Extending My Wireless Network to Nearby Building - OS X

[#1]

-REPOST FROM WIRELESS NETWORKING-
Hi all. I have spent the last few days trying to figure out the best way to do this on my own without asking but I have come to no conclusion.
Can someone please help me out?
GOAL:
-Extend my Home wifi network to my office which is situated 50 metres from my router in my home. Sharing internet and a network Hard Drive in either my home or office.
HURDLES: -
I am running Mac OS X
-I have 3 Concrete walls between the router (TG585v7)and my office. 1/. My home wall, 2/.the externall wall of the office block wich houses the office next to mine. And the dividing wall between this office and mine.
NOTES: I have tested out the signal with my iphone and it JUUUUUUST gets to my office and is quite strong in the office next to mine.
I need this to be as strong as possible because it's for a business internet connection.
SOLUTIONS:
-Wireless repeater? I have heard these are a nightmare to set up and with a Mac will only complicate things. Thoughts?
-Wireless Bridge? As above.
-Apple Airport Express unit plugged in to my office (hoping that this gets a better reception than my iphone did.
I can also plug it into the office next door as a last resort, but I did want to use the airport express to act as a print server in the office if I could.
I also noted that the Thomson supports WDS...will this make it easier/more robust network. And how do I flash back to the factory firmware to get this option given I am running a MAC.
Does anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks guys. It's my first post, and a quite a detailed and complicated one really! But its crucial for my new business.
Hope to hear from someone soon.

[#2]

are you on the same power supply, down to the fuse box?  if so you could use power line connect.   Is it possible to run a Cat5 cable from your house to office,  100 metres should be OK on Ethernet.
Oh and welcome to the Forum.
When they wake up lots of experts on that sort of problem here

[#3]

Depending on finance you could look at something like this http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=4535

[#4]

If as you say this is vital to the business - would it not be better to get a dedicated ADSL circuit into the office, and then you can perhaps try extending the home circuit as a backup.
Again if it is a vital business requirement - rather than spending time yourself, may be better to employ local experts to do it - and spend your time working on what you know best ?.
P-P adjacent buildings can be  on different phases of the 3 phase supply , especially into commercial premises ( to spread the load ) so that might not work - and I not sure of the range of that option ?.

[#5]

Hi all. Thanks for your replies.
I dont think I will have to option to run the network through the power cables. It'll be a bit tricky explaining that to the landlord e.t.c
I live in quite  Rural area and the broadband at home cost me a pretty penny to get the speeds I am getting so I wanted to spread that cost so it could help my startup business - Cut Costs basically.
That rules out the 5 mile line of site option at 495 quid I am afraid!
I am wondering if I should just bite the bullet and get an airport express and place it in the Adjacent office (as the signal is actually quite strong in there) and see if this then sends a strong signal to my laptop in the next rooom??? I'd then have the portability of the A Express when I am working on location e.t.c.
Thoughts on this. Has anyone used their Airport express like this and which one should I get the cheaper 802.11g or the 802.11n???
Thanks.

[#6]

the 11N spec has not yet been ratified and there are different flavours of it available.  But the 11N runs at a higher power than the 11G

[#7]

If there's no way you can run a dedicated cable between the two sites then your best solution is probably two dedicated wireless access points (APs) using externally mounted unidirectional aerials.
Which APs and aerials to use will depend on a number of things such as what other wireless links are active in the locality and whether the use of 5Ghz  might be preferable to 2.4Ghz. 5Ghz can be better for line-of-sight external links as it's less prone to disruption by rain and mist etc.
Senao (amongst others) make dedicated kit for these scenarios.
As others have said - if your business is at all dependent on this link then you may have to be prepared to spend a bit on it, and it might be better to call in a professional. Can you recover some of the cost by selling spare bandwidth to someone else?

[#8]

I have just been outside and it looks like I could run a dedicated cable to the site given that the Telephone line runs from my house and past thew window of my office. I could piggyback on this line.
Then all I will need is a cheap access point. (I have an old Netgear Wireless router here).
Next question. Where is the most 'cost effective place to get about 50-70 or so metres of network cable and what should I look for in a cable so  that it can withstand the elements of a North England Winter!
Thanks.

[#9]

This is one possible source as they will make patch cables up to any length http://www.netshop.co.uk/productslist.aspx?CategoryID=56233&onspecialoffer=False
From the same place external and external armoured
http://www.netshop.co.uk/productcategorydetail.aspx?CategoryID=51540&onspecialoffer=False

[#10]

Quote from: LuthersBoots

Next question. Where is the most 'cost effective place to get about 50-70 or so metres of network cable and what should I look for in a cable so  that it can withstand the elements of a North England Winter!

You'll need external grade (polyethylene sheathed) cat5 cable which is a bit more expensive than ordinary patch cable (unless relaying it every few years or so isn't a problem ). One source is http://www.homestead.co.uk/productcategorydetail.aspx?CategoryID=51012. Depending on whether the cable is likely to be exposed to rats or birds, or could be subject to being disturbed or having things being dropped on it, you may want to consider armoured cable for extra peace of mind (eg http://www.homestead.co.uk/productcategorydetail.aspx?categoryid=54706). Again, it all comes down to how essential this link is to your business.
For more sources just Google for external cat5, or armoured cat5. If you have a local friendly electrician it might be worth having a word to see if (s)he can get discounted cable supplies.

[#11]

Thanks everyone. I'll get cracking on these options.

[#12]

UPDATE.
I have ordered a kit that wil include 100m of cat5 panels and ports for wither end. Patch cables and tools e.t.c
I have a spare netgear wirless hub from an old AOL subscription, and I plugged a network cable into ethernet port 2 on the back of my thompson. My powerbook conncted to the new network and internet streamed flawlessly.
Looks fairly straightforward and I'll be installing tomorrow weather permitting.
When it is all set up. Will there be any way I can access 2 x External HD's based in the office when I am at home? And Will I be able to access a network drive plugged into my Thompson at home when I am in the office? It's an iomega Home Media 500gb that I connect to wirlessly using my Powerbook.
Any thoughts?
Thanks again.

[#13]

Yes to all, if the Netgear is a standard access point you should not need to any thing and the DHCP server on the tompson will be issueing IP's in the same subnet to all the PC's and external drives. Problems occur when there are 2 DHCP servers issueing IP's in different subnets and if the Netgear has a DHCP server this need to be switched off.

[#14]

if you have the Money, PC Pro Mag offers the Netgear SRXN3205 router and Vigor 120 modem as the ideal solution

[#15]

PC Pro review http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/security-appliances/251502/netgear-prosafe-wireless-n-ssl-vpn-firewal...