Extending WiFi

[mike123abc]

My brother has a problem with his house. Essentially with the size of the house and number of walls he has not found a WiFi station that can provide service over the entire house (and large backyard) reliably. I think that 2 WiFi stations would probably work best, one on each side of the house. But, I do not have any experience with this. What is the best way to extend WiFi like this. Essentially he wants just one WiFi ssid that he can go anywhere and it switches base stations as needed.

 

[lparsons21]

See the thread I started about cleaning the AV rack - network.

Essentially that's what I've got, though it wasn't the reason for doing what I did.

 

[diogen]

Essentially he wants just one WiFi ssid that he can go anywhere...

I think this is what is referred to as WDS (Wireless Distribution System).
Here is a writeup how to do it on oldy but goody WRT54G. Any other Linksys router capable of running dd-wrt will do just as well...
Indo WRT: Create Linksys WDS using dd-wrt tutorial

Diogen.

 

[TheForce]

Ever since getting the ipad I have been on this same quest to saturate my house with good mobile wifi coverage throughout the house and out back around the pool and patio.

In an unfortunate lightning strike a couple weeks ago I had to replace my Linksys WRT 54G wifi router and this was the single most important change to improve my coverage. I replaced the Linksys that according to many internet reports uses the lowest signal power coverage of all the similar devices. So I avoided getting another Linksys and replaced it with a Netgear WNR 1000v2 which wasn't that expensive. CompUSA locally has good discounts on all this stuff. I also had a Hawking HSB2 signal booster but unfortunately the Netgear used a permanent mounted tiny antenna. I had to open up the Netgear router and replace the antenna with an antenna jack scavenged from the old Linksys router so I could plug in the amp. After that I was able to connect the HSB2. Then I replaced the antenna with a larger gain D link ANT024-0700 located in the attic space above my router.

The combination of this now gives me coverage all over the house with good consistent signal and I've tested it to the end of my backyard about 150ft from the router.

In my quest, I also experimented with the Hawking Range Extender. This device works and is pretty easy to set up. You place it about halfway between your router and your intended use location. The trouble with this device is that you will have set up a second SSID that you will need to log into so it isn't as convenient as you might expect. Fortunately, my system with the Netgear and Hawking signal booster amp works well enough that I don't need the range extender anywhere.

 

[truckracer]

I did this and just added two more wireless access point hardwired with cat5e.
I used a regular plug in router to my dsl modem. Assigned the ap's ip adresses and I'm done. My wireless devices recognize the three access points. The only problem is when I am roaming from one access point to another I have to tell my device to disconnect and then reconnect to the closest AP.

 

[TheForce]

The only problem is when I am roaming from one access point to another I have to tell my device to disconnect and then reconnect to the closest AP.

Yes, same here and that was why I was thrilled to get a bigger primary circle of signal under one AP. Now I can roam and not be bothered by it. Happy camper!

 

[Foxbat]

I had tried the WDS feature with my Apple Airports and while it worked, the available bandwidth is cut in half by making the Airport Express into a repeater. I ended up running CAT5e to the Home Theater area anyway, so the Airport Express is now set up in Bridge mode. A nice feature of the Apple configuration software was the cloning of all the MAC addresses from the base station to the Express for the extra level of security.

I haven't had any issues with forcing my portable devices to switch from one Wi-Fi station to the other; it all happens automagically.

The main reason I got the Airport Express was the iTunes playback through the HT setup. With the iOS device remote control of iTunes, I can control playback of whatever music I want. The WiFi-expansion capabilities were an extra bonus.

 

[lparsons21]

My Apple wireless network is all 802.11n @5Ghz and after I extended the network with 2 Airport Extremes, I couldn't see any noticeable slowdown. Under the older 802.11g that I had a number of years ago, the slowdown was very noticeable and intolerable.

 

[Stargazer]

Just get you a Ubiquiti radio. It is much more powerful.

 

[Van]

Here's some links to products and information. From what I see and have read before most if not all won't require changing access but continue the existing access point outwards and some can be positioned to direct the signal in a specific direction for a localized coverage as opposed to an all around coverage. Just remember to enable security settings as the extended range could encompass neighboring structures as well as the road frontage allowing others to use an open connection.




WiFi Extenders.com - The Global source for Wireless Extension Technology
Expand a Wireless Network's Range - PCWorld
802.11G Range Extender - Wireless Internet Routers
D-Link High Speed 2.4GHz (802.11g) Wireless Range Extender
Belkin : Wireless G Universal Range Extender
wifi range extenders - CNET

 

[leifkenn]

Look into openmesh.

Open-Mesh