Travel Technology - Increase range of wireless?

I've searched and read a few threads on this subject, but none seem to answer my question directly. Basically the situation is that our existing wireless signal does not hit all corners of the house (namely the signal drops off right outside my room). I've looked into a few solutions- the d-link DWL-G800AP wireless range extender, the Netgear powerline wireless range extender WGXB102, or simply buying a couple of the new Buffalo Wireless-G MIMO performance routers and setting one of them up as an access point in the middle of the house.

SInce I am not well versed in the field of wireless networking, what would you say is the better solution?

If you can buy it from a place that will let you return easily, you might try the Linksys Range Expander. The latest version -- version 3 -- is very stable and does a good job. MOst of the cheap ones on eBay are version 1s which don't work as well and don't play nicely with version 3 (should you decide to get two).

It says it only supports other Linksys products but I suspect that's more of an issue of they don't want to be called when your cross-brand boxes don't work together. OfficeMax and Walmart have them for ~$80; either would allow a return.

If you can buy it from a place that will let you return easily, you might try the Linksys Range Expander. The latest version -- version 3 -- is very stable and does a good job. MOst of the cheap ones on eBay are version 1s which don't work as well and don't play nicely with version 3 (should you decide to get two).

It says it only supports other Linksys products but I suspect that's more of an issue of they don't want to be called when your cross-brand boxes don't work together. OfficeMax and Walmart have them for ~$80; either would allow a return.


Do you know how the Linksys compares to say, the Belkin (http://http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5D7132-Wireless-G-Universal-Extender/dp/B000FTLOL0/ref=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_i/002-3960273-8337641)? Belkin seems to be a lot cheaper and at least on Amazon, has better reviews.

Buy a powerline ethernet adapter to make ethernet available in your room, and then hook a wireless gateway to the ethernet connection to have wireless in your room. Problem solved.

What are you running now?

If your laptop is not using a longer range wireless, just getting a $20 card for it may make all the difference.

If your laptop is running a longer range card but your router isn't, then changing the router may make the difference.

Try moving the router a bit or changing the direction of the antenna, if the signal is that close, that's all you may need.

I ended up getting an access point and wiring it to the other side of the house when I wanted to extend.

Take a look at this thread for my solution:

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=725986

THanks to all for all the help...I decided to go with getting the Buffalo router and setting it up as an access point in the middle of the house. After hours of dicking around and finally calling tech support (nice that Buffalo has 24/7 reps), it now works and I can happily have fast internet in my room.

It seems as though internet is one of my basic survival needs...I don't know how I would have survived 2 weeks of having to move to the den to use it! :eek: :D

AP with I think WDS are the ones which you can easily turn into repeaters.

Also many of the Buffalo AP have replaceable antennas. I replaced the original antenna with a nice new 7 dB antenna ($7), added WW-DRT (free) and doubled my usable range.

MisterNice

AP with I think WDS are the ones which you can easily turn into repeaters.
The issue with WDS is that your throughput is cut in half -- not good for large file movement in your home network. And a lot of manufacturer implementations have very flaky (or can't handle) WPA-PSK TKIP protection.

The issue with WDS is that your throughput is cut in half -- not good for large file movement in your home network. And a lot of manufacturer implementations have very flaky (or can't handle) WPA-PSK TKIP protection.I've noticed the latter. Why does throughput get cut in half?

After hours of dicking around

I'm a little surprised this got through the censor.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

I would have recommended the airport extreme. It is very reliable and with the aiport expresses they work really well.

I have an old house with really thick brick walls and I tried all the different routers from lynksys to netgear. I used the range extenders but they did not work reliably and they were a pain to set up. I bought an extreme and it covers the whole house. I added the express so I could get a strong signal in our backyard. Anyway I really like the airport.

added WW-DRT (free) and doubled my usable range.
I've been thinking about flashing my Buffalo AP with WW-DRT. What feature(s) of WW-DRT are most compelling for you?