linksys range expander

[ross8425]

so i got this range expander thing, to boost signal downstairs, and i dont have a linksys router- my company bought me this *&&$@ SMC 7004 wireless peice of garbage. anyway, i called linksys, and they said that the WRE is compatable with any router so long as it has WDS on it. (enabled) my question is-

how do i know if this router has WDS? i went into the router itself, and there was nothing in there that suggested WDS. thanks!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Given the age of those SMC routers, it is unlikely to support WDS. Then again, my new-ish LinkSys WRT54G doesn't support WDS either. LinkSys intentionally crippled that model, because some of their other models, running on the same internal hardware, support it. There are only about 3-4 wireless devices that I know of that definately support WDS, and most of them are wireless APs or bridges, not routers.

 

[ross8425]

well that makes me angry :|

 

[JackMDS]

This WDS story is probably Hogwash.

The expander is basically the Marketing name for a Repeater.

Entry Level Repeaters usually work only with hardware that has the same chipset as the Repeater.

I.e. the Linksys Expander probably works only with: ?The Wireless-G Range Expander is compatible with the Linksys WAP54G Access Point and both the WRT54G and WRT54GS Wireless Routers. (http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&prid=629 ).

:sun: