Wi Fi

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Mark T

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I am thinking of buying an ADSL wireless router because the only telephone point is downstairs, which means I have to run a cable through the house to go online. I really just wanted some opinions from anyone who has used or has one of these at home.

The main thing that I'm worried about is whether there will be any interference on the signal. I play games online and can't have the signal being disrupted.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated

Pimp T
 
I use wi fi and have no complaints, but I also have a cable connection. I have used it a distances up to maybe 100 feet and even though the indicator says the connection speed is very low everything loads pretty fast.
 
You need a good WiFi system to be able to keep up with the speed that games require. Even the best WiFi out there might not cut it.
 
get a good 802.11g wifi setup but avoid Linksys and Network Everywhere like the plague. In one year, 4 of them died on me completely because Linksys doesn't have very good tolerances for power in some of their routers. For gaming, the lag isn't really noticeable unless you're with people with already low pings. I personally have an 802.11b setup in my house and I have 2 neighbors with 802.11b. Because of this and the heavy traffic this caused in the 2.4ghz range, things were a bit slow and add in the fact that my neighbors were trying like hell to hack my network and were almost succeeding and well, wifi wasn't exactly a great prospect in those first few days (I exacted revenge and have their WEP keys - I can shut down their network or access their computers whenever I want :D). I later figured out the little perks about wifi and figured out how to get the most out of it in my busy area.

Here's the steps to take:
- change the frequency channel - both of my neighbors have channel 1 selected so I chose 11 to be as far away in the frequency as possible for
- Set a 128bit wep key - the security here is minimal and insanely easy to crack but it's better than nothing at all
- change the SSID to something only you would know (IMPORTANT)
- disable SSID broadcasting (the combination of this and a different SSID name makes it next to impossible for your neighbors to find or enter your network)
- allow only the mac addresses of your equipment. This will make the router kick any device that you don't specify.

I currently have a Microsoft router because the store gave up on me and gave me this one as a replacement - My only gripe is the mediocre range of it's antenna. Aside from that, the router is excellent as long as you don't use the install cd that came with it (I NEVER thought I'd say that about a microsoft product). I only get 400k/sec for data transfer when I'm in my room which is on the 2nd floor of the house (the router is on the basement). When the laptop is in the smae room however, I get about 6-800k/sec. My other wireless cards are about 100k/sec or so faster.
 
Thanks for the help guys, I've decided that I will go for the wireless option. I'll post back here to let you know how I got on with it.

Thanks again

Pimp T
 

One thing i've notcied is that, the signal drops quite a bit when somebody uses a hairdryer or hoover.

Also, take eMad's advice about the security, you don't want people leeching off you. Also try and get a router with a built in nat firewall.
 
Originally posted by Race Idiot

One thing i've notcied is that, the signal drops quite a bit when somebody uses a hairdryer or hoover.

Also, take eMad's advice about the security, you don't want people leeching off you. Also try and get a router with a built in nat firewall.
Click to expand...

Ha, I was using my laptop in the car, no I wasn't driving, and just driving around i found tons of unencrypted networks, most of these people are not to bright.
 
One option would be to wire a new Phone Jack upstairs. Often this 4 wire solution is quick, easy, and less obtrusive than CAT5e installs. In using wireless, keep in mind that your ADSL is more than likely under a 2 megabit connection. Even your wireless b standard is 11 megabits, and your G standard is 54 megabits. This is well over the ADSL capabilities offering more than enough bandwidth to keep up with your connection. If you find that the signal isn't strong enough, you can add antenna's to your router that will be a 4-18db boost depending on what you get.

With a +18db boost, we were able to get a 3 mile connection radius, with optimum performance up to 2 miles. That's a 4 mile diameter or cell range coverage. I don't think you'd have problems in a house.

Hope that helps.
 
From my room (upstairs) to my lounge (downstairs) is around 25m. I could'nt be bothered to run a wire so I thought this would be the easiest solution.

Thanks for all the help
 
Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
Ha, I was using my laptop in the car, no I wasn't driving, and just driving around i found tons of unencrypted networks, most of these people are not to bright.
Click to expand...

I know a guy who managed to successfully connect to 7 wireless networks all from the same building!

But WLAN security is pretty easy, and again emad saved me some typing!

I have found that in order to keep "SSID Broadcast" off, you need to use the same vendor for both the access point and the WLAN cards. At least my 3Com/USRobotics WLAN card can't hang on to the Linksys router without the SSID Broadcast on. Others too have verified this with other brands of hardware.

My Linksys router needs to be reset about once every six months, but otherwise I have had no problems with it. It's interesting, because some I know think Linksys kit is great, and others think it's garbage. Nobody (it seems) is indifferent.

