DBS Dish used for Wireless Internet/Networking?

[tedb3rd]

I saw where somebody took a standard 18" DBS dish and removed the LNB. They rigged up the end (where the LNB would be) to hold one of those outdoor antennas that looks like a small square panel.

When I saw it, I was thinking SWEEEEEEEET! Or, "Ar, Ar, Ar" as Tim Allen would say. But would that really make a difference vs. just mounting the panel per the instructions? Then, how do you aim to the other access point while adjusting for offset, etc?

I would have asked somebody except for we were on vacation out/town and I saw it on a building up at the top of a mountain... they had antennas and all kinds of communication stuff.

Anyways. I just thougt it was cool and wondered if anybody had ever experimented with this and/or noticed a difference in signal strength. Afterall, I've got a spare dish in the garage! :D

[FTA Michael]

The dish is a parabola, period. Anything that it reflects will be concentrated at its focal point(s). Positioning the access point and pointing it correctly might be tricky, but there's no reason it wouldn't work.

[lukep10]

it's pretty easy to do, you can get up to a seven mile range out of an 18" dish!

[kevinturcotte]

How exactly would you go about doing this?