Home network setup need help

[bigkitty]

Hello everyone,
I came across this site and did some reading but now I need some help.
I just moved out of the city to a rural area and my only option for internet is yourlink.ca which is wireless high speed with speeds up to 2mbps DL and 256 kbps UL speeds.

Now this is what my goal is:
House is approx 2000 sq ft split level
I will have the cat5 cable coming from the outside antenna that picks up the signal going into my office room located upstairs on my top level.
This will go to my wireless router (not sure which one to get yet) then a wired connection to my desktop in the same office room.
From here I would like wireless throughout the house all the way to the basement (has to pass through two floors to get to basement)
And also I would like to have wired connection in basement to my Xbox and blueray player. I also may add some wireless security cameras. Also would like to use apple airport express to stream tunes to my receiver via the apple remote app.

This is a older house with no cat wiring anywhere.
What can you suggest the best set up for me ? I plan to budget around $500.00 if possible.
Thanks for the help

 

[riser]

I would run with 2 wireless devices. Linksys Router ES1000 is a basic wireless N device, runs about $60.

Cable comes in, connects to your first wireless device. Run you cables like you want, etc. If you plan on running a cable down to your basement, you could then put another wireless router down there (you will want to change the IP address from .1 to .2 [192.168.1.2]) and disable DHCP on the second wireless router. This could be in your basement, or on your split level towards the center.

You can go with a standard AP as well instead of a second router. The benefit of the router will allow a 4 port switch to wire in additional devices that you don't want to run wireless over.

Wireless on the top floor and in the basement should give good coverage to your middle floor. If you can get the wireless on each of the house, you'll be in luck. If you do both in the middle, you could run into a signal dead spot in the middle of your house.

 

[bigkitty]

I would run with 2 wireless devices. Linksys Router ES1000 is a basic wireless N device, runs about $60.

Cable comes in, connects to your first wireless device. Run you cables like you want, etc. If you plan on running a cable down to your basement, you could then put another wireless router down there (you will want to change the IP address from .1 to .2 [192.168.1.2]) and disable DHCP on the second wireless router. This could be in your basement, or on your split level towards the center.

You can go with a standard AP as well instead of a second router. The benefit of the router will allow a 4 port switch to wire in additional devices that you don't want to run wireless over.

Wireless on the top floor and in the basement should give good coverage to your middle floor. If you can get the wireless on each of the house, you'll be in luck. If you do both in the middle, you could run into a signal dead spot in the middle of your house.

Thanks Riser.
I do not plan on running a cable to my basement. How/what do I need in order to hook up my xbox and blueray in the basement ??

 

[hang-the-9]

Thanks Riser.
I do not plan on running a cable to my basement. How/what do I need in order to hook up my xbox and blueray in the basement ??

You may not have a choice in the matter of getting a cable down there, wireless will have a huge issue going down 2 levels to the basement. The only way I can think of is to point a directional antenna out a window down to the basement and get another directional antenna from the basement window (if there is one) pointing up at the first antenna.

Unless you do the work yourself, running a ethernet cable down from top to bottom of a house can be pricy. Network cabeling technicians generally run in the $50-60 an hour range. If you use the computers a lot though, it's worth getting a proper setup though. You can probably find a cheaper deal out there, sometimes you can get a barter deal from a site like craigslist that will trade PC work for something you have around the house.

If you do run a wire, which is almost certainly what you need to do, make sure they use Plenum wiring as the regular ethernet cables are not meant for in-wall routing due to fire codes.

 

[bigkitty]

***the install was done last night and with the D-Link DIR-655 upstairs I am getting approx 3 bars wifi on my LG BD570 Blueray player in the basement and one bar on iphone wifi. I have not tried my laptop yet.
Not too bad
After a speedtest my DL speed was only 1-1.5 mbps on my desktop upstairs.
With the signal I have in the basement should I just get another D-link DIR-655 and put in basement and bridge or go another route ? Is it possible to bridge these two together ?

 

[hang-the-9]

I don't think a bridge will help you too much as the signal between the 2 will be as weak as the devices. If you stick one on the floor in between, that will probably help. Something l ike this http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&expIds=17259,25901,25984,26441,26446,26459,26515&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=wireless+extender&cp=11&rlz=1R2GGLL_en&wrapid=tljp1284140575953118&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=5872740843227684656&ei=Km6KTJSKD4OC8gbf0onfCg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CEcQ8wIwAg#