Wireless broadband setup

jk2001

Hiya,

I have broadband installed here in the house and I currently use one of those ugly green eircom models (well, Alcatell I think they are called). Trouble is I hate being locked away in the spare bedroom when working on the internet - so planning to but a wireless router so I can use my PC and laptop anywhere in the house.

Had a look at this router on Komplett - does this seem to do the job:
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=302439&cks=PRL

As for whatever hardware I need for my PC to recognise the wireless network - what do I need there? I presume there is a USB device of some sort available, or even a PCI card. Anyone got any recommendations here, as I am not sure what is needed for my PC.

Cheers all

-jayo

Karoma

Which OS are you using?
How big is the house? Distance from router to potential areas of use?
How old is the house? How thick are the walls?

http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10279 - Any 802.11g will do the trick. Budget is the main concern when deciding. Preferably, choose a NIC of the same manufacturer of the router if possible. And for best cover: one that allows for an external antenna (That can be changed) - in which case, PCI is generally the better option for the PC. Try for a USB dongle with an antenna also (Chances are, you will be further from the router when using the laptop?)


You can of course purchase and use 802.11b - but it defeats the purpose of having a g router..

jk2001

Thanking you Have placed my order with Komplett, hopefully I will work out how to put it all together.

Cheers
-jayo

Karoma

It'll come with instructions, then there's the manufacturer's website...


so when these fail: you know where the forum is

jk2001

Hehe... thanks for the vote of confidence No doubt I will be back visiting this forum very soon again

Karoma

My bad! That was aimed at the poor quality of documentation of most manufacturer's, and not your ability . Best of luck!

jk2001

Right, I am afraid I still haven't managed to get my wireless router set up

Got it in from Komplett 4 days after ordering. I assumed the Linksys router would also replace my ADSL modem so I was planning to connect the router directly to my eircom broadband socket in the wall.

Trouble is, I finally realised that I still need an ADSL router in order to use my router - and my current ADSL router (looks like a green turtle, made by Alcatel) only has a USB connection - and my Linksys router needs an ethernet (RJ45) connection from the modem.

I guess I need to buy a new modem? I had a look on Kompletts site and I can't seem to find anything that will work for me?

Anyone got any suggestions as to what modem I should get? I am quite happy to order this from either Komplett or Dabs.com as I have pending orders with them both - so I can add the modem to my order.

Cheers again for any help you can give!

-jayo

jackofalltrades

This one here should do everything in one.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=311825&cks=PRL

See if Komplett would swap the other router you bought for it.

jk2001

Cheers my friend.

Trouble is I bought the Linksys about 5 weeks ago - so I have no right to return it in exchange for anything else. I will ask Komplett though but I would expect them to say no.

In that case I will need to find an ADSL modem - having looked on Kompletts site I can't really see what I need. Got any suggestions as to what product I may need? As I said. Dabs.com may have it and if so I will buy it from them.

Thanks again for any help you can give.

-jayo

jackofalltrades

An ADSL modem on its own is not going to be cheap.
Talk to your service prodivder as to getting one with an ethernet port on it.

Otherwise if you can't get some kind of refund/exchange off komplett.ie try selling the linksys router and then buy the router I linked to in my previous post.

jk2001

Cheers my friend, I will look at that product right now.

Do you know if this will work with my current USB Wireless product (http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=306155&cks=ACC) - this one is Linksys but I guess they can still communicate with each other?

-jayo

irlrobins

yep it will work with your linksys usb card.

jk2001

Cheers... I am placing my order now

I will be back once I start having trouble setting it all up hehe

-jayo

jk2001

Hi, me again....

Well, I tried setting up my wireless network last night (all night!!). I have the Billion router set up fine, and it connected to the internet, and when I connect my laptop via ethernet everything works well.

I then set up my Linksys Wireless adapter and I configured that as per the manual. I made sure to set the SSID for both devices to the same name, I disabled all security on both, I chose "Infrastructure" instead of "Ad-hoc".

When I use the Linksys to scan the area it does seem to pick up the signal from the Billion router (signal is 100%), but when I connect I get the error:
"Cannot associate with Appess Point".

Anyone got an idea what that error means? It is a common problem, and is there any other setting I may have overlooked?

Cheers
-jayo

irlrobins

have u any encryption (WEP or WPA) or MAC address filtering turned on on the router?

jk2001

Nope, I made sure to turn the encryption off. I did not pay attention to the MAC address thingy though, I assumed that section was only relevant if you use a MAC.

irlrobins

ah bless ur innocence.

MAC refers to MAC address. Every network device (regardless of make) has an unique number embedded to it. Its therefore possible to use this address to block or permit certain mac addresses. For example in my work LAN, ip addresses are allocated according to your mac address. If you don't register ur mac address you don't get an ip.

Anyway I degress. Its 99% likely that MAC address filtering is not enabled so its not an issue here.

Are you using windows to mange the wireless connection or the linksys software?

jk2001

Ah, right - yea, this is my first go at setting up a network

I use the Linksys software that was provided with the wireless adapter. I am [nearly] sure I managed to set the routher up correctly so I went to the Linksys software to try to establish the connection - it does see my routher but that is where I get the "Cannot associate with Appess Point" error.

jk2001

I also asked Komplett for help with this. They just replied with "Please ensure the router is set to access point mode" - I do not remember seeing this option when I configured the router. Is this a common thing that you have to set when configuring a router?

irlrobins

mmm well as ur able to connect to internet via router using ethernet cable u obviously have the router configuration done ok.

Maybe try updating the wireless card and router to using the latest drivers and firmware. Go to the manufaturers websites and u'll be able to find them.

Maybe try using windows to manage the wireless connection. see if that works?

irlrobins

jk2001 wrote:

I also asked Komplett for help with this. They just replied with "Please ensure the router is set to access point mode" - I do not remember seeing this option when I configured the router. Is this a common thing that you have to set when configuring a router?

well i had a flick thru ur manual and I don't see any defualt settings that might change it from operating as an AP.

jk2001

Cheers mate, I will let you off the hook for now I am in work now so I will try these suggestions tonight... an no doubt I will be back tomorrow again.

jayo

irlrobins

no worries. annoy away. bit puzzling as to what the prob might be.... but we'll sort it in the end no doubt!