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  1. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Ok I have a pci card with a 7db high gain antenna on one of my pcs for connecting to my rangemax netgear 108g router. I seem to get good speed with it on my cable internet. I also have a usb ativa 54mb g wifi adapter for my vista pc and it seems to get so so reception.

    It's one of those that sits in a stand and doesn't have an antenna connection option.

    Are there any wifi receivers that work by connecting via lan rather than usb? I don't really have a free pci slot to get another pci card. I know thats probably the best bet. Or do they make usb wifi receivers that allow to connect an antenna?

    I'd like more sustainable speeds on my vista pc. I only need regular g speeds really. My router does do 108 but I don't have a pc connected to it. THough it might not hurt since my ps3 and xbox 360 are hard lanned to it and could aid in media streaming if both ends where on the 108 speed (i know the lan portion is 100 but you know what I mean).

    So are there any better options than the relative no namer usb wifi receiver I'm currently using? I'd rather not resort to pci because I'd have to uinstall my soundcard and I don't want to do that (I do have onboard sound but thats lame...)

    Thanks....
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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    Look for an "access point" device that has a "bridging" mode. Access points typically sit on the end of the network and provide wireless connectivity. But in bridging mode, they connect wirelessly to a wireless router and provide a single network connection. I don't know what Netgear makes that would operate at 108Mbps, though.
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  3. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @prouton - thanks. I hadn't thought about an access point. I'll look into them.

    Are they usb or lan based?

    edit - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5250809&st=access+point&lp=1&type=produc...=1051384664188

    would something like that from linksys work? It doesn't mention bridging ability though. Netgear does have one in g speeds but its a 150.00 I think. Are there any cheaper? Would it be worth checking out ebay for?

    Also does it have to be "bridgeable" to use in my circumstance? I just need it to connect to my pc via lan prefferably or usb at worst. It shouldn't have router ability just receving ability. Thanks.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  4. If your computer is where you can connect a network cable to your router you don't need wifi adapter and it would be faster too. If there are not enough outlet for your computers etc, you can either add a switch or another router.
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  5. What you need is a wireless bridge. Some custom firmwares will allow doing this with a much cheaper standard wireless router.

    This device does NOT connect to your PC by LAN. It connects to the PC by Ethernet, and to the LAN by Wireless, and it bridges the two, hence the name.

    There is a hi-performance USB wireless card by Hawking that looks like a small dish antenna, it is supposed to be one of the top two in distance.

    Something else you can try. Use a USB extension cable to move the USB receiver to different locations. This will often solve your problem.

    I have used a hi-gain antenna connected to a PCI card, Dlink ANT24, and gotten similar reception using a 15-foot USB cable to move the USB receiver up high. Making a simple tinfoil reflector allows for dramatically better reception than the antenna can produce. Haven't tried putting a dish on the antenna, the short cable is a problem.
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  6. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Ok I've been doing a bit of net browsing and I think I might have found a cheap alternative.

    I still have my old dlink di524 wifi g router. I don't use it since I bought my netgear rangemax router last year sometime.

    I did search for "router as access point" and it seems to be possible. The few articles I've read mentioned turning dhcp off on the "receiving" router and assigning it an ip outside the dhcp ip range.

    Is it this simple? Also would I plug the ethernet cable into the lan or wan port on the di524 router to have it act as an access point?
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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    There's a (big) difference between using a router as just an access point, and having a "bridging" access point. If you're willing to give up on the 108Mbps speed, then look into the Airlink (Fry's Electronics house brand) AP431W, which can be had for $20 on sale.



    Oh that's interesting. It's supposed to be capable of 108Mbps. The real problem may be in getting equipment from different manufacturers to play nice together at that non-standard speed.
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  8. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @prouton - so does that mean it would work or would it be crippleware then?
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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    I have the Airlink AR410 101 SuperG router and was running two other PCs off it using AWLL4030 SuperG Wireless USB 2.0 adapters. They both supported 108Mbps transfer speeds. I've since hardwired one PC but the other still uses the USB adapter.
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  10. Buffalo make exactly what you are after - I have one but it has been retired. This is it: http://tinyurl.com/nfz47p . It plugs into an ethernet port and you can run quite a long cable. This lets you set it up in a location with better reception that your PC. As far as Windows is concerned, it is an ethernet adapter - no wireless configuration etc.
    John Miller
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  11. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    @johnnymalaria - thanks for the info. It looks interesting. Too bad I can't find it at Bestbuy, officemax or officedepot. The odd thing is office depot has the airstation antenna for sale but not the receiver????

    I'll check for places like ebay and amazon. If I can find one for less than the price of the cheapest access point that best buy carries I think I'll consider it.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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    Originally Posted by yoda313
    @prouton - so does that mean it would work or would it be crippleware then?
    The issue with getting equipment from different manufacturers to work together on non-standard speeds is that it's hit and miss. 108Mbps isn't part of the 802.11g standard -- it's an improvement designed by Atheros, and it's compatibility (with other manufacturer's routers and wireless adapters using Atheros chipsets) will depend upon the firmware. The one thing you've got working in your favor with the Airlink device versus your existing equipment is that they must both be using Atheros chipsets -- they both do 108Mbps (versus Broadcom's 125Mbps "enhanced g").

    So no, I wouldn't consider it crippleware, particularly since you seemed to be willing to accept standard "g" speed if necessary.
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