Hi,
Ive just moved in to a new flat and the building has wifi. Unfortunately since the router is out in the lobby in a cupboard made of breeze blocks the signal is pretty weak in my flat.
Ive done a bit of research but im still a little lost.
I was hoping to use my old Thompson TG585 v7 router as a repeater/bridge/thingy but im not convinced itll do the job i want it to. It has a WDS mode, which ive prodded a few buttons in but it didnt seem to want to play, perhaps because the network is using wpa? or perhaps because i dont know what im doing :)
I was hoping to be able to set something up that would also allow me to hook up my desktop pc via ethernet (although ill just buy a wifi card for it if needed)
If i cant do it with the thompson, what kit do i need?
would one of these (http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/Netgear-WG602-54Mbps-Wireless-Access-Point_11782.html) do what im after, at least as far as extending the signal?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
For boosting wireless range Ive yet to find anything and tidy and easy to set up as the Airport Express plug-ins. I may dislike most apple products as overpriced, but these actually work pretty well for home users.
http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/index.php?CatID=32
I used these (http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=2823) once and they worked nicely - have a look on ebay.
cheers, the hawking tech extenders are looking promising.
Quote from: Lockcheers, the hawking tech extenders are looking promising.
We sell quite a few at work :P
and how many get sent back? :)
actually, if you sell them you might know the answer to the question im waiting for an answer to from the shop ill probably be buying it from.
The Netpro Wireless 300N Range Extender has an ethernet port, is this just for use during set up or can i plug my desktop pc in to it and have that connected to the wireless network, or will i need a seperate wireless card for the pc once its all up and running?
Quote from: Lockactually, if you sell them you might know the answer to the question im waiting for an answer to from the shop ill probably be buying it from.
The Netpro Wireless 300N Range Extender has an ethernet port, is this just for use during set up or can i plug my desktop pc in to it and have that connected to the wireless network, or will i need a seperate wireless card for the pc once its all up and running?
Afaik it works as an access point so you can have your system connected via ethernet port. Im not to great on networks, i usually trust the advice of some of the other people on here, Mark etc do installations for a living.
Just got one of these:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168753
Set it up and (after faffing with my laptop, wireless-n was disabled by default?) it works fine.
The point is that it can work as just about any wireless device: access point, range extender, WDS, and a couple of types of wireless to ethernet bridge modes.
I just took the Netgear WGPS606 printserver down as it was being a pita on my parents computer, pretty much every time they turned the computer on theyd have to reboot the print server for it to pick up the computer. It was being used as a switch as it also failed at the print server job.
So im now back to my 50% signal from 80% :(
Quote from: BaconAfaik it works as an access point so you can have your system connected via ethernet port.
cool, thats exactly what im after.
Quote from: ShakeyJust got one of these:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168753
Set it up and (after faffing with my laptop, wireless-n was disabled by default?) it works fine.
The point is that it can work as just about any wireless device: access point, range extender, WDS, and a couple of types of wireless to ethernet bridge modes.
ooooh, now that looks good too, and half the price the the hawking one. hmmm... :)
Ive got an Edimax router knocking about somewhere, was very stable for the few months I used it - very easy to configure too.
well ive just order the edimax from amazon, so we shall see how it goes when it arrives :)
thanks for the help folks.
Well its arrived and is living up the the amazon reviews as being a pain to set up...
Ive followed a bunch of different guides and i can get the laptop to connect to the repeater wirelessly but it cant get internet access through it...
in system utility -> gateway address to the ip of the internet router?
yeah, thats something i missed at first, but further hunting around suggested that. still nowt.
One thing that may or may not be relevant, having had another look in the cupboard outside the flat, the box in there is a netgear access point plugged in to an ethernet port in the wall. So looks like im trying to extend an access point rather than directly from the actual router. Would that make a difference?
Still having trouble setting this up...
Ive given the repeater an ip within the network subnet, set the gateway to the routers address, set it up as a repeater, selected the wireless network i want it to connect to, given it the pass key as well, i can connect wirelessly to the repeater but im not getting net access.
With the laptop connected to the original AP when i do a quick scan of internal ip addresses i cant see the repeater on the network. I can see the router, all the APs for the other floors of the building, and anyone else that happens to be connected to it at the time.
so it seems despite being on and set up the repeater isnt connecting to the network.
About the only thing ive not tried is temporarily plugging the repeater directly in to the ethernet of the router. Ive not done this yet as theres only 1 ethernet socket in the wall and the AP thats plugged in to it is also powered over ethernet, so when i unplug it, itll also turn off. Logically i presume itll remember its settings and be fine when i plug it back in, but computers arent always logical are they and I dont have an admin login for that AP to reset it up if it does screw up.
Tried setting the edimax to get an ip via DHCP, so that the other access point and router etc. know its there? What about setting it as a wireless bridge and plug your pc in via the ethernet to see if that works?
Quote from: ShakeyTried setting the edimax to get an ip via DHCP, so that the other access point and router etc. know its there? What about setting it as a wireless bridge and plug your pc in via the ethernet to see if that works?
Ill look in to that when i get home from work this evening. Would just leaving its IP address field blank make it ask for an address? As i havent noticed any obvious check box to tell it to specifically ask for one.
I emailed Edimax tech support last night and they replied this morning asking for more info so hopefully theyll have some suggestions too.
Thanks
A repeater does not require an IP address. It is not a layer 3 device. All it does is rebroadcast, and reduce throughput because every frame is broadcast twice.
At most you will need to associate it with the MAC of the access point you want it to associate with
Quote from: MarkA repeater does not require an IP address. It is not a layer 3 device. All it does is rebroadcast, and reduce throughput because every frame is broadcast twice.
At most you will need to associate it with the MAC of the access point you want it to associate with
Hmm, sounds like this may be the problem then. Has given me a couple of things to investigate when i get home anyway.
Thank you!