Need some hardware advice for noob to get started...

goombah

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May 4, 2011
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Hi,

I've read a bunch of the threads here trying to get an idea of what I need and am starting to get an idea but am still confused between everything that's out there. Can someone point a few clues where I can start digging.

Goal: Have a long building (1 floor) which I would like to put wi-fi throughout so I want to extend wi-fi from one end to the other (300 ft est). [The building is not deep, just long]

[----------x--------------------------------------------] [--------------------------------------------------]
^
router here

Currently the connection goes only to x, I assume because of the walls.

The router I am using is the one provided by the ISP an ADSL router (Siemens gigaset se567).

Can someone tell me if this is the direction I should be looking at:

1. Get a wireless n router and plug router into the new router.
1a)Get a directional antenna to help with broadcast of signal?
2. Get a few extenders? It sounds like an access point can serve the same function as an extender? (Access points require wiring to serve this function?)

Solution?

[-----------y------------y------------y---------------][--y----------y-----------y--------------y------------]
n-router

y=extenders

Questions-
How far does each extender extend? How much does the signal degrade as it extends.
 

goombah

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May 4, 2011
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Well, thanks to noone here I have come to the following as my best bet:

Amped cable to antenna (cost roughly $65)
Amped outdoor antenna (cost roughly 140)
N wireless router (cost $40)
And Amped smart extender ($100).

Anyone have any insights if my plan would work? Also my buildings are only 75 feet long so need to go total of 200 feet.
 

goombah

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May 4, 2011
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Hi Emerald,

Thank you for your response. Your response leads me to believe I might just need to get a few routers as use them as repeaters.

In some other threads you had posted a link for a site to go to to find out if your router can run the DD-WRT update. Can you please put the link here.

I have a few old wireless routers that I have lying around that I would like to see if they can use this function.
 

goombah

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May 4, 2011
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Thanks Emerald it looks like I have some sort of basic setup going with the dd-wrt. I'll play around with it in the afternoon and see how far it goes.
My ADSL router didn't support the dd-wrt. So setup a wireless n router dlink 615 to the ADSL router. Then setup a Linksys WRT54gl router I had lying around with this dd-wrt and was able to connect to it about 30 feet farther than I have ever been able to go.
 

goombah

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May 4, 2011
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I also saw on the internet on another site, not the site you had sent that you can change the power output of the router after you update the firmware to dd-wrt. What is your advise on this??