In Search of a Wireless "Bridge"

Goncyn

Junior Member
May 15, 2001
12
0
0
I am having trouble finding a wireless device that will meet the needs outlined below. If anyone has experience setting up something similar, please weigh in and let me know what your solution was.

My small personal network is connected by a D-Link DI-524 Wireless-G router. The WAN connection goes into the router, and my two "desktop" boxes are wired into ports on the built-in switch. I also have a Mac Powerbook which uses the router's wireless to access the network. Now, the complication is that I also have a TiVo that I connect to the network. In my old apartment, it was easy to run an ethernet cable to the TiVo from the router, which is what I did. In my new apartment, that isn't so easy, so I want to go wireless in the living room with the TiVo.

That's where things get complicated.

I first thought, "Oh, no problem, I'll just get a wireless USB adapter for the TiVo and replace the wired adapter I'm currently using." Well, as far as I can tell TiVo only supports 802.11b USB adapters, not the new 802.11g adapters. If at all possible, I want to use only 'g' devices on my network so as not to slow down transfers on my laptop.

So at that point I had the thought that I wanted some kind of device for my living room that would communicate with my router/AP as a client while letting me connect a wired switch to it and plugging in my TiVo (plus theoretical other devices, such as an XBox Live! adapter) into the switch. In this stage of wide-eyed innocence I thought this seemed a very useful gadget to have and I foolishly assumed they would be easy to find.

Several days later, I still haven't found a device that will meet all my needs. It seems there are two general classes of device that will fill my requirements, wireless "bridges" and access points that support "AP Client Mode." The former seems to be exactly what I want, but I can't find much information on them and they are inexplicably expensive compared to APs (e.g. $180 for a Linksys WET54GS5). The latter would also work and would be much cheaper, but "AP Client Mode" allegedly only works between APs of the same brand, and D-Link doesn't have a 'g' product that supports client mode, so we are back to the 'b' vs. 'g' problem (i.e. slowing down my laptop).

My last thought is the Linksys WAG54G, a "Wireless-G Game Adapter." This product appears to do exactly the same thing as the WET54GS5, but is only $80-100 at retail instead of $180. I am still worried, though, about brand interoperability (my router/AP is a D-Link, remember) and whether this device will work with a switch attached to it instead of a single ethernet adapter. Has anyone bought this game adapter thingy? Does it work for more general-purpose use?

I know that was a lot of words to read, but I appreciate it if you even got this far and I look forward to your thoughts.
 

SocrPlyr

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,513
0
0
D-Link DWL-G810

supports their version of the unratified 108Mbps but it should be able to drop down to regular G for you...

Josh

Edit:
"The DWL-G810 works with all 802.11g networks and is backwards compatible with 802.11b networks. This high-speed Ethernet-to-Wireless Bridge provides convenience and performance while expanding the number of devices and peripherals into your wireless network."

Edit2:
Link
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=241
 

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
29,552
429
126
AS posted above.

If you want the full ?Speed? of the superG buy the D-Link product (DWL-G810 Wireless Bridge.),

Get a simple switch plug the Boxes and the DWL-G810 Wireless Bridge to the switch.

Voila magic. :sun:
 

Goncyn

Junior Member
May 15, 2001
12
0
0
Thanks a lot, fellas. I had overlooked D-Link's "Extreme" line of products since my router/AP doesn't support Super-G, but this DWL-G810 looks like exactly what I need, and it's much cheaper than the equivalent Linksys product too. Goodah!