I have a telephone line in my barn and receive internet service from my phone company. What would it take to have wifi in the barn?
Ethernet cable, modem and a router?
Do you have lightning protection on the barn, if not that must be addressed or your investment may go poof.
how far is the house from the barn?
we just bought a ‘booster’ for our barn. It just boots the signal from the house wifi and works fine.
It just plugs in, but initial set up was a bit of pita for a non-tech savvy person.
Pretty sure it would need to be a separate line and number from the house internet for stand alone DSL
Otherwise, a CAT6 cable from the house modem and wireless router in the barn will work.
[QUOTE=csaper58;8934895]
Ethernet cable, modem and a router?
Do you have lightning protection on the barn, if not that must be addressed or your investment may go poof.[/QUOTE]
A surge protector is an inexpensive way to address it, if the router is being plugged into an electrical supply in the barn.
[QUOTE=airhorse;8935005]
Pretty sure it would need to be a separate line and number from the house internet for stand alone DSL
Otherwise, a CAT6 cable from the house modem and wireless router in the barn will work.[/QUOTE]
I didn’t need a separate line. We branched off main line. Have wifi/dsl and a phone line in the barn attached to my indoor arena. The house has the main phone line and dsl. So, I have one phone line and two separate dsl’s. Same phone number rings in tack room 1/5 of mile from house.
I ran phone wires in the trench for electricity and water from house to indoor when we build arena and barn. This is how the phone company did the dsl: branched off of main number at junction box at back of garage, hooked up wires that go to arena. At indoor, created phone jack in tack room. Connected dsl. Phone company was required for installation and dsl hook up. Believe we pay $20 for the second dsl.
I just got a booster so that I could use wi-fi security cameras inside of my barn.
The booster literally just plugged into the wall and took <1 min to set up on the computer. The wi-fi signal isn’t perfect (it’s still tough deep inside of the metal barn), but then the booster is really only 30 feet closer to the barn, which is still another 150 feet away from the house. Works great in my arena and in all but the deepest spots in the barn.
If you wanted real, legit, solid wi-fi access, though, I think you’d have to do what Color of Light spells out above.
Not trying to sidetrack this thread but for me one of the great things about being in the barn, working with horse is to get around from all of that “stuff”. I only keep my Iphone on me when I need to. 100% focus on what I am doing, no distractions.
I do not allow riders to ride and text, check their phones, FB ect. It can be and has been a dangerous distraction. Things have been over looked because of these distractions. I tell them believe it or not you will find out that life is not so bad not being connected for a little while. You will get over the stress/anxiety given a bit of time.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8935153]
Not trying to sidetrack this thread but for me one of the great things about being in the barn, working with horse is to get around from all of that “stuff”. I only keep my Iphone on me when I need to. 100% focus on what I am doing, no distractions.
I do not allow riders to ride and text, check their phones, FB ect. It can be and has been a dangerous distraction. Things have been over looked because of these distractions. I tell them believe it or not you will find out that life is not so bad not being connected for a little while. You will get over the stress/anxiety given a bit of time.[/QUOTE]
Agreed, though I do carry my phone on me at all times as I usually am riding alone.
But our barn has wifi for the following purposes:
-Cameras monitoring the ring, outside gate (if someone needs to be buzzed in), and also a stall in case a horse is sick.
-Boarders who can work remotely will sometimes come and set up their work stuff, then groom/tack/work a little as needed, then have their lesson. It’s not ideal but they’re busy so oh well.
-At a previous barn we had it for the above reasons plus there was a barn apartment, and we hosted shows, which would have sucked without wifi.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8935153]
Not trying to sidetrack this thread but for me one of the great things about being in the barn, working with horse is to get around from all of that “stuff”. I only keep my Iphone on me when I need to. 100% focus on what I am doing, no distractions.
I do not allow riders to ride and text, check their phones, FB ect. It can be and has been a dangerous distraction. Things have been over looked because of these distractions. I tell them believe it or not you will find out that life is not so bad not being connected for a little while. You will get over the stress/anxiety given a bit of time.[/QUOTE]
For me, one of the greatest things for me and other people being in the barn and around horses is to be safe. Cell phones do not work consistently well on phone calls aside from in the main doorway. Texts would get stuck. Forget about phone calls or texting inside the warm tack room, and you can count on your phone call getting dropped at least 50% of the time inside the arena, or outside on certain sides of the building. The land line is 100% reliable.
The other thing that is important for me is to have music. I find all sorts of upbeat, beat driven music quite motivating. The barn stereo has bluetooth, and I have speakers mounted high in the aisle. The stereo inside the indoor is pre-bluetooth, so I purchased a bluetooth audio adapter for $50. We also transfer this to the outdoor arena stereo. Now I can Pandora or itunes anywhere inside the barn and arena. I even have a bluetooth speaker so I can have music while working elsewhere on the property. Thats how much I love music. 
