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WiFi range extender

joshofalltradesjoshofalltrades Class TraitorSmoke-filled roomRegistered User regular
edited April 2011 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
My second job has the rather annoying problem of only having one room capable of accommodating a modem/router. The problem is that the building is really large, and this room is on the second floor in a sort of out-of-the-way room. I'm typing this up on my iPad right now, and only one of the wifi signal bars is lit up. Same with my laptop. Sometimes it bumps up to 2 bars, and other times it goes away completely and I have to wait to reconnect.

So, I'm thinking of getting a range extender. I've never had to do this before, and it looks like some of them can get kind of pricey. Does anyone have any experience with these things, and if so, can you recommend one that doesn't cost more than our router?

joshofalltrades on

Posts

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
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    Donovan Puppyfucker on
  • AbracadanielAbracadaniel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    You *could* get a second wifi router and have it act as a repeater

    same result, but you get a spare router out of the deal if you need it, eventually.

    http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Universal_Wireless_Repeater

    Abracadaniel on
  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Can I ask a question here?
    I want to have a second wifi access on my router, for guests, and I don't want them to see my LAN, just internet.
    I think I have it done (i have dd-wrt), but I don't know for sure.

    Stormwatcher on
    Steam: Stormwatcher | PSN: Stormwatcher33 | Switch: 5961-4777-3491
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  • joshofalltradesjoshofalltrades Class Traitor Smoke-filled roomRegistered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Smart Hero wrote: »
    You *could* get a second wifi router and have it act as a repeater

    same result, but you get a spare router out of the deal if you need it, eventually.

    http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Universal_Wireless_Repeater

    Cheers, that seems like a fine solution.

    joshofalltrades on
  • AbracadanielAbracadaniel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Stormwatcher wrote: »
    Can I ask a question here?
    I want to have a second wifi access on my router, for guests, and I don't want them to see my LAN, just internet.
    I think I have it done (i have dd-wrt), but I don't know for sure.

    (where is the question)

    Also, try logging into the guest AP and try to access something on your LAN?

    Abracadaniel on
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Do you see a hit in bandwith if you set up another router as a bridge/extender?

    Currently have my Fios modem in my office connected via cable to my PC. This puts out my wireless etc which everything connects too (laptops wii, cell phones)

    I recently set up a mac mini in my living room as an HTPC and the wireless on it is kind of iffy and would rather have it wired.

    The easiest thing would probably be to just move the router back to the living room and get a wireless adapter for the PC, but those can be hit or miss

    Plus I think i have a spare router in my garage.

    mts on
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  • AbracadanielAbracadaniel Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Stormwatcher wrote: »
    Can I ask a question here?
    I want to have a second wifi access on my router, for guests, and I don't want them to see my LAN, just internet.
    I think I have it done (i have dd-wrt), but I don't know for sure.

    Might wanna check this out

    http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/vip/~3/VIBeoRU_E-Y/run-your-home-network-like-a-coffee-shop

    Abracadaniel on
  • Commander_KeenCommander_Keen Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    If you are interested in a wifi extender i would recommend Ubiquiti Nano station M2. Not the M5. It quadrouples the wifi area of a typical wireless N router. But make sure when you install it to put a WPA password (obviously) because your neighbor down the street is going to see it lol. You can def use the two router bridge system but doing that you automatically loose 35-50% internet bandwidth. Using the ubiquiti method you will keep 100% bandwidth up to 15+ km. thats roughly 49,212 feet. Just plug it into your existing router as if it were a switch.

    Commander_Keen on
  • GihgehlsGihgehls Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Why would adding another router kill up to half of your bandwidth? I've never heard of such a thing.

    Gihgehls on
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  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    read that on the dd-wrt site

    mts on
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  • Commander_KeenCommander_Keen Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Ok correction to my statement. You loose bandwidth if you are using a wireless repeater and connecting to the wireless repeater with another wireless device. The user of the wireless device must make two hops to get to the internet. All the wireless stations are using the same wireless frequency. But only two wireless stations can be transmitting at any given time. So whenever the wireless client is talking to the repeater, the repeater can’t be talking w/ the wireless router, and vice versa. In effect, all communications is serialized, it never happens in parallel (as would be the case w/ wire). As a result, the effective bandwidth is HALVED for the wireless client. Add more repeaters and it’s HALVED again and again.

    Commander_Keen on
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