Need wireless router help!

[AZhitman]

Hey guys - By now you've learned that I ONLY trust my NICO brothers to hook the "old dawg" up with quality computer info.

I have DSL into my house, and it's directly connected to my PC. However, I also want to get my laptop online "in-house". I've been advised to get the LinkSys WPC54G broadband router and notebook adapter, but the price is $160 + tax for both.

Alternatively, I can get a data cable and dial up using my cell phone, then I could be online ANYWHERE, and I'd just pay for wireless minutes. I'm already dropping $80 for 1300/month anytime, I could bump up to $150 for 2700/month...

Actually, I'd like to do BOTH if I could get the wireless stuff cheaper.

Any other alternatives you guys know of?

[DAEDALUS]

Definitely cheaper stuff out there...you can try Ebay for anything 802.11b, which is pretty solid. A lot of techies are upgrading to newer stuff, and selling their older units. I have a 7004awbr router from SMC. I got it and the wireless PCMCIA card for less than $100 total. The cell phone stuff I don't know much about. What's the data speed with that? If it's as good as DSL then great. If it's more like 56k, then, well...

[elbles]

Well, I'd recommend going with the Linksys wireless router. If you were to connect through your cell phone, chances are the speeds would be less than what you would have with the DSL connection, as well as what I would imagine to be diminished reliability.

The Linksys router/WAP runs a variant of Linux, and "hacks" exist to increase the power of the wireless tranceiver for greater range, if you were looking for that. Granted, it won't give you access across town, but depending on the size of your neighborhood, it might extend the range far enough for whatever you'd like. Security-wise, with 128-bit WEP enabled, it's not really that bad, though still not as secure as a wired connection. Feel free to IM me at SeanMP393 if you have any questions . . .

[lessthanjakejohn]

Greg, I'm sure someone on the boards has some old 802.11b stuff they'd be willing to sell you cheap.

I'm not too sure about this wireless phone thing, wouldn't do that if I were you

[flyfishz]

linksys will get the job done... very reliable throughout my entire house, (4200 sq') plus good access in the garage and backyard

be sure to enable WEP

[MainEvent212]

i use netgear and it's held up it's end for 3 years now

[C-Kwik]

Don't cellphone companies charge by how many bits of info is communicated? I'd probably prefer to use a more traditional broadband connection for normal use.

Consider a router is a one time investment. So it's really not that bad. Lucky for me, I was doing some construction on my place a year ago and I hardwired most of the rooms so I can use a standard router with ease. Though a wireless system is starting to look good for better mobility.

[99WhiteSE]

I wouldn't suggest using your cell phone for the internet. My mom had this and it was really really slow. It was slower than 56k by far. Wireless connections are good for laptops but for desktops I would use a wire due to speed issues. A 802.11b runs like 11mbps and the wired connection runs 100mbps. Hope this helps!

[smokei]

Ok im gonna break down some really geeky stuff right here...You can go cheaper on the wireless router. Look for a 802.11b instead of the g band. The g is newer and faster but its not worth the cost if you are mostly using it for internet access. But here is the important part...There are thousands of wireless routers out there, and many people don't put up their wep security for various reasons. So instead of using your cell phone... you can actually do something else. If you are driving around you can use a bit of software and do a bit of war carding. War carding is a term derived from the movie War Games where you basically scan for open networks while you drive around. So what do you need you ask? well this is where the lines blurr, because this is the not so legal bit. but you will need an Orinoco Wireless Card. pretty much any of them. and then you can do a google search on war carding or web stomping. I would give out a direct link, but prying eyes want to know. Well kiddies, this is basically how its done, and how (ahem) somepeople you know are never without an internet connection... oh one more thing... Your internet connection will not go above 11mbps anytime soon so unless you are transfering huge files from computer to computer, you dont need to go much faster... probably for another year and a half. Oh one more thing... I do have some old equipment i am willing to hock, as i have upgraded my network. so if you are really really interested in either my knowledge or my warez then hit me up. -GEEK!

