wireless networks

[G.]

I'm looking into going wireless.

What's needed?

I just want to hook up a few computers to the 'net. My high speed net is around 3.4 MBs down, 700k up.

Is there any reason to go faster than the low tier 5 MBs units?

We're not very heavy on the throughput, occasionally some youtube, flash 'net games for the kiddies, etc. No hardcore gaming, music, etc., but occasionally.

Any special considerations for having WL printing? Not really needed, but might be useful.

Thanks in advance, as always!

[B3RACER1a]

Its pretty easy. You'll need a wireless router. You'll also need wireless cards for each PC. Some laptops already have wireless built in.

I really dont know the good or bad of any of the brands, but I set oone up at my folks' and I use all Linksys stuff. Works great.....no problems.

Just be sure to encrypt your network! Its all in the instructions.

[Cam]

1 story, 2 story house? Basement? How big is the house? Where is the existing internet connection in relation to the rest of the house? Where are the computers that need to connect? All factors that need to be taken into consideration too... :)

[Insomniac]

What is WL printing? Ohhh, and don't worry about bandwidth. Whatever you get will allow for more bandwidth than your internet connection.

[chop456]

Hard wire the desktops you big baby. :D

[G.]

Thanks, guys.

I have one Enet cable coming in. It comes in upstairs, 2nd story. The Base station would be placed there. I have an exhaustive ranch, about 400 acres, with many underground dwellings. And cisterns. Gotta have cisterns.

Wait. No, that's not right.

I have a very "quaint" 5 bedroom house, all BR's on the 2nd floor.

I want to have a reliable connection downstairs, ground level (unfinished basement, so far, don't need that for a few years), pretty much across the house, but that's not really very far. Maybe 50-60 feet horizontal.

I am more concerned about the MBit capacity, and any other crap that I don't know about, which is rather vast.

I understand, set up a password, I can handle the radio side, I just don't know why they sell 54 MB/s systems. WTF? Who has that, and WHY?!? Does your pr)n not come to you fast enough? Are you finished too early?

I will prolly have 2 systems using the 'net often, but not hardcore, and the occasional laptop, you know, just or fun.

No, I don't know either.

OK; for work. Or maybe race director??

By WL printing, I want to be able to print from a laptop to a printer wired to another computer.

Bottom line, with 3.4 MS/s down, I don't want a wireless LAN thingy to limit my throughput. Does old school 801.11 stuff do it for me?

Thanks, all.

[Joelski]

Thanks, guys.

I have one Enet cable coming in. It comes in upstairs, 2nd story. The Base station would be placed there. I have an exhaustive ranch, about 400 acres, with many underground dwellings. And cisterns. Gotta have cisterns.

Wait. No, that's not right.

I have a very "quaint" 5 bedroom house, all BR's on the 2nd floor.

I want to have a reliable connection downstairs, ground level (unfinished basement, so far, don't need that for a few years), pretty much across the house, but that's not really very far. Maybe 50-60 feet horizontal.

I am more concerned about the MBit capacity, and any other crap that I don't know about, which is rather vast.

I understand, set up a password, I can handle the radio side, I just don't know why they sell 54 MB/s systems. WTF? Who has that, and WHY?!? Does your pr)n not come to you fast enough? Are you finished too early?

I will prolly have 2 systems using the 'net often, but not hardcore, and the occasional laptop, you know, just or fun.

No, I don't know either.

OK; for work. Or maybe race director??

By WL printing, I want to be able to print from a laptop to a printer wired to another computer.

Bottom line, with 3.4 MS/s down, I don't want a wireless LAN thingy to limit my throughput. Does old school 801.11 stuff do it for me?

Thanks, all.


802.11B, at 15 M-bits per second will work fine for your needs, but you will want the faster .11G or even the new wireless N spec for file transfer between your PCs. I have been using a Belkin Wireless-G set up with a router and pcmcia laptop card for almost 2 years without a single problem. The 802.11G standard allows transfers over your WLAN at up to 54 Mbps.

Newer specifications allow speeds of 108 Mbps and above. The gear works just like ethernet, so you will be able to use windows file & printer sharing to print wirelessly, and the newer WLAN stuff all has a decent enough range that you shouldn't have problems accessing from anywhere indoors or even on your deck/patio/backporch.

Windows XP service pack 2 simplifies getting hooked up and you really don't even need to use the software that comes with the router and cards; just run the wireless network setup wizard under the networking control panel applet. D-link, Belkin and NetGear all make decent stuff and you should stick with one vendor although they all work fine together.

DO take the time to secure your network, especially if you have neighbors close by. My next door neighbor "found" my network when I had it open, and his closet point of access is 75' away from my router! The last thiing you want with 4-5 desktops sharing your WLAN is somebody rocking on your interweb dime to get his pr0n jollies. Unless he is a she and the pr0n makes her get nekkid in full view! If that's the case, you need to be hooking us up with your webcam feed! :D

[grungex]

I understand, set up a password, I can handle the radio side, I just don't know why they sell 54 MB/s systems. WTF? Who has that, and WHY?!? Does your pr)n not come to you fast enough? Are you finished too early?

