Are all wireless routers equal? I love mine but I need more distance *UPDATE*

[Bruck]

I have a dlink wireless 614+ Router and while it works fine, i would reallly love better signal strength so I can sit on the front lawn or in my bedroom even. I have rather thick walls in my house and while it does pass thru them, by the time it gets outside the signal is very weak. Are some routers more powerful than others? Can I get a signal booster for my dlink? Or should i purchase a linksys and then one of their signal boosters? I dont watn to spend too much money since my router does "work". Also can I improve the reception by placing the router higher up? For example, the router is currently on the floor behind a small shelf, If i were to put it on top of my desk might i get better signal, (we are only taking a height difference of 3ft, not the equivalent of putting it in the attic.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions,

Lou

** UPDATE ***

Well I am coming back to this post to re-fresh it because now I am having problems with my router. It drops my cable modem connection and won't pick it up unless the cable modem is unplugged for 2 min. I know it is the router because if i do NOTHING to the cable modem, and I plug it into my pc directly, i have a connection. But my router would not renew after a successful release. So I am pretty sure it is my router. So now i need to buy a new router and I'd like one that will improve my wireless distance.

For example in my Living room (which is 19 feet away from my router) i get 2 bars out of 5. In my bedroom i get 1 bar out of 5. I have very thick walls. But I think a router with a stronger signal would fix my problem because i know the signal is reaching, just not enough of it for smooth browsing. (specially not from my bedroom).

Has anyone ever upgraded to a new wireless router and got better signal? Did you change brands? Which brand does anyone prefer that migh have experience working with 2 or more routers in the exact same envirnment.


Thanks

 

[Need4Speed]

no...not all are equal. most soho wireless stuff is cheap and has hardly any range to speak of. check out some cisco gear or other higher end stuff if you want serious distance. some of the ciso series 350 can be had relatively cheap..of course it s 8.11b and not G.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

The easiest way it to look into an omni-directional antenna kit. D-Link has one that lists for $49, and I see it on pricewatch for $39 shipped.

 

[Bruck]

Would that dlink kit work if i put it right next to my router? or would i put it in my bedroom, where the signal is minimal? How much extension would i truly get? If i get a linksys G router in the future, can I still use the dlink b router extender to boost the signal? (in B form). So my powerbook would let me choose from 2 routers, the G router or the repeater? I dont really care that my boosted signal is only B, but if my router dies, i wil be replacing it with a G router and want to make sure this will work in the future.

p.s. what is the model of the product you are talking about.

 

[JackMDS]

oops.

 

[JackMDS]

Within the Entry Level Wireless Router the distance differences are small.

Solving Distance problem is very much depending on envioroment. External Antenna might work in one setting but not in the other.

On Extending Entry level Wireless coverage.

Extending the range of Entry Level Wireless depends on many Environmental variables, thus there is no one simple solution. These solutions need additional work and material (i.e. more money) in top of the initial buying of the Entry Level hardware.

Scenario 1: One floor house, the living room has a cathedral ceiling, and all the rest of the house is basically around the Living room.

A Ceiling Antenna is installed few feet bellow the Apex of the ceiling; it covers the whole house and 60' around the outside. (The Wireless Router is near the computer, the Antenna is connected with extension coax).

Reasonable prices here: A selection of aux. Antennae, Cables, and Hardware.

Scenario 2: In an other setting, a "normal" two floors house. The AP sits on a high pedestal near the staircase in the hallway. The AP is connected to a Wired Router with long CAT5 cable and covers most of the House and almost nothing outside. Initially when it was placed in the computer room it covered only the Computer room and direct rooms next to it sideway and above.

Repeater solution - This solution is similar to Scenario 2. However by using a Repeater you do not have to connect the WAP via CAT5 to the Wireless Source.

What is a Repeater? Link: Wireless Network - Configuration Modes.

Repeater actually cuts the Bandwidth by half. (Since it has to Flip-Flop between Transmit, and Receive with a single Radio).

However if used correctly it increase the Distance.

The following is for illustration purpose, actual numbers in your settings could be totally different than the following.

Let say you get 1Mb/sec. (1Mb/sec. is probably the limit for Internet surfing) at 80'.

Assuming that the bandwidth at 60' is 2Mb/sec. You put a Repeater at 60', it cuts the bandwidth but it will transmit for another 60-80' so all together you will get the 1Mb/sec. at about 150'.

Note* Since the price of Wireless Routers is much lower than the price of Access Points, many people extend the coverage by connecting a second Wireless Router to the one connected to the modem, and put it in a second location at the site.

Link to: Using a Wireless Cable/DSL Router as a Switch with an Access Point

 

[xSauronx]

for some reason i keep thinking jacks ezlan links should be in a sticky in this forum

 

[Bruck]

GunnerJohn, you say you saw a kit for 35, the only kit i find in pricewatch is 57 dollars. Could you elabortate on the model #'s and the search terms to help me locate such a product.

Thankyou

 

[Bruck]

Question:
If i install a wireless omnidirectional antenna will this add an additional antenna or will my dlink 614+ stop using the built on antennas, if it does that I will loose signal in my computer room when i relocate the antenna to my bedroom with a coax extender and add-on kit.


Thanks

 

[ryandmiller]

Usually, you would detatch one of your antennas and attach the omni in its place. Sometimes this involves cable to connect the two.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

My DI-614+ is the single antenna model, I don't know what you do with the dual antenna model.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: xSauronx
for some reason i keep thinking jacks ezlan links should be in a sticky in this forum

It will not help because many people are set into ?Wishful Thinking? answer rather than research the project.

As an example my early answer to this post includes a link which has the following page that specifically offers a solution for the Router at hand.

Link to: Antennae for D-Link 614.

But I guess it did not help.

 

[Basse]

Have a look at Lucent's products, works alot better over distances then the imo crappy DLinks etc...
Its on the more expensive side but you sure get better distance...

 

[Bruck]

Well I am coming back to this post to re-fresh it because now I am having problems with my router. It drops my cable modem connection and won't pick it up unless the cable modem is unplugged for 2 min. I know it is the router because if i do NOTHING to the cable modem, and I plug it into my pc directly, i have a connection. But my router would not release and renew. So I am pretty sure it is my router. So now i need to buy a new router and I'd like one that will improve my wireless distance.

For example in my Living room (which is 19 feet away from my router) i get 2 bars out of 5. In my bedroom i get 1 bar out of 5. I have very thick walls. But I think a router with a stronger signal would fix my problem because i know the signal is reaching, just not enough of it for smooth browsing. (specially not from my bedroom).

Has anyone ever upgraded to a new wireless router and got better signal? Did you change brands? Which brand does anyone prefer that migh have experience working with 2 or more routers in the exact same envirnment.


Thanks

 

[Basse]

Like I said before, have a look at Lucent. The company I work for has sold numerous D-Links to customers and maybe 50% comes back with it because of distance/signal issues. I have yet to have a displeased customer with a Lucent.