Lastly, there are many times when I need to access the internet while I am in the barn. This has saved me unbelievable time and money. Otherwise, I’d be driving to my house or office to access information. In minutes I can conduct business and then go back to horsing around. :yes:
I agree about the distractions. When I’m in the barn, I have a schedule and goals I need to meet. The keep the ringer on my phone off unless I am expecting a call. I rarely text people while in the barn, especially since I’d have to stop and whip my gloves off. I request that people sustain from texting, snap chatting and other social media while in the barn to they are aware of their surroundings…for safety reasons.
[QUOTE=PNWjumper;8935115]
I just got a booster so that I could use wi-fi security cameras inside of my barn.
The booster literally just plugged into the wall and took <1 min to set up on the computer. The wi-fi signal isn’t perfect (it’s still tough deep inside of the metal barn), but then the booster is really only 30 feet closer to the barn, which is still another 150 feet away from the house. Works great in my arena and in all but the deepest spots in the barn.
If you wanted real, legit, solid wi-fi access, though, I think you’d have to do what Color of Light spells out above.[/QUOTE]
Hmmm
I have been wondering about this. Barn is not more than 100 feet from house but metal siding so was not sure it would work. This gives me hope
[QUOTE=horsecents;8934885]
I have a telephone line in my barn and receive internet service from my phone company. What would it take to have wifi in the barn?[/QUOTE]
DSL service is the best option if you’re close enough to a Telco central office for it to work.
You might consider a wireless connection from the barn to the house that uses the internet connection in the house. Then this goes to a wireless network that serves the barn area. The type of connection from the barn to house depends on the situation.
[QUOTE=Reynard;8935040]
A surge protector is an inexpensive way to address it, if the router is being plugged into an electrical supply in the barn.[/QUOTE]
That is what the surge protectors are supposed to do, but we’ve had them fail.
Perhaps they were defective or an inferior product. I would just encourage the OP if s/he invests in expensive equipment, or leaves fans or other barn tools plugged in, to get the best protection available.
The last place I would want wifi is in my barn. Who knows how sensitive horses are to EMF’s in close proximity - especialy if the wifi is ‘on’ all the time. We’re already getting bombared with EMF’s everywhere else, so why add more? I’m thankful my barn is in a solitary location where there is some relief from them, as minimal as it might be.
[QUOTE=danacat;8937932]
The last place I would want wifi is in my barn. Who knows how sensitive horses are to EMF’s in close proximity - especialy if the wifi is ‘on’ all the time. We’re already getting bombared with EMF’s everywhere else, so why add more? I’m thankful my barn is in a solitary location where there is some relief from them, as minimal as it might be.[/QUOTE]
Tinfoil hats for horses, a new product idea!
:lol: :lol: :lol:
[QUOTE=Crockpot;8935421]
Hmmm
I have been wondering about this. Barn is not more than 100 feet from house but metal siding so was not sure it would work. This gives me hope[/QUOTE]
Our barn is 200’+ from the house and the regular router, still in the house, works fine with the laptop in the barn as in the house?
It is password protected, so no other device can access it, so use a computer or laptop or whatever that is synchronized with it.
You ought to try it first, you may have service there already without doing anything at all.
I’m WiFi ing their brains right now. Makes em round up better.
[QUOTE=DHCarrotfeeder;8938527]
Tinfoil hats for horses, a new product idea![/QUOTE] “I’m WiFi ing their brains right now. Makes em round up better.”
Some people do take WiFi pollution very seriously because it’s three times stronger than cell phone radiation. A dozen countries (not the USA) have either banned or reduced the use of wifi in schools.
We simply do not know the absolute long term detrimental effects of wifi – not yet – but someday we will. But in the meantime, why take a chance? What if the tin foil hat people are right?
So far, researchers have found that low-quality and industry-funded studies tended not to associate wifi exposure with a heightened risk of tumors, etc. while high-quality and foundation or public-funded studies usually found the opposite result.
[QUOTE=danacat;8937932]
The last place I would want wifi is in my barn. Who knows how sensitive horses are to EMF’s in close proximity - especialy if the wifi is ‘on’ all the time. [/QUOTE] A fear promoted without any numbers is called bogus or junk science. Worry more about EMF from AC wires that power heavy machinery and lights.
Wifi is even many times less than what a cell phone radiates. Obviously. Wifi is for a hundred feet. Cell phones must transmit for over 10,000 feet.
Of far greater concern is currents in earth. These can even kill four legged animals. In one case, a farmer was suffering significantly reduced milk production. An earth ground that should surround a barn had failed. So currents going left to right in earth were going up cows hind legs and down fore legs.
In some cases, lightning striking a tree some 30 meters distant also killed cows. Again, because that lightning current was passing through earth. It used cows as part of a three mile connection.
Protective earth ground, that must exist in a barn, must also exist so that a protector can protect all electronics in a barn. Plug-in protectors have no such low impedance connection to earth. Wifi protector must connect low impedance to that barn’s single point earth ground - that is best when it surrounds that barn.