A faster router will do nothing to speed up your Internet access, the bandwidth is only useful for big/frequent file transfers between PC's. 54MB for the consumer=scam.

[Cam]

A faster router will do nothing to speed up your Internet access, the bandwidth is only useful for big/frequent file transfers between PC's. 54MB for the consumer=scam.

Not really. I often D/L large (+300MB) 1/2 hour TV shows onto my desktop machine, then watch them on my laptop thru the wireless. 11MB is not fast enough and the video is very choppy. 54MB solves the problem nicely. :cool:

[G.]

So I want extra BW only for PCtoPC reasons, not webby thruput. Cool!

'Splained well. Thanks!

(to borrow some netiquette from Spicoli:) <<<<<--- Yes. I typed that. On purpose.

Here's some yuks for your trubbles. Probably all BS, but fun anyway.

Number One Idiot of 2006

I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the poison control center. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. I told her that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right away.

Number Two Idiot of 2006

Early this year, some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747's. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. Shortly after they took it for a float on the river, they noticed a Coast Guard helicopter coming towards them. It turned out! that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator beacon that activated when the raft was inflated.
They are no longer employed at Boeing.

Number Three Idiot of 2006


A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the Branch and wrote "this iz a stikkup. Put all your money in this bag."
While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to the Wells Fargo Bank. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left. He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.

Number Four Idiot of 2006



A motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that measured his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later received in the mail a ticket for $40 and a photo of his car. Instead of payment he sent the police department a photograph of $40. Several days later he received a letter from the police that contained another picture, this time of handcuffs. He immediately mailed in his $40.

Number Five Idiot of 2006



A guy walked into a little corner store with a shotgun and demanded all of the cash from the cash drawer. After the cashier put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of Scotch that he wanted behind the counter on the shelf. He t old the cashier to put it in the bag as well, but the cashier refused and said, "Because I don't believe you are over 21." The robber said he was, but the clerk still refused to give it to him because she didn't believe him. At this point, the robber took his driver's license out of his wallet and gave it to the clerk. The clerk looked it over and agreed that the man was in fact over 21 and she put the Scotch in the bag. The robber then ran from the store with his loot. The cashier promptly called the police and gave the name and address of the robber that he got off the license.
They arrested the robber two hours later.

Idiot Number Six of 2006



A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!". When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.

Idiot Number Seven of 2006


Arkansas : Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back knocking him unconscious. It seems the liquor store window was made of Plexi-Glass. The whole event was caught on videotape.

[Insomniac]

A faster router will do nothing to speed up your Internet access, the bandwidth is only useful for big/frequent file transfers between PC's. 54MB for the consumer=scam.

11 isn't enough though. (Also, if you enable encryption, there goes half your bandwidth.)

[grungex]

Not really. I often D/L large (+300MB) 1/2 hour TV shows onto my desktop machine, then watch them on my laptop thru the wireless. 11MB is not fast enough and the video is very choppy. 54MB solves the problem nicely. :cool:

Yeah, umm, I'd say that qualifies as transferring large files between PC's. :p

[dando]

Just go get yerself a wireless G router for ~$30. Linksys or Netgear will do ya fine (I've used both). The N spec is final, so I'd avoid that for now. I have a ~3K sq ft shack, and G (Netgear Super G) works fine on all three floors and out on the patio as well. :thumbup:

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

Also, if you get one with built-in print sharing, you can share your printer without having to leave the computer it is connected to on.

[KLang]

Just go get yerself a wireless G router for ~$30. Linksys or Netgear will do ya fine (I've used both). The N spec is final, so I'd avoid that for now. I have a ~3K sq ft shack, and G (Netgear Super G) works fine on all three floors and out on the patio as well. :thumbup:

-Kevin

I'm also using a Netgear G (couple years old, may not be Super) and have no problem with a two story 3500 sq ft home.

[SteveH]

I've got a POS D-Link wireless router in the basement and can get service on the second floor at home, alhtough I wired the house w/ CAT5+ 6 years ago.

Best thing about laptops an wireless is the interaction on raceday; either in race chat and/or live timing. Really adds to the experience. :thumbup:

[Ankf00]

we have a router at one end of the property, and a repeater at the other end.

the only problems we have are with Time Warner :flame:

[dando]

I'm also using a Netgear G (couple years old, may not be Super) and have no problem with a two story 3500 sq ft home.

I don't use the Super G since I have an integrated wireless NIC in my laptop (ya gotta use the Netgear NIC to get Super G to work). :\ The only problem I have is the occassional interference with other 2.4 Ghz devices, which causes a temporary signal drop. Otherwise the range is excellent. I can even pull in my neighbor's unporotected WiFi. :saywhat:

I spent $180 on my original B router circa 5 years ago, and $54 on my G router a couple of years later. :eek: :(

-Kevin

[JoeBob]

dando is probably onto the biggest tip:

Get rid of any 2.4GHz cordless phones you might have in your house. It won't interfere with the wireless Internet all the time, but it will some of the time, and that interference gets really, really annoying.

