Xbox & pc wireless connection?

[Lalakai]

hopefully i didn't miss it in another thread; searched but nothing, so......

we have decent wireless router with dsl, but for my son's room (upstairs and at other end of house), signal is weak and intermittent; not even close for gaming consistency. He was going to buy the Xbox wireless adaptor for his xbox, but we think we would have same problem when he tries to connect via his xbox.

I was looking at some wireless adaptors that connected via the CAT-5; thinking we could locate the unit closer to the router, then run the cable back to the units. If this is feasible, which wireless adaptor(s) have shown good track record for this type of service? In all likelihood, he would be switching back and forth between the xbox and the pc, and hopefully the wireless adaptor would be compatible with both units.

am i chasing a holy grail here, or is there something that can work? any input/recommendations (lol logical and polite) would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[n0cmonkey]

I use a buffalo router with dd-wrt firmware in bridged/client mode to connect multiple machines in one room with the wireless router in another.

 

[Lalakai]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
I use a buffalo router with dd-wrt firmware in bridged/client mode to connect multiple machines in one room with the wireless router in another.

yep, that was our first attempt also........we bricked the router somehow. From what i've read and heard, that is amoung the best options, and though i'm comfortable assembling computers and doing minor programing.......we really messed up on that attempt. I was hoping for a "canned" approach that might be good, but if going the DD-WRT route is the best, then I may have to bite the bullet and try again. thanks for the input though

 

[n0cmonkey]

Bricking routers sucks. What kind of router?

If you were closer I'd let you test with my extra one.

 

[imported_hopeless]

About the easiest way would be to get a compatible router and use either tomato or dd-wrt.

Both tomato and dd-wrt will allow you to put the router into bridge mode. If that is the only reason you are using one of these firmwares, I'd recommend tomato over dd-wrt.

Sorry to hear about bricking the router. You might want to re-check to make sure your model number can use tomato/ddwrt.

These can use Tomato or DD-WRT
OK: Linksys - What I use, but it's not worth it unless you are going to use tomato or dd-wrt.
Better: ASUS - From what I've read it has better hardware than the linksys.
Best: Buffalo - Has built in amp for better wireless coverage.[/quote]

Also I think I read a post here not too long ago. The poster was attempting to use one of these firmwares and thought he bricked it, but keep messing with the router and got it to finally start working.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: Lalakai
I was hoping for a "canned" approach that might be good, but if going the DD-WRT route is the best, then I may have to bite the bullet and try again.

The Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 is probably your best bet for signal strength, so if you have that, it's probably worth the effort to try to resetting it / recovering it and going from there. If it still runs, try Tomato instead of DD-WRT -- it's a bit simpler.

Here's a thread on setting up wireless bridging using DD-WRT:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=36&threadid=2207982

There are some off-the-shelf solutions, e.g. the D-Link DAP-1522 and the Linksys WET610N. The latter requires an additional switch for multiple devices, but might have better wireless performance to offset that. The DAP-1522 works well in range / etc., but bets are off at a distance, which is why I suggest trying the Buffalo again.

 

[Nuwave]

Hello

Is it not physically possible to run a cable from the router to your sons room? Honestly that is the best most reliable option.

 

[Ka0t1x]

Originally posted by: Nuwave
Hello

Is it not physically possible to run a cable from the router to your sons room? Honestly that is the best most reliable option.

If this is possible, you can just setup a second switch in his room to expand the network.

 

[Lalakai]

sorry for delay....lol computer issues.

it is possible to run a cable up to his room, but no way to do it easily or without severly upsetting the wife at having cat-5 cable strung across a ceiling (she has no sense of priority).

been doing some more research and for right now it looks like i'll try the buffalo option.

as for "unbricking" our first attempt....short of popping the case and tinkering on the inside, we've tried most logical processes, and even some illogical ones. I think that one gets chaulked up to experience.

ordering the buffalo from Egg right now, and i'll keep you posted.

Madwand1, thanks for the link. I've been to the DD-WRT site and we did the initial dl there, but i'll review taht thread and hopefully we'll side step whatever went wrong the first time. The only thing i can say, is that it's a good thing i like to game as much as he does, or I would have moved on to other activites by now.

thanks again for the input.

 

[pjkenned]

CAT5/6 is pretty easy to run. Since you want higher wifi strength, deleting one wall from the equation sometimes is all you need. It may be worth just buying plates w/ Cat 5/6 sockets and going through a wall to see if you can get better signal strength. Probably 15 minute process and <$20 in materials.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: hopeless
Also I think I read a post here not too long ago. The poster was attempting to use one of these firmwares and thought he bricked it, but keep messing with the router and got it to finally start working.

I recently put Tomato on a couple of Buffalo routers to connect the XBMC Xbox in the bedroom to the downstairs LAN. The first one went perfectly, but the second one had trouble for some reason. I thought I had bricked one as well, but after messing with it for a while, and after several resets using the physical reset switch I was able to get Tomato loaded properly.

I would recommend trying again. This setup works perfectly for me.