Wireless-N Repeater

socbe7 · 05-29-2010, 02:42 PM

I've moved into my sister's house in Houston and it's fairly large. The room I'm in is on the opposite side of the house from the router. The connection is very inconsistent in my room. Sometimes it works fine, sometimes it's slow, and other times it doesn't work at all. My brother-in-law just bought the router recently so it's fairly new:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Rout.../WNDR3700.aspx

There also seems to be some dead-spots on my side of the house. I'm looking to get a wireless repeater. My question is, will this help fix the problem?

This is the one I'm looking to purchase:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0329971

Any suggestions?

Edit:

Here's another one:

http://www.frys.com/product/6125049?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Is it worth the extra $80? Or are they going to work the same?

blasian · 05-29-2010, 03:02 PM

I've never dealt with a wireless repeater before. I do know that the Hawking devices I've seen at work all crapped out on us eventually so I'm not sure if I'd recommend them.

I'm not sure how tech savvy you are but the way I'd fix it could be too advanced. I kind of had the same issue at a house we were living in where the signal was crap because it had to go through too many walls. My original idea was buy another router and use it as a wireless bridge but I ended up just increasing the power to the antenna and it worked out fine. Unfortunately this requires a third-party firmware and I don't want you to risk it on the BIL's router lol

socbe7 · 05-29-2010, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blasian

I've never dealt with a wireless repeater before. I do know that the Hawking devices I've seen at work all crapped out on us eventually so I'm not sure if I'd recommend them.

I'm not sure how tech savvy you are but the way I'd fix it could be too advanced. I kind of had the same issue at a house we were living in where the signal was crap because it had to go through too many walls. My original idea was buy another router and use it as a wireless bridge but I ended up just increasing the power to the antenna and it worked out fine. Unfortunately this requires a third-party firmware and I don't want you to risk it on the BIL's router lol

He's a Radiologist so he works at home a lot. He has to stay connected to his hospital though so I don't want to mess around with stuff too much.

blasian · 05-29-2010, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socbe7

He's a Radiologist so he works at home a lot. He has to stay connected to his hospital though so I don't want to mess around with stuff too much.

Haha yeah, I definitely understand.

I just double checked the router he has and it doesn't support WDS (wireless distribution system).

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/34

buzd · 05-29-2010, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socbe7

He's a Radiologist so he works at home a lot. He has to stay connected to his hospital though so I don't want to mess around with stuff too much.

I've pushed powerline adapters around here before, but they are a good alternative to wireless solutions. They use the power infrastructure of your house to carry ethernet. Plug one in at the router (or wherever you have a wired connection) and one in your room. Then you can hang a switch or another access point or whatever off of the connection in your room. Faster than wireless, too.

I got some for $25/unit (you need at least two) at Fry's, open box.

Here's a pair for $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-036-_-Product

blasian · 05-29-2010, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzd

I've pushed powerline adapters around here before, but they are a good alternative to wireless solutions. They use the power infrastructure of your house to carry ethernet. Plug one in at the router (or wherever you have a wired connection) and one in your room. Then you can hang a switch or another access point or whatever off of the connection in your room. Faster than wireless, too.

I got some for $25/unit (you need at least two) at Fry's, open box.

Here's a pair for $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-036-_-Product

Nice, I've heard about those but never knew they were actually out lol

socbe7 · 05-29-2010, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzd

I've pushed powerline adapters around here before, but they are a good alternative to wireless solutions. They use the power infrastructure of your house to carry ethernet. Plug one in at the router (or wherever you have a wired connection) and one in your room. Then you can hang a switch or another access point or whatever off of the connection in your room. Faster than wireless, too.

I got some for $25/unit (you need at least two) at Fry's, open box.

Here's a pair for $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-036-_-Product

So I plug one into the wall by the router and connect it to the router via ethernet cord. Then I plug the other one in my room. I can then connect a different router via ethernet cord to the one plugged in my room and broadcast the same wireless signal?

So I'm basically doing the same thing except I'm using the electrical wiring in the house to extend range instead of wirelessly?

Sorry for all the extra questions, I'm just making sure I understood your post correctly.

blasian · 05-29-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socbe7

So I plug one into the wall by the router and connect it to the router via ethernet cord. Then I plug the other one in my room. I can then connect a different router via ethernet cord to the one plugged in my room and broadcast the same wireless signal?

