Help with home wireless set-up

bassadict69 · April 22, 2009, 02:32:40 PM

I am going to be setting up a wireless network at my house...anyone have any experience with this? I have pretty much ZERO knowledge with this & want to make sure I get a good set-up.

I have seen that there is a new "N" network out now that is supposedly bigger & better than the old G networks.

This will be ran in a 2600 sq. ft house & basically the main computer & router will be on one end of the house & my computer will be in the master bedroom on the other end of the house. Will the old G network have good enough range to cover this or should I go with the newer (& more expensive) N network?

Any preference from anyone here on brands? Linksys? D-Link?, etc.

Lipripper · April 22, 2009, 04:31:48 PM

BA good luck on setting up your system

as to what kind of router to get if you can I would go with the one your ISP recomends for less hassle and over the phone service help.

Kal-Kevin · April 22, 2009, 04:39:14 PM

Ba I know there are a few around here that can help you out, one of them should be by soon to help you out.

awcGA · April 22, 2009, 05:12:09 PM

I am using a Linksys Wireless-G router I bought about 2 years ago. Besides the main computer I have 2 laptops utilizes the wireless connection and range is at least 250 feet from the router. Read the manual to set up the MAC address on the router so a neighbors computer can not access your bandwith. I have been satisfied with my the "G" classification and see no reason to update mine. If I was just starting to build a wireless network system today and the devices could handle the "N" classification I would probably go ahead and invest in a router with "N" classification.

Eric L. · April 22, 2009, 06:39:15 PM

I've been a fan of Linksys as well, i use the G band still, I have 2 laptops, and 2 PC's on the wireless and one machine on the wired connection, It's just not worth the money to upgrade to me yet....I was still able to get signal from one side of the house to my neighbors house. If you're worried about coverage there are repeaters that you can put in the middle somewhere as well. Let me know if you need any in-depth tech help and i'll be happy to make a trip to help out. I would strongly advise setting up the wireless mac filter as well as WPA. This will prevent bandwidth pirates and wireless sniffers capturing unencrypted traffic between your router and machines...

bassfishingva · April 22, 2009, 07:24:17 PM

also a linksys fan i have a great signal on both my 2 laptops and my one desktop

bassadict69 · April 22, 2009, 07:30:51 PM

Quote from: Eric L. on April 22, 2009, 06:39:15 PM
I would strongly advise setting up the wireless mac filter as well as WPA. This will prevent bandwidth pirates and wireless sniffers capturing unencrypted traffic between your router and machines...

You just flew right over my head with that!

I appreciate everyones help on this.

Lipripper · April 22, 2009, 07:38:08 PM

Quote from: bassadict69 on April 22, 2009, 07:30:51 PM
You just flew right over my head with that!

I appreciate everyones help on this.

BA when you buy your wirless router it comes with a disk to walk you through it.

bassadict69 · April 22, 2009, 08:33:52 PM

Cool!

Keithscatch · April 22, 2009, 09:17:01 PM

I can vouch for Linksys also. I have a 1 year old G system and it works very good for me. Comcast on the other hand well....

In fact, I lost my connection today and spent all day on the phone with Comcast it seems. They finally fixed it but for some reason I lost my wireless connection to my other computer. The hard wired one was able to connect. I called Linksys and the woman on the phone while kinda frank and direct helped me walk through completely resetting all of the features and set me up so both computers worked.

I like their customer service and they are available 24hrs.

Good luck to you.

mlakrid · April 23, 2009, 08:07:23 AM

BA,

Contrary to what has been said, I would NOT use the CD that comes with your wireless router...

I have been working in IT since I joined the Navy (back in 1990) I also have network security experience... needless to say I had to call tech support because the network setup was messed up after using the CD...

My wife decided to use the CD, not me...

SO... long story short... I told the guy on the phone to just listen to me for a second, explained I was in I.T. and that it was the install disc that cause the network issue/problem, what I had already done, and he was able to walk me through it in about 5 minutes...

Use the 800 number and tell them the CD isnt working...

WPA is Wi-fi protected access and using WPA YOU choose your password instead of having the PC create a randomly generated password which you would have to write down...

It should not take long... let us know how it turns out for you...

Mike A!

bassadict69 · April 23, 2009, 10:27:47 AM

Will do...it will probably be a week or so before I buy the stufff to get this set up.I will keep this updated.

Pferox · May 09, 2009, 01:19:20 PM

Sorry I got in late on this.

Wireless works great here at home, we have the a Linksys wireless G router.

The "G" wireless is a little slow for our server, but we aren't paid by the hour.

What effects distance dramatically is how much metal you have in the walls. Houses with metal studs, or a wall with lots of metal running through it will create a dead spot.

When we move we are going to upgrade to a gig and n wireless, it is worth it for us since we do use a lot of bandwidth.

The kids and grand kids all have laptops or some kind of wireless game and at any one time we will have this one maxed out and it still works very well all over the house and in the yard.

I personally think that if starting out new, I would invest in the fastest. largest bandwdth you can get, this way you don't have to reinvest for a while.

bassadict69 · May 17, 2009, 09:35:06 AM

I am now set up on a Linksys N system! Was not a problem setting it up at all & getting online.

What speed should I expect with a N system? I am averaging between 78 & 120 mbps...How decent is that?

Eric L. · May 17, 2009, 01:53:12 PM

Quote from: bassadict69 on May 17, 2009, 09:35:06 AM
I am now set up on a Linksys N system! Was not a problem setting it up at all & getting online.

What speed should I expect with a N system? I am averaging between 78 & 120 mbps...How decent is that?

That sounds fine to me, even at wireless G I get max 56Mbps, just remember that's only the speed you communicate to your router or other N devices on your network, you're still only connected to the internet as fast as your ISP provides...you're always only as fast as the slowest link. While I was in SKorea they had some crazy fast DSL connections and I've heard other parts of the country are getting 16-20Mbps, right now i think the fastest in this area is 6Mbps on DSL, not sure about cable.