BleepingComputer.com: Increasing Wireless Range

ok we have a linksys b/g router and was wondering if we could do anything to increase the range. right now the router is on the second floor b/c that is where bellsouth added an internet outlet. we can get signal on the 1st floor sometimes, but its not consistant. sometimes it would take awhile for it to connect, but once it connects it seems to hold the signal pretty well. the main problem is trying to connect as i have to go to a few specific areas first to be able to connect. was wondering whats the best way to improve this.

i was thinking of maybe an access point and/or a higher gain antenna. however those things would run about $50-60. a little too expensive seeing as how routers run for about the same price. so me and my dad got to thinking. we could either:
a) go ahead and get an access point and/or antenna

just get those pre-n(whatever they call it) router that is suppose to give you alot better range and speed (there was a belkin pre-n router at frys for $80). just not sure how much better range you get with those things though.

c)if bellsouth can add a DSL connection to an existing telephone line, then so can we. we were thinking of adding one on the first floor and setting up the router there. and then the computer upstairs can still be wired straight to the outlet w/o going through the router. only problem with this is im not sure if this will work. so bellsouth only gives us 1 IP address and then the router just makes up IP address for all the computer that is connected to it? i dont know how DSL works. maybe some1 can give a quick simlpe explanation just so i can understand it better.

oh and we dont have the modem thing. we go straight from the wall to the router.

anyone know if option "c" is possible or if it shouldnt even be considered at all?


not sure why that smily face thing is there....its suppose to be option "b"

Option C. It's not pretty but it is an option. HPNA.

sounds interesting, just not too sure how it works. so it basically just something that converts a phone line to something you can plug an ethernet cable in? also there doesnt seem to be any products with prices on that site. sot sure if it selling a product or a service

heres an idea that i just though about after looking at that site. those DSL connections that uses a modem, they have this thing that plugs into the phone outlet and you connect the modem to it. what if i connect the router to it instead. would that work?

Here is my limited understanding of the situation:

You have phone outlets on both floors. You have a DSL modem and a Linksys router (or maybe the DSL modem is in the router?) on the second floor connected to a phone outlet, possibly shared with your phone?
The other phones have a filter between them and the wall outlets?

If that is the situation I think you should have no problem moving the DSL modem and router to the 1st floor and connecting to a phone outlet there. Just remember to unplug the filter from the outlet where the router is connected and always have a filter between a phone and an outlet.
Then my suggestion would be to mount (place) the router high in the room e.g. on top of a bookshelf, that way it gives good coverage of the 1st floor and is also nearer to everything on the second floor. This may fix your range problem.

Pre-N wireless devices are supposed to have 10 times the range of the B or G standard devices and they are compatible with B/G devices. But I'm not sure what the range increase would be Pre-N <--> B/G.

hth

ok i was thinking about the same thing with the Pre-N and B/G and thats why we didnt go with. just needed a confirmation

ok i guess i need to paint a better picture of the situation

we have bellsouth and they said that we dont need a modem like most DSL do. what they did was they came to the house and made one of our phone line into a DSL line. so we connect straight to the outlet w/o a modem

so it goes like this: outlet -> router -> desktop (wired). what we need to know is if we can just make one of our phone outlet to a DSL outler like bellsouth did. we just want to do it ourself b/c i think bellsouth will charge $99.

2nd question: what are those things that connects from the phone outlet to a modem (not a router)? at my apt. for school, our set up goes like this: outlet -> some sort of converter -> modem -> router -> computer(s). what is that converter thing? can that be used at my house?

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Well the short answer is NO.
If the US situation is similar to Australia then it is illegal for you to modify any fixed telecommunications wiring, for the very good reason that if you stuff it up you may bring down comms in the whole neighbourhood. Any businesses operating nearby? You will be hearing from their lawyers, if that scenario arose, when they find out (and they will) who is responsible.

The situation is too complicated for me to help you, I had a look at the Bellsouth broadband site and they give some good explanatory stuff there. Here are some extracts I thought might shed light on your situation:

Info from http://www.bellsouth.com/broadband/dsl_sol...phone%20service

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Does this ring any bells? (pardon the pun!)
This led me to believe that all your phone outlets were equal and therefore you could move the router placement around as you like but then I saw this - Have a look here at the 649A-1:
http://www.hometech.com/techwire/dsl.html

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- which looks like the DSL and phone are split at the entry to the building and you have one fixed DSL outlet which you would have to pay to be relocated.

