My router can't seem to reach the garage up the hill....is there a way to boost it with more...hunh hunh, grunt...power? Or can I put a extension on the antenna and hang it outside closer to where I need it?

What brand is it, I know I have seen range extenders from Linksys and others. You could run a cable out to that part of the house or at least a little closer and put another access point out there.

QUOTE (skline @ Dec 27 2004, 07:25 PM)

What brand is it, I know I have seen range extenders from Linksys and others. You could run a cable out to that part of the house or at least a little closer and put another access point out there.

LINKSYS wireless B or G?

Let me know and when I come up to get the trailer, we can pull a cable out there. Access points are cheap nowadays. You could add one out in your garage and have excellent coverage. We could even set up you WEP encryption so your neighbors cant leach your bandwidth or hack into your computers.

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Dec 27 2004, 06:26 PM)

QUOTE (skline @ Dec 27 2004, 07:25 PM) What brand is it, I know I have seen range extenders from Linksys and others. You could run a cable out to that part of the house or at least a little closer and put another access point out there. LINKSYS wireless B or G?

It could be an 802.11a also. Its most likely a B or G, G being the most current and most popular. The B is limited to 11Mb and the G is 54 so it seems to be gaining in populatriy.

It's a "B"....

BTW...Scott, Moms needs a Word processing program....looks like she lost her recovery disc on her move from Mexico after the hubbie died...can ya help her out? Windows 98....

If you want to fart around with some aluminum foil go here:
Freeantennas

Search for wireless repeater. Here is some info from the Linksys site.

linksys

"For even more versatility, the Wireless Access Point can act as a Repeater. If you're already using one WAP11, you can extend your wireless network's range by installing a second one that ""bounces"" received data further down the line. The repeating Access Point can be installed nearly anywhere, because it works entirely by radio -- no data cable is necessary."

I just bought a non-directional remote antenna (not a repeater) for my dlink but it did not help. I plan on returning it for a directional antenna and see how it does.

Running cat5/coax closer to where you want your signal will also work. If you move your wireless access point to the roof of your garage up a hill it still might work at the house, and the entire neighborhood.

-Jeff

The ideal solution would be to pull Cat5 from your main router and then install another WAP up the hill, as mentioned above. But that is a PITA...

I recently used the Linksys High-Gain antennas in the wife's office and they seemed to give a very minor but noticable boost. Not really worth the $ overall unless you are right on the "margin" of having a workable signal, like more more wall or corner to get past.

At home I used the Linksys Range Extender which does boost the signal a lot as perceived by the 'puters. My laptop downstairs is showing 93% and the router is upstairs behind a closed door.

Depending on budget my network geek buddies have told me there is pro Cisco equipment (vs Cisco-Linksys) that can cover much larger areas with fewer boxes & antennas but $$$

QUOTE (campbellcj @ Dec 27 2004, 08:16 PM)

The ideal solution would be to pull Cat5 from your main router and then install another WAP up  the hill, as mentioned above. But that is a PITA... I recently used the Linksys High-Gain antennas in the wife's office and they seemed to give a very minor but noticable boost.  Not really worth the $ overall unless you are right on the "margin" of having a workable signal, like more more wall or corner to get past. At home I used the Linksys Range Extender which does boost the signal a lot as perceived by the 'puters.  My laptop downstairs is showing 93% and the router is upstairs behind a closed door. Depending on budget my network geek buddies have told me there is pro Cisco equipment (vs Cisco-Linksys) that can cover much larger areas with fewer boxes & antennas but $$$

That would be the Aironet line, that is what I installed at the port of Long Beach for Pier G back about 8 years ago. Cisco bought them shortly after that. Great stuff, big bucks. 26 access points to cover about 2 square miles. Worked ok. As for your Mom, Mike, no problem, I can fix her up with something. I will send you a PM.

I used to get fairly common dropouts with my Wireless B card... I tried a high gain antenna/range extender, but it didn't work worth beans. Then I upgraded to a Wireless G card... and configured it to my Wireless B router. Dropoffs have greatly reduced. It's very workable now. I can even take my laptop out to the car when I'm working on it.

So... IMHO, the "easy" way to extend your range is to upgrade your access point and wireless card to "G" and for about $200 you'll have a "simple" solution.

Good luck!

Carlos

Yeah, get a Linksys G and a new wireless card. And I bet it will be more like $130, or less.

QUOTE (Red-Beard @ Dec 28 2004, 03:41 AM)

Yeah, get a Linksys G and a new wireless card. And I bet it will be more like $130, or less.

James is right, the price has come down so far on those, it is almost cost effective. Sure beats running a cable through a wall. The only drawback is they run at 2.4 GHz, the same as most common cordless phones. The 802.11a runs at 5.3 GHz so its not affected by cordless phone, flourescent lights and microwave ovens. The alternative would be to go with the 802.11g and switch your phones to the 5.3 GHz range. That is what I did. The 802.11a is still pretty expensive because it is what the government uses and larger companies.

LOL, I bought a wireless router (2wire) off evil-bay but I'm afraid to set it up because I don't know if iI can make it work or not. My wired modem is working good and I doan wanna screw up a gud thing.
One of these days I'll try it. I have the CD from SBC, hopefully that's all I'll need.

Bought the Linksys extended range antenna....cheap at 29.95....of course the fargin cable is down, the software won't load....but hey, I saved money on my Geico Insurance.....