So I'm basically doing the same thing except I'm using the electrical wiring in the house to extend range instead of wirelessly?

Sorry for all the extra questions, I'm just making sure I understood your post correctly.

I believe that is correct but I'm sure buzd will chime in.

socbe7 · 05-29-2010, 04:31 PM

Also, my brother-in-law is going to Fry's in a little bit. Is there any brand that you recommend?

buzd · 05-29-2010, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socbe7

So I plug one into the wall by the router and connect it to the router via ethernet cord. Then I plug the other one in my room. I can then connect a different router via ethernet cord to the one plugged in my room and broadcast the same wireless signal?

So I'm basically doing the same thing except I'm using the electrical wiring in the house to extend range instead of wirelessly?

Sorry for all the extra questions, I'm just making sure I understood your post correctly.

Essentially.

If you use a second router (in your room) to establish another wireless access point, it's not technically the same signal. It's the same network, but you're connecting to a different AP. I've heard that you can duplicate the SSID and wireless security between two access points and move between them seamlessly, but I haven't gotten it to work here.

When I set up my second access point, I just used a different SSID, and I have two in my house. If you mostly just connect in your room, then it shouldn't be problem, or you may have to just switch between them when you move around.

You may be able to duplicate the SSID and float between them, but I wasn't able to. However, I didn't spend much time on it.

Remember, too, that if you are using a router as an access point, you don't use the Internet/untrusted/external connection.

buzd · 05-29-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socbe7

Also, my brother-in-law is going to Fry's in a little bit. Is there any brand that you recommend?

As far as the powerline adapters go, the only difference is in bandwidth - like if you're streaming HD movies over the network or something. It's pretty simple technology - if you're just sharing an internet connection, I would get the cheapest you can find (I got Airlink).

Another thing - you can't plug them into powerstrips. They have to have an outlet.

blasian · 05-29-2010, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzd

Essentially.

If you use a second router (in your room) to establish another wireless access point, it's not technically the same signal. It's the same network, but you're connecting to a different AP. I've heard that you can duplicate the SSID and wireless security between two access points and move between them seamlessly, but I haven't gotten it to work here.

When I set up my second access point, I just used a different SSID, and I have two in my house. If you mostly just connect in your room, then it shouldn't be problem, or you may have to just switch between them when you move around.

You may be able to duplicate the SSID and float between them, but I wasn't able to. However, I didn't spend much time on it.

Remember, too, that if you are using a router as an access point, you don't use the Internet/untrusted/external connection.

If you use the same SSID you'd have to use a different channel, otherwise the two would interfere with each other.

socbe7 · 05-29-2010, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzd

Essentially.

If you use a second router (in your room) to establish another wireless access point, it's not technically the same signal. It's the same network, but you're connecting to a different AP. I've heard that you can duplicate the SSID and wireless security between two access points and move between them seamlessly, but I haven't gotten it to work here.

When I set up my second access point, I just used a different SSID, and I have two in my house. If you mostly just connect in your room, then it shouldn't be problem, or you may have to just switch between them when you move around.

You may be able to duplicate the SSID and float between them, but I wasn't able to. However, I didn't spend much time on it.

Remember, too, that if you are using a router as an access point, you don't use the Internet/untrusted/external connection.

I'm not sure I understand the bolded part.

blasian · 05-29-2010, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socbe7

I'm not sure I understand the bolded part.

I think he's referring to the Internet or WAN port on routers. Normally they have 1/2/3/4 and Internet. Typically when you connect to routers/switches together, you use the switch ports (1/2/3/4) using a crossover cable to connect the two.

buzd · 05-29-2010, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blasian

I think he's referring to the Internet or WAN port on routers. Normally they have 1/2/3/4 and Internet. Typically when you connect to routers/switches together, you use the switch ports (1/2/3/4) using a crossover cable to connect the two.

Correct.

The router in your room wouldn't be connecting (directly) to the internet or "routing" to another network, so you don't need to use both "sides" of the connection. You're really just using it to share a connection (as a switch) and taking advantage of it's wireless access point capabilities. It won't be doing any routing.

You shouldn't need a crossover cable. Most products these days are autosensing. Regular ethernet cables will work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blasian

If you use the same SSID you'd have to use a different channel, otherwise the two would interfere with each other.

I did that. Didn't work.