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Wireless expander

post #1 of 13
3/30/07 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
What is the best thing for me to get that will expand my wireless range? I use a Wireless Linksys router, so I'd prefer to stick with Linksys.

Is this the way to go?
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=7813839789B66

I need G and B support and I want to place it where there is no phone connection. Am I looking at the right device?

p.s. As far as the back story goes: My wireless router is on the second level in my home. On the first level, if I'm in the living room (which is directly beneath the room with the router), the signal is excellent.

When I get into the kitchen (which is on the first level and further away from the upstairs router) the signal drops to "very good", which is fine, but every now and then I lose the signal for a few seconds. I assume this is due to the range and some other interference. If I go into the living room, I never lose the signal, so it must be those few extra yards that do the trick.
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post #2 of 13
3/30/07 at 5:44pm

Re: Wireless expander

Well, my first inclination is to upgrade the antenna first. It's may be less expensive but more importantly it's a more simple solution.

Something like a higher gain 9dBi rubber duck antenna should suffice if your single is only dropping every once in a while: http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?...cat=282&page=1
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post #3 of 13
3/30/07 at 6:00pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Wireless expander

Yeah, I thought about that, but a bunch of people talked me out that route. I've never dealt with range extenders so I just took their word on it.
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post #4 of 13
3/31/07 at 5:55am

Re: Wireless expander

I stumbled across this possible solution: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/r...ret=b727c3e5d7 But I haven't had the time to mess with it yet.
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post #5 of 13
3/31/07 at 7:49am

Re: Wireless expander

Interesting Dave. I never knew routers could be "tricked out". Unfortunately, my old linksys router doesn't appear on the table of supported routers.

Mark, the antenna can make all the difference. I have the same issue you have. My router is on my top floor. I get significant degradation when I go to the basement. I have 4 computers on my network with varying quality antennas. I get the best reception with my Toshiba Satellite laptop that has a built in antenna. If you use the solution that Dave linked to, be sure to let us know how it works.

Jeff
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post #6 of 13
3/31/07 at 8:21am
Thread Starter 

Re: Wireless expander

Oh, is that antenna (that Tekara linked) for the router or the wireless card?
Quote:
I get significant degradation when I go to the basement. I have 4 computers on my network with varying quality antennas. I get the best reception with my Toshiba Satellite laptop that has a built in antenna.
My wireless card doesn't use an antenna.

My router is on that list that Dave posted, but I'm a bit uneasy about going that route.
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post #7 of 13
3/31/07 at 11:25am

Re: Wireless expander

Quote:
but I'm a bit uneasy about going that route.
That's what I meant by not having enough time to mess with it (something going wrong).
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post #8 of 13
4/1/07 at 5:40am

Re: Wireless expander

Mark. Your wireless card does have an antenna. It is just built into the end and can't be changed. You would need a whole new wireless card to improve the antenna.
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post #9 of 13
4/1/07 at 7:33am

Re: Wireless expander

Quote:
Originally Posted by drobbins
I stumbled across this possible solution: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/r...ret=b727c3e5d7 But I haven't had the time to mess with it yet.
I saw either this, or some hack offering the same exact thing, on the Screen Savers several years ago. I tried it with a friend who was having problems because his router was in the basement. We set it to whatever Kevin Rose suggested, and it has worked like a charm. I don't have a linksys router, so I can't test it here.

I'm not 100% if it's the same exact hack though, since it's been a few years. I do remember the firmware we used put a mini version of linux on his router. And I know we didn't put the standard version back over it, like it's suggesting in the link above. I also know it gives you a ton of additional features that we didn't use or look at. The hack was so popular, Linksys even came out with a router that had linux preinstalled, the WRT54GL (article).

When you check that router out at Newegg, several reviewers will suggest you to install some custom firmware. It's not nearly as dangerous as it sounds, as long as you only change the one setting to a safe number.
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post #10 of 13
4/1/07 at 9:40am

Re: Wireless expander

Well I got spunky this morning and tried the firmware hack. It was straight forward and I had only one issue. After the first upgrade it changes the user name in the log in to "root". Had I read this message the first time it came up, it would have saved about 1/2 hour time. Anyway all went well. My daughters computer is the furthest from the router. Before it got about "good" signal. Now it is "excellent"
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post #11 of 13
4/1/07 at 11:20am
Thread Starter 

Re: Wireless expander

Hmmm, sounds tempting now. I'll have to try it later.

Question: Which hack did you download? I see that Linksys has firmware upgrades on their site...should I try that first? I have the WRT54G router (Firmware Version: v3.03.9) and here is the page that shows the firware upgrade:
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=0997400349B03

The firmware is version 8, so should this be enough? or do I still need to do the 'hack'. I'm a bit lost as to which hack I download and how to use it.

Any ideas?

Thanks


p.s. I have a wireless B-Bridge (for my ReplayTV) and a wireless G-Music bridge (for my receiver) as well as the wireless G network card (in my laptop) on my network, so I want to be sure that any modification will work with all three (different) devices on my network.
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post #12 of 13
4/1/07 at 12:32pm

Re: Wireless expander

I have the WRT54G router with v2.2. Before hand I wrote down all my settings. I downloaded dd-wrt.v23 sp1 mini.zip & dd-wrt.v23 sp1 standard.zip. After unzipping them, I used the "generic.bin" firmware. Install the "mini" first then the "standard". Once installed go to the wireless advanced settings tab and change the "Xmit Power" setting to 70. After putting my other settings back, I did not have to touch the other computers. The firmware only effected the out-put, not the encryption settings, so I would assume that your other devices will work fine. The only thing that I could see that might confuse you is the time setting. It is in UTC
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post #13 of 13
4/2/07 at 5:50am

Re: Wireless expander

Wireless cards, especially for laptops, always get abysmal reception. That is because they have a tiny little antenna at the end there that simply due to the laws of physics will never be as good as something the proper size.

There are wireless cards for laptops that have antenna connectors on them to which one can then connect a proper "whip" antenna. Those will also help improve things quite considerably.

Of course, they aren't nearly as unobtrusive.
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