[James @ ID-M]

Linksys is definetly the router to go with. I have used them for years with my business (used to own a Networking/PC Repair company). But you can certaintly find them cheaper.

[I30T]

i have a d-link router, it was 30 bucks at TigerDirect.com

[Anand]

Alright... I have Lynksys... it works awesome.. I have the G router as well and I get speeds upto 54 instead of 11 with the B.

Now that is a good Idea with home use..

BUT if you want to be truely mobile! I recomend getting AT&T Wireless service.. We havea plan where you can get a network card for your laptop made by Sony/Ericsson. The plans run on bites per second not minutes and wtih the 79.99 Data plan you get with the card.. you will get unlimited access to the internet from anywhere in the nation (depending on if we cover the area) which is major US cities...

but what about the speeds you ask.. well, since we launched our EDGE service... it is 2x faster than any ,obile internet offered in the US preiod! so it is about 2-3x faster than dialup...

let me know if you are interested and I will get you the details...

[Daunttless]

Are you looking for a wireless solution, or a wired solution? Wireless would be significantly more convenient, but a wired solution will only set you back about 30 dollars and an ethernet cable. Also, I don't know how attached you are to your DSL, but if your cable company offers cable modems in your area, dependent upon who your cable company is, frequently they will provide routers for you as part of your subscription fee. Also, generally speaking cell phone connections are unreliable and awfully slow, I would stay away from using a cell phone unless it was absolutely necessary. Another thing to take into consideration is the fact that your DSL provider also probably provides you with a "free" dial up connection as well if you ask them about it, that way you'd be able to use just a standard dial up connection on the road. : ) See ya later AZ.

[Rockenreno]

Holy crap, Daunttless just fell out of the woodwork!

Anywho, I agree with what most people have said:1) Wired is cheapest, can be done with a simple router you most likely already have.2) Wireless is nice, but wireless B is fine.3) I'd be careful about the cell idea, it's not very established and could be unreliable and excessively expensive.4) You don't even need a war or sniffer or whatever to find open networks, just see if your wireless card picks up on a network when you're out and about. I know there are 2 open wireless connections accessible from my apartment, and neither are from the internet access I pay for (we actually keep ours secure).

Good luck!

[Daunttless]

well, I didn't really fall out, I haven't even looked at Nico in about half a year, but I figured I may as well drop in for a moment. It was 196 days since I last even looked at NICO. I'm sure you didn't miss me. =P

[Rockenreno]

It was 196 days since I last even looked at NICO.

And your average post count (per day) is still higher than mine... *sigh*:pface

Anyway, welcome back for as long as you decide to stick around

[Daunttless]

Crazy. =P

However, I don't mean to hijack AZ's thread, so yeah, I guess we'll see how long I'm around. : )

[lessthanjakejohn]

802.11b transfers at 1.375 Megabytes persecond assuming perfect connection.

In reality it ranges from 1.1 to .75 megabytes per second. So if you are just transferring an Internet connection wireless 802.11b will be just as fast as your DSL. Your DSL will probaly be anywhere from .075 megabytes persecond to .75 megabytes persecond on average

[MasterMan]

careful with wireless home networks, you will want to incrypt the signal because my buddy and i used to drive around and "war drive" basicly we had a laptop and a homemade antenna and would drive around the city and when our home-made softwear would beep we could lock onto home networks and log in, then screw up the router, computers and jack internet access.. now we only messed up a few routers and no computer cuz we arnt that mean but somone could really mess up your network if they wanted to.. i personally hardwire everything and just have outlets in every room then just plug your laptop into them.. its alot cheaper also... cell modems kinda such unless you get really good reception and IMO its waaaay too expensive and too slow.. but thats just how i look at it..

[AZhitman]

Well, I'm thoroughly confused now.