Others with personal experience of the local DSL setup may be able to confirm or deny my deductions.

hth

HPNA on Ebay

Hang this like a smoke detector. Indoor ceiling mount antenna

hhmm...this looks like it would be more complicated than i thought

not sure about the NID. i havent really noticed some gray boxe outside but next time i go home i will look for this. not sure if the DSL and phone are split at the entry and that we have a fixed DSL outlet b/c when the guy came he asked where we wanted the outlet. so im thinking that he could very well have made an outlet anywhere we would have liked.

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what do you mean by stuff it up? like have more computers connected to it? i just though that it would be like having more computers connected to the router but instead of connecting to the router its just connected to the outlet. (kinda like cable(tv) i guess and that you have cable outlet in each room). i thought that bellsouth just gives us a max upload/download speed and the more comps connected, it would just slow us down and not affect anyone else.

still not sure how that HPNA thing works

It just uses the POTS line to carry the signal. Similar to ethernet just a different protocol not not near the kbs. But it will carry the current max most home users are allow by their ISP.

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Indeed he could have, if it was practical to run the wires. My point was not where the outlet is but what it is.

If I may grossly simplify the situation for a moment - DSL= high frequency signal, Telephone = low frequency signal. Both these signals go down the same phone line from your home to the rest-of-the-world. At some point in or near your dwelling the signals have to be split so they don't interfere with each other's equipment. The splitting is done with filters that block one of the signals.

In some places both signals go to every phone outlet in the house and there are filters on every phone so computers and phones can be moved around to whatever outlet you want. It costs more in filters but no rewiring is needed.

In other places there is a filter where the phone line enters the building and the low frequency signal is sent to all the phone outlets and the high frequency signal is sent to one (new) phone outlet - called the DSL outlet. That means if you plug a phone into the DSL outlet it won't work and if you plug your DSL router into a phone outlet it wont work. This is often done in areas where the house wiring is likely to be unsuitable for DSL since DSL signals need higher quality cable than used to be used for phones. The phone company would have upgraded the street wiring for DSL (if needed) but they don't want to rewire everyones homes, so they just do one outlet. This sounds like your situation.

For the reasons I stated earlier it is illegal for you to alter or move that outlet. This has nothing to do with how many PCs you plug in - if you plugged a PC directly into the DSL outlet it wouldn't work anyway, you have to go via a DSL device such as your router.

I hope that's made it clearer.

ok that made alot of things clearer. thanks. since its pretty apparent that doing this would be illegal, im not even gonna consider it anymore. now i just want to understand this.

ok in our case, we can plug the computer straight to the DSL outlet and it would work. does this change anything? its because of this reason that i thought i could just tap into the line and create another DSL outlet elsewhere. it seems like just knowing which of the wires to use (i looked at how the guy wired it)

in my apt at school, we dont have a DSL outlet. instead we have one of those filter/converter things that plugs into the phone outlet and that goes to the modem. w/o the modem we cant go online.

so how come we need a modem at my apt but not at my house? and would that filter/converter thing work at my house? sorry if its taking me awhile to understand this, not everything seems to be sinking in yet

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You're kidding, right?

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I would suggest you do have a DSL modem at your house - it's built in to the router.

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I don't think so, but you would be better off asking Bellsouth (or searching their website) because there are so many possible combinations I really cannot say with any certainty.

splackavellie, on Oct 30 2005, 08:58 PM, said:

Using a wireless router you maybe tapping in on someone elses signal. There maybe an unsecure LAN near your house you are intercepting signal from.

Rimmer, on Oct 31 2005, 12:24 AM, said:

im pretty sure that we can since we didnt get a router until a week after we got the line installed and my dad said he was able to get online. but i will double check on this b/c i do remember him saying that he had problems connecting online.

acklan, on Oct 31 2005, 02:15 AM, said:

not sure i understand. yes there are unsecured LAN near our house that i can "see", but we are not connecting to those.

Just trying to cover all the bases. It's not uncommon to access someone elses LAN with a wifi card. Without a modem I can't see how you can access the internet, except how I just describe.
Sorry