Period Wi-Fi coverage

[Feltwell]

Here at Feltwell Towers, the Wi-Fi signal works fine in the main body of the house but won't stretch out reliably to the end of the old scullery (where the kid's game console is) or the garage (which is, believe it or not, a bit of a pain - taking the iPad out there for internet guidance when fixing things is invaluable).

Our router is a BT Homehub 3.0, connected up to the BT Infinity fibre broadband, I've checked and there's no way to add a better wireless aerial to it that I can see. Relocating the router also isn't really an option.

For all you techies, what's the best / cheapest way to extend the WiFi coverage? I've seen kits like the below - although I do wonder if there are cheaper but still reliable non-BT options. The power circuit they are connected to, does it have to be the same ring main? Ideally I'd have one unit plugged into the upstairs bedroom ring main (where the router is) and the other out in the garage, which should also get the signal to the scullery - but which is of course on an entirely different power circuit, in fact the common point isn't even at the main consumer unit for the house, it's at the meter where the power comes into the house, my garage having it's own consumer unit.

http://www.shop.bt.com/products/bt-...se&utm_term=Wi-Fi_Home_Hotspot_500_Kit Phrase

Or - I've seen this sort of plug-in thingie which a forum I've read got it to work OK with a BT Homehub 3.0. Presumably with this it needs to be within a reliable wi-fi range of the router in order to work.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-...1388922069&sr=8-1&keywords=tp+link+tl+wa850re

Please bear in mind my level of technical ignorance on computing & network matters!

 

[DJH]

WiFi...Broadband...Ireland...???

 

[Feltwell]

I don't think I'll get the range to extend that far Doug. My back garden would be nice. :wink:

 

[Lime]

I bought these the other day.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/networking/power-line-networking/on-networks-pl200-199uks-200-mbps-powerline-adapter-kit-18781472-pdt.html

They work well. are easy to set up and on different ring mains.

 

[skier-hughes]

There are two types of powerline adaptors, so make sure you know which you are using for when you want to extend.
We use them here, having had BT vision for our tv, we were supplied with two for that. Since I've bought another 4 and we have network in the garden, greenhouse, log cabin shed and I use them in the house too, where the wifi signal isn't good.

 

[TheForge]

You don't need BT branded kit, either to extend through mains copper cabling or to extend wirelessly.

Any wireless repeater will be capable of extending your signal, just search wireless repeater and you'll see they start from about £15. Simply position them toward the edge of your routers currently effective range and it will relay the signal on further.

We use Apple Airport Expresses for this purpose (and to wirelessly connect non wireless devices), but at £79 it's quite a pricey way to do it. They are exceptionally simple to set up however.

 

[Keithj]

If you can run a cable, then connecting a cat 5 cable from the router to a second (or third etc) wireless access point is the elegant solution.

Failing that, a pair of power line adapters with a wireless access point on the distant one will do a job.
My experience with wireless repeaters (in several houses) has been disappointing.

 

[Flyfisher]

I think one issue with using wireless repeaters is that the throughput speeds can be quite a bit lower because the wifi access point has to 'talk' wirelessly to two devices in order to extend the range. As mentioned above, the best solution is to use a network cable between the router and the wifi access point, but I appreciate this is not always convenient.

Powerline extender can be used in place of a network cable, though again the speed achieved will vary depending on the state of the mains wiring and any interference. I've used them very successfully though so would recommend giving them a try.

I've also seen powerline units with wifi capability, though I've no direct experience of these so don't know how well they work, but I'd certainly be prepared to give them a try. Here's the first example I found but there are others out there: http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WPA281-Wireless-Powerline-Extender/dp/B0067GS0YO

Basically, if you just want to extend a wireless network for things like email and web browsing then speed won't be a big concern, but if you want to stream music or television then it may be more of an issue. Unfortunately, the only guaranteed way to find out is to try first and then sort out any issues that might possibly arise.

 

[Keithj]

I don't use powerline adapters (amateur radio and PLAs don't mix well), but a friend of mine recommended these for another friend, and he's as pleased as punch with them.

 

[Flyfisher]

Those units look very similar to the Netgear ones that I've successfully used:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-XAVB5201-500-Powerline-Adapter/dp/B009S5O6PI


Did the powerline EMC issues not get sorted out during ratification of the standards? I remember reading the controversy in the RSGB's magazine about the potential for interference (something about lamp posts acting as dipoles at the critical frequencies and swamping the spectrum or something similar).

