Changing my wireless router - questions

beer enigma

Hi,

As far as wireless is concerned, mine is plugged in and working - my knowledge doesn't go much further.

I have a Netopia 3347W 802.11b router, but suffer from poor signal in certain parts of the house - close to the router I get 11Mb ? but downstairs anything between 2 & 4 (does that make sense ).

I'm looking at purchasing the Netgear RangeMax Wireless ADSL Modem/Router DG834PN from Argos - it claims to eliminate poor signal issues (within reason).

My questions are:

1) I have a standard 4 bed house - normall walls - is the netgear router/modem likely to make a significant difference. (says something about mimo technology)

2) whats the difference between 802.11b & 802.11g

3) it retails for €149.99 - does this sound reasonable.

Sorry for so many questions, but I figured this was probably the best place for answers.

Cheers

Andi

3)

dub45

Andip wrote:

Hi,

As far as wireless is concerned, mine is plugged in and working - my knowledge doesn't go much further.

I have a Netopia 3347W 802.11b router, but suffer from poor signal in certain parts of the house - close to the router I get 11Mb ? but downstairs anything between 2 & 4 (does that make sense ).

I'm looking at purchasing the Netgear RangeMax Wireless ADSL Modem/Router DG834PN from Argos - it claims to eliminate poor signal issues (within reason).

My questions are:

1) I have a standard 4 bed house - normall walls - is the netgear router/modem likely to make a significant difference. (says something about mimo technology)

2) whats the difference between 802.11b & 802.11g

3) it retails for €149.99 - does this sound reasonable.

Sorry for so many questions, but I figured this was probably the best place for answers.

Cheers

Andi

3)

It is very difficult to predict how any wireless equipment will behave in any particular situation but if you get the Netgear and use it with compatible equipment - very important!!! - you should notice a huge improvement.

To keep things simple 'b' was the first widely available domestic wireless technology - 'g' was the next step and we are now at 'n' although the standards for that are in draft form equipment according to the draft is being issued now by manufacturers.

While the netgear model has an n its serial number its not to the 'N' standard.

If you really want to know the difference between 'b' and 'g' do a bit of googling but in essence - the security options are better - its faster though nowhere near the 54Mb claimed - and the signal travels further.

To get the full benefit of the Netgear you will need a matching Mimo card or usb wireless dongle. Dixons of all people had a good deal on such a combination recently it was about 139 euros.

If your laptop already has a 'g' card a basic 'g' wireless router might be sufficient to improve your signal level. The mimo thing is a way of improving signal strength. Make sure you get a model with a built in modem.

beer enigma

Cheers - much appreciated...its very easy to make an 'expensive' mistake in this area .

Thanks again

beer enigma

Ok - I bit the bullet and bought a new router that is capable of the new mimo 802.11n1 draft standard.

Whilst i've noticed a huge improvement in speed from my old 802.11b, there's very little difference in signal strength.

Is this because I'm using it with my laptop which has the 802.11g card in it ?? If I invest in an n1 usb adapter - will is increase the range of the router or is this liekly to be just the structure of my house ?

ta

Andi

thebman

USB adapters usually have an extension cable with them so you can tangle them move them closer to the router but I don't know if on its own, it will improve the coverage.

We have Linksys Wireless adapter that works over USB with an aerial on it and we get great coverage from it.

beer enigma

brim4brim wrote:

USB adapters usually have an extension cable with them so you can tangle them move them closer to the router but I don't know if on its own, it will improve the coverage.

We have Linksys Wireless adapter that works over USB with an aerial on it and we get great coverage from it.

Yah - I already have a Belkin USB adapter 802.11g & that gives the same coverage as the inbult 'g' adapter...just wondering as this new 'n1' standard (albeit draft) claims to increase coverage, will it only do so when ur using both an 'n1' router & 'n1' adapter

mick.fr

2 weeks ago I have bought a Linksys (Cisco) router 802.11n, model WRT300N from PCWORLD in Blanch. I paid 119 euro as far as I remember.
This thing is brilliant, I have an incredible range (Over 50m) and it is very fast.
I can use my laptop in any room of my house without lose of signal quality, works in my garden very well also. (The router is situated on the front room of my house).


To get full speed you would need a 802.11n NIC but my laptop has a 802.11G controller, and this is working perfectly fine and fast. So it means my laptop can only get 54MB of speed. But unless you have to transfer huge files (Over 10GB) over your Lan or Internet, 54MB is great anyway.

802.11n is compatible with 802.11G and B, plus from a security point of vue it handles WPE/WPA 1/2 Home and WPA 1/2 Enterprise.
At home I am using WPA2 Home.

Highly recommended !

Details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11

dub45

Andip wrote:

Ok - I bit the bullet and bought a new router that is capable of the new mimo 802.11n1 draft standard.

Whilst i've noticed a huge improvement in speed from my old 802.11b, there's very little difference in signal strength.

Is this because I'm using it with my laptop which has the 802.11g card in it ?? If I invest in an n1 usb adapter - will is increase the range of the router or is this liekly to be just the structure of my house ?

ta

Andi

What model router did you buy? It really is impossible to know in advance what the performance of wireless equipment will be. However as your speed has improved why are you worrying about the signal strength? The obvious USB adaptor to get in these cases is the matching manufacturer's but it may be money wasted if you are getting improved speeds already.

beer enigma

dub45 wrote:

What model router did you buy? It really is impossible to know in advance what the performance of wireless equipment will be. However as your speed has improved why are you worrying about the signal strength? The obvious USB adaptor to get in these cases is the matching manufacturer's but it may be money wasted if you are getting improved speeds already.

My main issue was always coverage rather than speed.....

I have a 2Mb UTV line in & to be honest - its fine for most stuff. My router is located just where the phone line comes in (my wife's office) & it would be difficult to move it as it also acts as a hub for my Brother Network printer etc.

I tend to work at the opposite end of the house & the signal was down to one bar - also use an internet radio & that drops in and out.

I bought the Belkin 802.11n http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=273526 which as I say improves speed & I now get two bars, but was hoping for a lot more. My laptop has a 'g' card & I've also tried with a Belkin 'g' usb - same results.

The N1 adapters are quite expensive & if it only serves to improve speed, then it would be a waste - however, if by using an n1 adapter it will increase signal strength for the laptop, it will be worth it. The internet radio I can move !