Repeaters . . .

[shnooby]

Hey guys,

Are there repeaters out there that can be hard wired? And is more beneficial? Also, any specific companies or websites to look on? I know to look at newegg.

Thanks

 

[john-b691]

Depends what you mean by repeater and hardwired. Using a AP takes the signal in wireless and sends it out wired. Technically this function is called a bridge but you are better off using a AP. Most any of the more modern routers allow you to use them as a AP.

 

[RealBeast]

Repeaters are really kind of a last resort IMO. A better alternative is an access point that is connected to the router by an Ethernet cable or cables with powerline adapters if a single cable is not feasible. It is usually cheaper to just buy a cheap router and configure it as an access point than to buy an access point.

What router do you currently have (makes a recommendation much easier)?

 

[shnooby]

Thanks for the answer. We have a old Linksys router in the basement that we can use as a Access Point. I was not 100% sure what an Access Point was till now, thanks for the knowledge on that one. We currently have a Verizon Fios Router, I think that we still need a Repeater. The problem we have is that from the location of the router, there is a microwave and a cordless phone completely cutting off the kitchen. -_- So I was wondering if there is a model that can be hard wired. (Wire = Ethernet Cable) The wire that is available is above the kitchen, so it can reach below past the microwave and cordless phones.

I don't know if this is possible, but I know A repeater, I don't know if they are all like this, but the repeater creates its own network from the routers signal, now, can I set the repeater so that it's one large network, so that the device does not need to change networks, or is it not possible?

 

[RealBeast]

Actually a repeater receives a wireless signal and rebroadcasts it, which is why I said that it was not what you need.

Pretty much any router can be configured as an access point (AP), as that is usually cheaper than buying a specific AP. An AP is just a wireless radio connection point that is wired to your router to extend your coverage range (so a router with the DHCP service turned off and configured to act as an AP).

You connect the router to the AP with an Ethernet cable from LAN port to LAN port. You assign the AP an IP address that is in the network by not assigned by the router DHCP server (using address reservation is easiest if your router supports it otherwise a static address just above or below the DHCP assignment range available on the router). The set the AP to use the same SSID and passphrase but a different set of radio channels to avoid interference. All computers and phones, etc. will still obtain their IP address from the router DHCP automatically, but if they are within the range of the AP they will connect to it to obtain the connection.

If needed you can use more than one access point.

 

[shnooby]

I know I am being a pain in the butt, but I am still trying to comprehend this . . .

1. Set the old router as an Access Point (Will the router itself have the software on it, or do I have to download something?)
2. Plug the Ethernet cable into the old router (LAN port, not WAN port)
3. Manually set the IP of the router (Does it matter what IP? I don't understand the DHCP server portion, can you explain it quickly, or should I just go look it up?)
4. Change the radio channel (That should be on the router set up page, I think)

Question: The device that is trying to connect wireless won't bounce back and forth between the access point and the router? How does it know which one to connect to? (It just does or . . .)

 

[john-b691]

1. it should have a option to make it a access point...if not then we cheat a bit.
2. If it has the AP function you use the wan port in most cases
If it does not have AP you use the lan port. The router part is still there but it is not used since it only runs between wan and lan.
3. The IP does not matter, it must be in the same range as your other ip, the main key is that it cannot be the same as your main router. You also need to disable the DHCP server on the second router if you are using the none AP method, it is disabled by default if it has the box to make it a AP
4. yup in the setup

5. Mostly the PC is smart enough but this is a concern. The PC will always connect to the strongest signal and will not switch to another until the signal drops below a certain level. These are option in the network settings. But as you guess there are times it can bounce back and forth and this will cause outages of a couple of seconds while the security is renegotiated. It generally does not happen often.

This is design choice. You can set the SSID to the same and let the PC decide what to use or you can use different SSID and then you manually control which device it uses. There are arguments for both, I tend to be a control freak so I use different SSID.

 

[RealBeast]

No, not at all -- networking is a big subject and there are a lot of things to learn.

(1) the router is an access point plus a DHCP service which makes it a router, so just turn off the DHCP and it basically is an AP. The old router has all the features you need, you just need to turn off DHCP so you don't have multiple devices trying to assign IP addresses on your single network. And you need to set the specific stuff I mentioned so that the AP works well within your network.

(2) yes, it needs to be an LAN to LAN port connection for what you are doing. If for some reason you needed a second wireless network (i.e. different IP range like the main one was 192.168.0.1, and the second network was 192.168.5.1 and you did not want communication between the networks) you would go LAN to WAN, but that is not what you want here.

(3) You should always look up and read about stuff so you understand it, but basically as an example your gateway router will be 192.168.1.1 (the third number --or octet-- can be from 0 to 254 and each represents a different network -- some brands have a default of 192.168.1.1, some 192.168.0.1, etc., and the last number is the range of devices in that network .1 is the gateway, .255 is the broadcast address and you can use everything in between as part of that /24 network), so you can make your AP 192.168.1.2 and then allow your DHCP to assign 192.168.1.3 to .254, unless you have a printer or other peripheral that works better on a static address. In that case allow the DHCP to assign up to say .200 and assign static address to the devices from .201 to .254. The main thing is to insure that each device gets a different address in the network and that nothing gets the address of the gateway or AP except that particular device.

(4) there is a section in the configuration pages that allows you to change the radio channels. With G wireless there are 11 channels in the US, but only three do not overlap -- 1, 6 and 11 -- see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11g-2003#Channels_and_Frequencies

There is a neat little free program called inSSIDer that you can put on one of your laptops to see all of the wireless signals available with information on each including strength and channel.

The connecting wireless device will either select the strongest signal or let you decide, it will not change between them unless you walk to different area of the house and then many consumer grade devices try to hang on to the original signal until they can't any longer, but you won't have an issue of them bouncing between radio sources.

 

[shnooby]

Best answer selected by shnooby.

 

[shnooby]

I looked at the set up and everything and it worked, thank you so much. You helped me and explained it to me, that's the type of people that are needed on these forums, thanks. And John-b691, thank you, you're input also helped out a great deal, thank you.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

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