But that was many years ago now and I'd be a 'lapsed radio amateur' if it wasn't for the 'lifetime licences' that no longer require annual renewal, and I've not operated since wifi and powerline became almost ubiquitous.

 

[Keithj]

Like I say, I've not tried any myself. I read some reports a while ago about how they spread hash across the spectrum, although I've seen others recently that says they're not such a problem these days. I don't need 'em so I don't have 'em. Two friends found they fixed their problems and are very happy.

The HF gear used to crash the router in our previous house (but they were in the same room). Out in rural Suffolk they're far enough apart not to mind, and I can use my laptop in the (garden) shack on WiFi while running 500 watts of CW on pretty much any HF band.

Until recently, I used a vintage Draytek modem/router - a fine piece of kit apart from not liking high power RF near it! Living in a long thin house, I needed three wireless access points - the Draytek in the study in the middle of the house, and one at each end. However, the old Draytek didn't do all the latest tech so I splashed out on the latest model: that puts a solid WiFi signal all through the house and up the garden on its own, so I've retired the other two WAPs. It's in exactly the same place, so I'm impressed - whatever they've done.

 

[Feltwell]

Like I say, I've not tried any myself. I read some reports a while ago about how they spread hash across the spectrum

Yeah, I knew people like that when I was a student myself. Screws up your medium term memory, someone told me that once I think.

I've retired the other two WAPs.

You just can't say things like that these days - the '70's are over, man.

I remember reading the controversy in the RSGB's magazine

Yeah - those bird's are in real trouble.

something about lamp posts acting as dipoles

Must have been a bad batch of acid to make you see that.


Anyway, enough of my random tomfoolery, thank you all for taking the trouble to reply - I shall go away and have a think about the options.......

 

[Flyfisher]

What are you on this evening? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

Until recently, I used a vintage Draytek modem/router - a fine piece of kit apart from not liking high power RF near it! Living in a long thin house, I needed three wireless access points - the Draytek in the study in the middle of the house, and one at each end. However, the old Draytek didn't do all the latest tech so I splashed out on the latest model: that puts a solid WiFi signal all through the house and up the garden on its own, so I've retired the other two WAPs. It's in exactly the same place, so I'm impressed - whatever they've done.

Funny you should say that, I also use an old Draytek router, though I've never subjected it to high power RF. We also require a few wifi access points and I'm using Apple Airports wired back to the router. I only use the Apple devices because they also allow me to stream music to any or all speakers around the house using the 'Airply' feature in iTunes, so a handy dual function if you need it.

Wifi devices are astonishingly complex for the price (like most computer kit really). I've read that the latest 802.11ac standard achieves its higher speed by using multiple channels at much higher frequencies (5GHz) and to overcome the normally expected range reduction with higher frequencies they somehow 'focus' the wifi signal onto the connected devices instead of wasting a lot of the RF energy by sending it everywhere. You'll understand how easy this is with a fixed yagi-type antenna but to achieve it with some sort of phased-array is pretty clever stuff, especially in such a low price 'plug-and-play package. Here's a brief description if you're having trouble sleeping: http://www.zdnet.com/the-five-things-you-need-to-know-about-gigabit-wi-fi-802-11ac-7000017112/

 

[skier-hughes]

Ebuyer sent me an email this morning saying they'd got powerline adaptors on sale. I just clicked through the link and found they've already sold out.
Here it is anyway, this is the second time they've had them in the sale since xmas - different makes - maybe sign up to their newsletter?

 

[Brightonian]

This worked an absolute treat for me. Good price too

http://www.richersounds.com/product/wireless-streaming-accessories/tp-link/tl-wpa271/tpli-tl-wpa271-kit

Harry

 

[masochists-r-us]

We have the same problem. Bought a Belkin extender from Dixons for £50. Easy to set up and works a treat.

 

[Penners]

Apologies for a late reply, Feltwell - I've only just spotted this thread.

In order to extend our Wi-Fi network upstairs, I installed this Devolo unit: http://www.devolo.co.uk/consumer/106_dlan-500-wifi_starter-kit_product-presentation_1.html?l=en

In fact, I only needed to buy the Wi-Fi units, as our router is already linked via Ethernet cable to a standard powerline unit, supplying other powerline units in the house.

The router unit is plugged into our downstairs power ring and the Wi-Fi extender is plugged into the upstairs ring. This seems to work fine.