| laborlitigator |
Currently have 802.11(B) in the home. Just bought an 802.11(g) card to use with the system.
My main question is, will the above system have a better distance or signal strength?
Plus any other comments are appreciated. |
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| DaleB |
| Great link. My 802.11b D-Link (should be Dead Link) decided to crap out at a good time. I am running a new Netgear now, using G. Have not got the pci card changed out yet in the other desktop. And presently still wiindow shopping for a new laptop. I look forward to the change! |
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| paul123 |
quote:
Originally posted by laborlitigator
Currently have 802.11(B) in the home. Just bought an 802.11(g) card to use with the system.
My main question is, will the above system have a better distance or signal strength?
Plus any other comments are appreciated.
Can I get a plain english translation of what is this? Are you talking about a wireless connection to your computer, so you wouldn't have to run wires to all your computers? I heard these work on some ulta-high frequencies such as 2.3 or 3.3 gig's. I did read an article on people could be outside your home and tap into yur internet connection? I used to be a scanner-head and pick up all cell phones and cordless phones that way, but when digital signals came out it made it to costly to tap in at that point. I would assume if the wireless transmitters for the computer were digital the people wouldn't be able to tap in? |
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| srpbep |
quote:
laborlitigator wrote: Currently have 802.11(B) in the home. Just bought an 802.11(g) card to use with the system.
My main question is, will the above system have a better distance or signal strength?
Plus any other comments are appreciated.
I don't believe that 802.11g has any better range or penetration that 802.11b (please note that this is not true of 802.11a which I would avoid at this time in the evolution process because of compatibility problems and range/penetration issues). If my understanding is correct, if you upgrade your WAP (wireless access point) to 802.11g then you will get the benefits of a 5x increase in bandwidth when communicating with 80211g equipped devices (remote computers, laptops, etc.). |
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| wmquan |
quote:
Originally posted by laborlitigator
Currently have 802.11(B) in the home. Just bought an 802.11(g) card to use with the system.
My main question is, will the above system have a better distance or signal strength?
Plus any other comments are appreciated.
Most of the reviews I've read indicates that there is some range improvement. Or, rather, better speeds = better range because the degradation is more acceptable.
As far as speed goes, the true throughput of 802.11b systems seem to be about 4.5-4.9 MB. 802.11g seems to be getting around 21 MB. No, not 54 MB as advertised, but a major improvement nonetheless.
The big caveat is mixing 802.11b and 802.11g. The reviews I've read says that if you have one single 802.11b connected to your 802.11g router, the throughput for all 802.11g clients drops -- regardless of whether the 802.11b card is actively transmitting or not. In other words, if you want the speed increase, you are best off changing all 802.11b cards you may be using to 802.11g. Else you will see 802.11g throughput of around 11 MB instead of 21 MB.
www.cnet.com has some nice reviews that describe this behavior. |
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| srpbep |
quote:
paul123 wrote: Can I get a plain english translation of what is this? Are you talking about a wireless connection to your computer, so you wouldn't have to run wires to all your computers? I heard these work on some ulta-high frequencies such as 2.3 or 3.3 gig's. I did read an article on people could be outside your home and tap into yur internet connection? I used to be a scanner-head and pick up all cell phones and cordless phones that way, but when digital signals came out it made it to costly to tap in at that point. I would assume if the wireless transmitters for the computer were digital the people wouldn't be able to tap in?
People can tap into your internet connection unless you secure your wireless LAN. The systems support use of a private (symmetric key) which is installed on all devices in the wirless LAN. Without the key, access to the wireless LAN is not granted. Unfortunately, many installing a wireless LAN are not aware that the connections need to be secured, thus don't secure the LAN, and others gain access. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by wmquan
Most of the reviews I've read indicates that there is some range improvement. Or, rather, better speeds = better range because the degradation is more acceptable.
As far as speed goes, the true throughput of 802.11b systems seem to be about 4.5-4.9 MB. 802.11g seems to be getting around 21 MB. No, not 54 MB as advertised, but a major improvement nonetheless.
The big caveat is mixing 802.11b and 802.11g. The reviews I've read says that if you have one single 802.11b connected to your 802.11g router, the throughput for all 802.11g clients drops -- regardless of whether the 802.11b card is actively transmitting or not. In other words, if you want the speed increase, you are best off changing all 802.11b cards you may be using to 802.11g. Else you will see 802.11g throughput of around 11 MB instead of 21 MB.
www.cnet.com has some nice reviews that describe this behavior.
This Netgear is better than the Dead Link it replaced (when it was working), in X.11b mode.