I think I'll skip worrying about logging on at home, as my PC is fine for that. But I REALLY need to be mobile with my laptop. For example, tonight I spent 2 hours at my son's football practice (this year I'm not coaching), and I could have been getting some work done.

Anand, it sounds like your deal is what I'm looking for. Do you think Qwest would have a similar product?

Also, smokei - Thanks for the info. Hit me up via email, as I have a jillion other questions. Might have a use for some used goodies.

[szh]

Well, I'm thoroughly confused now.

I think I'll skip worrying about logging on at home, as my PC is fine for that. But I REALLY need to be mobile with my laptop. For example, tonight I spent 2 hours at my son's football practice (this year I'm not coaching), and I could have been getting some work done.

802.11 networks probably do not have the range for this ... assuming that you are more than 300 meters from home! However, if you have a laptop and get an 802.11B card for it, you may be surprised at the number of "hot spots" that are cropping up. These, along with a service (like T-Mobile or Boingo Wireless for example) will allow some limited mobility.

I use the Verizon 1XRTT service when I travel (similar in concept to what was mentioned earlier about the AT&T GPRS service, but somewhat faster) and it works well for things like e-mail. I probably would not use it for web surfing on a regular basis, although I have done so when I had no choice.Quote »Anand, it sounds like your deal is what I'm looking for. Do you think Qwest would have a similar product?[/quote]Companies offering 1XRTT are: Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Western Wireless. US Cellular may choose to do so soon. Companies offering the competing (but slower) GPRS service are: AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile. I do not know about Qwest though ...

Z

[Anand]

Actually, AT&T Wireless is offering EDGE so it is better than any other companies offereing mobile data service..

It is 2x faster than any other... so you take it for what it is.. Oh and Greg... just do some research on it and it will tell you what company to go with... I will give you some links to the modem and some contracts..

If you do not want to get into a contract then let me know and I can try to get the card for you at a better price than retail... but still prety expensive and then you can just start a plan on a monthly contract...

call me up and we can talk about it..here is some details on it though:http://www.attwireless.com/med...L.pdf

[Anand]

also see:

http://www.attwireless.com/speed/

[Anand]

there is a seminar on this in Phoenix if you would like to go??

here is the link:http://www.attwireless.com/edgeseminar/index.jhtml

[AZhitman]

Dang - No seminars, I get 4 hours of sleep a night as it is!

Anand, hit me up when you have time tomorrow - I should be free during biz hours.

[DAEDALUS]

I just saw deals on a D-Link wireless router and card for under $50.

[Anand]

Amazon has the Netgear WG511 Wireless 802.11g PC Card on sale for $34.99 after $10 rebate. Free shipping.

Netgear WGR614 wireless 802.11g router is $44.99 after $20 rebate. Free shipping.

Additional $10 rebate if you buy both.

$10 rebate Exp 2/29/04

CARD:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...51113

ROUTER:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...51113

REBATE:http://images.amazon.com/image...Z.jpg

[szh]

Actually, AT&T Wireless is offering EDGE so it is better than any other companies offereing mobile data service..

Ah, but EDGE is not widely available yet ... and CDMA 1XEVDO from Verizon is faster and equally unavailable in most places. Limited footprint makes either of these newer technologies kinda not as useful to the general user!

Note that I am not plugging any service here - I am not associated with either AT&T or Verizon! But I did a lot of research on coverage, speeds, and then tried both services (only GPRS and 1XRTT though, not the newer EDGE and 1XEVDO stuff), and I stayed with Verizon 1XRTT for the significantly better speeds (got 60-110 kbps in the cities I traveled to, compared to the 10-30 kpbs I got with GPRS).

Z

[Anand]

EDGE is already launched throughout the nation... anywhere we have our GSM/GPPRS nework set, EDGE is available. it overlays the GPRS grid and then some.

[lessthanjakejohn]

Linksys support has been outsourced to India, dont buy from them.