box” routers:
Base router: Any decent AC router from last 10 years (e.g., Archer C7‑class) as main NAT/DHCP unit.
Outdoor APs / repeaters: Small N/AC routers with detachable antennas, flashed with DD‑WRT / vendor WDS firmware to enable repeater/bridge modes.
Network extenders
Add cheap / improvised directional / panel antennas where necessary.
Power:
Favor PoE‑capable units where possible, regular mains power, or small solar + battery boxes like those used for remote APs on farms.
Assign roles based on capability:
Good radio with best antenna should be used for the long‑range backhaul / primary roof node.
Lesser capable units should be used for the indoor base station, local APs in buildings, or short repeater hops.
Configuration
Use a single SSID and WPA2 key across all APs so devices roam easily; lock each AP to non‑overlapping 2.4 GHz channels (1, 6, 11).
Turn off DHCP on every node except the gateway router so the LAN is a single flat subnet.
Where applicable, employ whitelisting on all units via MAC filter.
Note that nomenclature will vary between router models, but use:
- “WDS bridge” / “Repeater Bridge” for ethernet ports at a remote location.
- Plain “Repeater” when wireless coverage is the only concern.
Keep hop count as low as possible with no more than 2 wireless hops from base to farthest client if possible.
Disable remote admin from WAN, use strong admin passwords, MAC filtering, and store offline backups of configs and firmware.
Physical placement and survivability
Height is might! Height and line‑of‑sight matter more than raw router power; tests on farms and acreages consistently show greater gains simply from mounting APs high and outside.
Use weatherproof boxes, UV‑resistant cabling, and drip loops. Electrical tape is your friend.
Employ surge protection where possible.
In a grid‑down scenario, prioritize the most critical nodes (rooftop gateway + 1–2 spine nodes) from a 12 V battery bank and small solar panel, which matches what off‑grid farms do with remote APs and cameras.
A downloadable PDF version of the article can be found here
