Broadband and Wireless?

[Angel]

Thinking of going Broadband... i have 2 incoming lines.. one will accept bb the other not. If a wireless router thingy came with the chosen package... how far away will the wireless interface wotsit work. The reason of asking is... I have had 4 sets of DECT phones and none of them will work beyond 20 feet.
I think the stone wall of the cottage are to thick for the signal to get through.
Does the wireless BB work the same way.

Angel

[MadPict]

You may find problems if your DECT phones have issues. I use my laptop in the garden during the summer and have found the signal still strong 80' from the house through 3 walls. You can get bigger aerials for some routers to improve the signal.

If it doesn't work a pretty good system are the mains networking kits such as Devolo -
http://www.devolo.co.uk/uk_EN/index.html

[Sapphire2803]

I live in a stone cottage too (Aren't those walls thick!) our wireless router is on the living room windowsill, which means that in summer I can sit out there with my laptop. The wireless does pretty well inside the house. There is a good signal all the way through downstairs. Leaving doors open helps if you have trouble and believe it or not, strategically placed mirrors can help to bounce the signal around corners :)

They do work in a similar way to DECT phones, but you don't tend to wander off outside with a laptop like you might do with the phone. We couldn't get more than about 3 yards away from the house with the phone.

[jimbews]

You can get bigger aerials for some routers to improve the signal.

If it doesn't work a pretty good system are the mains networking kits such as Devolo -
http://www.devolo.co.uk/uk_EN/index.html (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://www.devolo.co.uk/uk_EN/index.html)

I have no experience with either higher gain aerials or with mains networking kits, but often have to support staff here in old houses.

The thick walls are a real signal killer, especially if the signal goes through at an angle. It's worth putting a lot of thought into the siting of the broadband router, even if it means running a phone extension cable.

Another possibility, possibly cheaper than high gain aerials, is to buy another wireless access point and mount it in a suitable position, possibly in the attic. It could be wired together using ethernet cable, but in theory it could act as a wireless repeater (but I've never been in a position to test that). For example a Netgear WG602 is about 33 + VAT, but that has just been chosen because we've tended to stick with NetGear products. For example our normal ADSL router would be their DG834G.

For casual readers - please note the WG602 is NOT a broadband router but could be used in conjunction with one.

JimBews

[Sapphire2803]

Yep, that's what we've done now. I didn't mention it purely because you have to know what you're up to. We've got a Binatone ADSL router with a D-Link Wireless Access point plugged into it in the living room and a Pheenet Wireless A/P upstairs running as a repeater. Btw, the repeater hasn't got an ethernet cable plugged into it, it receives and sends wireless(ly?).
My husband spends a lot of time out in the garage - AKA 'The Doghouse' so there's a cable running out there to another access point, so that he can take his laptop out there.

We shared our broadband wirelessly with a neighbour once via a high gain aerial, but you still need line of sight. The best place for an access point is usually a central spot in the area you'll be using it and up at ceiling height, but it really does depend on your house.

Oh.... and just to put the cat amongst the pigeons.... Don't put it right beside an armchair etc. That wireless signal is the same frequency as your microwave uses to cook things, although with only a fraction of the power.

[Riffman]

Another possibility, possibly cheaper than high gain aerials, is to buy another wireless access point and mount it in a suitable position, possibly in the attic. It could be wired together using ethernet cable, but in theory it could act as a wireless repeater (but I've never been in a position to test that). For example a Netgear WG602 is about 33 + VAT, but that has just been chosen because we've tended to stick with NetGear products. For example our normal ADSL router would be their DG834G.

For casual readers - please note the WG602 is NOT a broadband router but could be used in conjunction with one.

JimBews

BUT there is a catch with that netgear box, you need two of them, with one wired into your broadband router. You CANNOT use it to repeat a wireless signal from a wireless router. (AFAIK)




ng it and up at ceiling height, but it really does depend on your house.

Oh.... and just to put the cat amongst the pigeons.... Don't put it right beside an armchair etc. That wireless signal is the same frequency as your microwave uses to cook things, although with only a fraction of the power.

I would not worry about that too much, the power of the signal is very low.