[KLang]

The only problem I have is the occassional interference with other 2.4 Ghz devices, which causes a temporary signal drop. Otherwise the range is excellent. I can even pull in my neighbor's unporotected WiFi. :saywhat:
-Kevin

I replaced our wireless phones with 5.8 GHz models shortly after installing the wireless. Got tired of the wife complaining ;)

My neighborhood is all 1 acre or better lots and I can see 4 of my neighbors networks with a laptop. Not sure if they are protected or not. I just use the mac address protection on ours.

[dando]

It won't interfere with the wireless Internet all the time, but it will some of the time, and that interference gets really, really annoying.

I know. :( I just can't stomach $helling out another $200+ for one of them fancy 5.8 GHz expandable phone systems. :\ Mine just drop occassionally for a very brief period of time, so I live with it for now. It just becomes a PITA when the VPN client I use for work drops it's connection. :irked:

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

dando is probably onto the biggest tip:

Get rid of any 2.4GHz cordless phones you might have in your house. It won't interfere with the wireless Internet all the time, but it will some of the time, and that interference gets really, really annoying.

I replaced my 2.4 ones because they just hopped on anywhere without concern for what might be using that frequency. I haven't looked in a while, but don't newer ones at least check if something is using that frequency?

[G.]

Yeah, that's my next question: Where can you find an old-school 900 MHz cordless phone? I don't like the 2.4 or 5.8 GHz stuff. Get's right through the tin foil.:\

[Insomniac]

Yeah, that's my next question: Where can you find an old-school 900 MHz cordless phone? I don't like the 2.4 or 5.8 GHz stuff. Get's right through the tin foil.:\

You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a 900 MHz phone, especially online. I believe GE and Uniden still make them.

[SteveH]

Knock yourself out G, there's gazillions of them (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-09,GGLG:en&q=900+MHz+phone).

[Cam]

People still have landlines? :saywhat:

[cameraman]

If you have dsl a land line comes with it. The every room in the house is fully wired Cat 5e too. Wires are your friend.

[emjaya]

People still have landlines? :saywhat:

Is that bad? :D

[extramundane]

People still have landlines? :saywhat:

Only because it's essentially free with my DSL service. When it works, that is.

:verizonsucks:

[Cam]

Only because it's essentially free with my DSL service. When it works, that is.

:verizonsucks:

Can you ping me now? :D

[oddlycalm]

People still have landlines? :saywhat: Yep, 4 land lines, one of them fiber optic. And CAT5 to every room we need it in. Back when we had it done the CAT5 runs cost less than the (then) doggy wireless routers.

oc

[extramundane]

Yep, 4 land lines, one of them fiber optic. And CAT5 to every room we need it in. Back when we had it done the CAT5 runs cost less than the (then) doggy wireless routers.

oc

Kinda off-topic, but how's the FIOS experience been since we last heard? I've had my name on the waiting list (assuming it ever makes it to my ghetto 'hood), but Verizon's inability to keep my DSL/landline service going for more than 4 months at a time doesn't exactly fill me with optimism regarding their newer technology offerings.

[chop456]

Nevermind. All gone. (woot.com deal)

[G.]

Thanks to all of you! Probably get something this weekend.

Couple more questions: I'll prolly go with the 802.11g because it's, well, G.

Will b play with g? What about 54 g and 108 super g? Do they play together?

I'm not sure what's in the laptop. Hell, I haven't even activated it yet. I just want to make sure that the 802.11 families play nice together.

Also, what's the bitrate limit on USB? If I buy the router, then slap on a couple of usb xcvr's on the 'puters, did I just limit my throughput? In other words, do I need to get an internal card tranceiver or can I use a USB one?

Thanks, SteveH. I haven't looked online yet, only in the bricks-and-mortar stores when I'm there. I buy an inordinate amount of mortar, so I'm there pretty often.:gomer:

[dando]

Thanks to all of you! Probably get something this weekend.

Couple more questions: I'll prolly go with the 802.11g because it's, well, G.

Will b play with g? What about 54 g and 108 super g? Do they play together?

I'm not sure what's in the laptop. Hell, I haven't even activated it yet. I just want to make sure that the 802.11 families play nice together.

Also, what's the bitrate limit on USB? If I buy the router, then slap on a couple of usb xcvr's on the 'puters, did I just limit my throughput? In other words, do I need to get an internal card tranceiver or can I use a USB one?



b is backwards compatible with g. a is only good on a networks, but no one uses a anyway. Super G is only good with Super G cards (proprietary spec like the current N devices). Not an issue if you are the only issue. I set mine to G when I got the laptop with an integrated WiFi card. You'll never see 100+ mbps from your broadband provider anywho.

USB 2.0 is >400 mbps. Should only be an issue if you are using the USB bus to slurp in video from a camcorder, etc. while using another port for the network.

Do look around online. techbargains.com is a great site for checking out deals. Generally one of the major tech e-tailer/retailers have these on special every week.

-Kevin

[dando]

Nevermind. All gone. (woot.com deal)

Speaking of woot, WTF is going on today?!? They had umpteen woots going on throughout the day! I've never seen them do this before. :saywhat: :eek: :thumbup:

EDIT: Must be one of the famed woot offs. Never actually seen one of them.

-Kevin