Netgear is well priced and a couple of network engineer friends use the same stuff in their work setups.
Although, I agree it's probably better to have a G system than pcs loaded with mixed cards. |
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| laborlitigator |
quote:
Originally posted by srpbep
People can tap into your internet connection unless you secure your wireless LAN. The systems support use of a private (symmetric key) which is installed on all devices in the wirless LAN. Without the key, access to the wireless LAN is not granted. Unfortunately, many installing a wireless LAN are not aware that the connections need to be secured, thus don't secure the LAN, and others gain access.
Unless the bear or turkeys have wireless laptops, I don't think I'll have that problem. |
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| Skewbeedeaux |
I, too, have read performance reviews of significantly degraded transfer speeds in a mixed-mode (b & g) environment. I would not recommend upgrade unless every network node is (g).
Regarding security...
One of the easiest ways to increase security on a wireless network is to use MAC filtering. Every NIC has a unique (if manufacturer's adhere to standards) MAC address. If MAC filtering is an option for your wireless access point, you can configure it to communicate with only predetermined NICs(identified by their MAC addy). That way, your network will be relatively safe from other common wireless users in the neighborhood. But like everything else, this is not foolproof as those determined and with right tools can spoof(impersonate) MAC addresses to bypass MAC filtering.
Really just depends on your level of paranoia vs. convenience. For me, the ability to access the Internet while lounging in my patio outweighs the remote possibility that someone will expend the effort necessary to hack into my home network. You can also run Norton Internet Security or ZoneAlarm on your computers to monitor/prevent unauthorized access or data transfers.
Lastly, I believe a greater security weakness lies in the ease of obtaining someone's personal/financial info from their disposed trash. As such, I maintain an intimate relationship with my shredder. |
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| jswift2000 |
Guys,
Remember one thing - your only as fast as your slowest link. In other words, unless you have a T1, DS3, OC45, etc dropped to your house, I can bet that your cable modem or dsl modem is only 10MB. If you buy wifi card/modem that is faster than that, you will be able to transfer files on your network at that rate indicated by the protocol (802.11a, b, g) but will still only transfer outside the network as fast as the modem allows.
If I were to go wireless, I would go 802.11g - its backwards compat with 802.11b and its faster (72mbs - I think) but I do a lot of networking in my house. I dont mean to discourage and please dont take it that way. Just trying to point of some things. |
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| nwaring |
Post from another thread.
Wireless G definitely better
I have had both, B and G. The new G version is definitely better, at least in my house. I had the B version at home and also in my daughter’s apartment. A couple of weeks ago her apartment complex took a lighting hit and it took out the DSL router, the Nic card, and the Linksys wireless router. I gave her my B version stuff and put in new G version at home. The signal strength and the speed are much better when using the laptop in the same spots as before.
Version B ran a maximum of 11mb but my Linksys software didn't show actual speed. With the G version signal strength and speed are indicated. At the various spots I use the laptop my signal strength is one notch better, i.e. good is now very good. I see speeds anywhere between 36 - 54MB. Both of these versions run in the 2.4 GHz range so if you have 2.4GHz cordless phones you will have some minor problems. Prior to setting all this up we upgraded to an AT&T 5.4 GHz cordless phone system in the house. The next time my daughter comes home from school (and brings her laptop) I will see how the two versions mix. And not to start a whole bunch of security posts I don’t do anything with security either. The range of these home wireless systems (at least my stuff) just isn’t that far and in my neighborhood I don’t see it as much of a problem.
Niles :) |
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| laborlitigator |
I was using the D-link system for 802.11(b). . . . I think I'll go all Netgear for the upgrade since I already started with the netgear card on the laptop.
We also upgraded our home phones to 5.8 Ghz. . . NICE!!!!!!!!!!! |
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| mdxxxx |
quote:
Originally posted by Skewbeedeaux
...Lastly, I believe a greater security weakness lies in the ease of obtaining someone's personal/financial info from their disposed trash. As such, I maintain an intimate relationship with my shredder.