Remember also that Cisco bought Linksys last year, so we should see an increase in the reliability of Linksys kit as Cisco try to penetrate the domestic market. I heard that they were planning on using a version of their Internetworking Operating System (which drives all their Cisco routers) on the Linksys kit.
 
One other question for everyone here, I have seen that there are three types of receivers. One is the PCI version which has a cable with antenna connected. Second is the USB "stick" version. Third is another USB version but is slightly bigger with one aerial connected.

Anyone have any problems with any of these?

Thanks
 
go for whichever is cheaper and easier for you to install. I don't like wireless to ethernet bridges much because they're expensive as hell but they're perfect for my ps2. USB dongles are alright but most have a really small antenna (not a big issue but for longer distances it is). PCI is in general harder to find than USB but costs about the same. The problem with PCI is seen when you have a whole bunch of computers and you are the one forced to install
 
I figured I would bring this thread up instead of creating an entirely new one since it is relavent to my question...

I was wondering if anyone had any product recommendations on how to boost the signal strength of a wireless router. I am having broadband installed sometime next week and tested my new 802.11G Wireless Adapter card(D-Link's DWL-G52) for my computer with my Router(D-Link's DI-624) and noticed that when the router is no less then 5 feet away from the computer the signal strength is great. However, when I proceeded to move the router about 50-100 feet away from my computer I noticed that the signal strength would drop to around 40%.

At this signal strength will gaming online even be a possibility?
Any antennas recommended that I can use to boost the signal on both ends?
Even at a low signal strength as this, would I notice the low speed transfer of 36~40 mbps?
I am also looking for a way to connect our G3 233 Mac to the wireless network so that it can surf the internet via broadband as well without a CAT5 connection.

I would put CAT5 cable through my house but it would be a nightmare to run the cable. I really want to but the parentals don't.
 
Pako
DLink makes various antenne solutions:
http://www.dlink.com/products/category.asp?cid=1

Certainly the greater the dB boost the better, but your budget might pick something different.

As far as your mac goes...does it have Bluetooth built into it? I know my G4 came with some Bluetooth stuff right in it....otherwise, I sure there's a PCI or USB solution available for the Mac:
http://www.dlink.com/products/category.asp?cid=38
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input, Pako. I looked at Dlink's antenna offerings and if we have a speed issue then I will possibly purchase their ANT24-0400. Unfortunately, the Mac G3 233 did not come with Bluetooth and I haven't had much luck in finding a wireless solution for it since it pre-dates Os X. It has the first revision the the G3 processors in it so it is extremely outdated(I even offer to build a new computer for my father who uses it but he doesn't seem to mind using OS 9. I abhor that Operating System.)
 
M77:

I don't hate OS9, though I am aware of its limitations. But for filesharing OSX has additional Windows-like annoyances that really bug the tar out of me. That being said, here's what I'm running at home:
  • G4/450 running OS9.2, with ethernet cable connection to Airport Extreme base station (.g)
  • AEBS is connected to Netopia aDSL modem via ethernet pigtail
These are sitting on a desk in the den, ground floor, back of the house. The AEBS works as a router (it was previously serving as modem also until we went DSL). Upstairs I have the following:
  • iMac G3/266 running OSX, connected by ethernet to a second AEBS (.g)
  • iMac G4/1gz running OSX, with Airport card (.b)
The second AEBS is bridged to the first one so they function as one big antenna. It's located about 50 feet forward and on the second floor. This allows the kids' machines to network with the downstairs machine without the trouble of putting cat 5 all over an existing house. It also shares the aDSL connection to all the machines simultaneously, pretty snappily.

We also have a laptop with an AirPort Extreme card that will pretty much work anywhere in the house or even into the yard a little way. With the two AEBSs bridged I get full strength coverage almost everywhere. Our only problem is that the newer iMac is only .b compatible, not .g, so we don't get full .g speed when it's on.

You should be able to get a second non-Apple wi fi station and hook the Mac up via ethernet cable to it. The Mac won't know the difference and with the other station bridged to the first you should have good reception most places in the house.

Someday I may get a network interface for the PS2 and a new AirPort Express to put the PS2 online...
 
neon_duke
You should be able to get a second non-Apple wi fi station and hook the Mac up via ethernet cable to it. The Mac won't know the difference and with the other station bridged to the first you should have good reception most places in the house.
Click to expand...

Well, I have been looking at an Ethernet to Wireless Bridge like D-Link's DWL-G810. Any Idea as to if this would be similar to the Apple Airbase?
 
That should fit the bill. As I said, the iMac won't know it's not a regular ethernet connection, and this one looks to be self-bridging, meaning it will extend the workable range of your other router.

I'm no expert but my network is running fine (using it now, in fact, typing on the flattop in bed).
 

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