Exactly. Me too. :4: |
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| zafer |
| Another major factor that affects the signal strength and link quality is the antenna on the client. I initially had a pcmcia 11b card sticking out the side of the laptop. What a pain in the rear it was :mad: . Since its location was just off to the side of the keyboard the protruding part of the card would often be under a part of my palm, thus degrading the signal. Besides that I would have to remove the card every time to put the laptop in its case. I now have a laptop with built-in wireless :4: , the only way to go imho. Dual antennas along either side of the display. Now I get the full 11Mbps around the house including outside on the deck, where the other wouldn't. Of course having all the security enabled, hogs about half the bandwidth - typical performance hit for home/consumer cheep APs. But we're talking about 2, maybe 3 laptops sharing that for the web over cable (~1.5Mbps), its way more than enough. Here is a tip for those of you that use pcmcia wireless cards: turn the antennas of your AP horizontal. b and g are both utilize 2.4GHz channels, their range is the same. Keep a distance with other 2.4GHz/microwave equipment and you won't need to upgrade from b to g. g is a good alternative for running cable around for creating a home network. If you're in the market for stuff, ecost has a sale going on now. HTML code is OFF in this thread, so I couldn't paste it here. If you're interested PM me with your email, and I'll fwded it tya. |
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| kishino |
| Just got the Belkin 802.11g wireless router and the wireless desktop network card. Will provide my humble review this weekend. |
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| cp_ssrebba |
quote:
Originally posted by laborlitigator
Currently have 802.11(B) in the home. Just bought an 802.11(g) card to use with the system.
My main question is, will the above system have a better distance or signal strength?
Plus any other comments are appreciated.
although you can update the firmware, you might want to wait until the real g comes out, not the draft. meanwhile, you can add signal booster if its available. |
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| kishino |
Okay, Ijust setup the router and the network card. How do I setup my internet connection for the wireless network card? The wireless network card appears to be working as it is a solid green (connected). Now I just have to configure my IE to use the card to log on. Any networking specialist out there? Please help. Thanks.
BTW I have WIN 98 for both computers.
The setup is 54G router for one computer wired and for the second computer is wireless network card. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by kishino
Okay, Ijust setup the router and the network card. How do I setup my internet connection for the wireless network card? The wireless network card appears to be working as it is a solid green (connected). Now I just have to configure my IE to use the card to log on. Any networking specialist out there? Please help. Thanks.
BTW I have WIN 98 for both computers.
The setup is 54G router for one computer wired and for the second computer is wireless network card.
The network settings presently in your PC (MyComputer/Control Panel/Network) should be what was necessary to set up a connection initially with your cable or DSL ISP. Write down those settings if you do not already have them available. They are going to move to the IP address page for your wireless router.
With your wireless router you should have an IP address you put in the address window of IE. That will take you to the setup for the wireless access point. It is this setup that will reflect what you had your PC network settings configured for previously.
The Network settings in your PC should then be deleted and it should be set to "Obtain IP adress automatically". The network settings in your additional (wireless) pc would also be set the same, to obtain an IP address automatically. Reboot the system and you should be ready. Note: IN the wireless IP page where you entered the info (including setting up optional security) they will talk about rebooting for settings to take effect. They are talking about the router not your PC. Read the manual for the router, there is more than one way to reboot a specific router.
If you go to TOOLS in the IE browser, and Internet Options and click the tab "Connections" it should already be set for Never Dial a Connection. You should be on your way! |
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| kishino |
| Thank you Dale. Will try that tonight when I get home. Hopefully I can soon join the world of WIFI and DSL.:awais: |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by kishino
Thank you Dale. Will try that tonight when I get home. Hopefully I can soon join the world of WIFI and DSL.:awais:
If I left anything out, I am sure others will chime in. I have done several of these setups before, but sometimes things are easier to do than explain.
Get back on here with specifics if you are still having problems, and you are likely to get more help than you will ever need! |
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| JTM |
| One of my friends's company makes router/cards for Linksys in Taiwan. He is in charged with the net card field. As he told me previouly, moving to 11G does not really give you better range. All it gives you is the higher transfer rate. |
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| zafer |
| I recently replaced a regular router with the linksys 11g router even though I don't have any 11g clients, and to my surprise, it has built-in support for tzo! It also has a lot of features that the 11b router doesn't. The 11b is identical to the regular router + wireless. The 11g is totally different. A con though is that they've dumped the 5th up-link port, not that much of an issue for home users. Shopping around, the 11g box doesn't mention any of the features you find until you begin configuring it. It also has more security schemes than just wep. |
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| renov8r |
I thought I'd post before somebody asked---
TZO is a company that is very "big" in the Dynamic DNS space. They make it EASY for people onhome grade DSL & regular cable modems (which technically all use non-static addresses) to run web servers, FTP sites,and other 'services' that traditionally rely on STATIC IP addresses.
Most routers have the capbility to be used in that manner, but the manufacturers don't frequently upgrade the firmware to give the simple "click & go" kind of setup that the newest routers offer... |
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