Getting the USB WiFi Adapter. A Few Questions. Pls Help.

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bbthumbhealer

bbthumbhealer

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Hi All,

At present i'm having NETGEAR WGR614v9 router to suffice internet on my multiple laptops, but in order to get the connection on my desktop i'm on the lookout for a USB adapter.

Which among the following brands : Asus, Belkin, Netgear, D-Link, Edimax would be the best in sync with my router and which model. Budget 0.7-0.8K.

Next, my desktop is placed upstairs in a room, the problem is that inside the room, the connection is weak but just at the door, its quite strong. So can i get a USB extension cable, plug my adapter into that, place it at the door and connect its other end to my PC .. will this work ? What i'm worried about is the signal strength as the desktop isn't portable unlike laptop.

TIA.

BBThumbHealer
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I am using one from TLink, its working good.

From your options, D-link is not bad.

About the USB extension cable, i think you can, but the maximum length is 5m, exceeding that won't be good, as your USB device won't be discovered anymore.

PS: correct me if i am wrong
 
CA50 said:
I am using one from TLink, its working good.

From your options, D-link is not bad.

About the USB extension cable, i think you can, but the maximum length is 5m, exceeding that won't be good, as your USB device won't be discovered anymore.

PS: correct me if i am wrong
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Thanks CA50. The maximum length of the USB cable i need is 1-1.5m , as the PC is just next to the door. Hope it will not create any problems.
 
Since the length is less, you can easily give it a try. Just get a USB cable, with one male and one female port. Check the local dealer, else you can check ebay
 
if you dont mind getting a wifi g based adapter 2nd hands, a user here on te has his for sale. It has an external antenna, so signal strength wont be much of an issue.
 
@Vivek : Thanks will look for it.

One more thing, does the size of the dongle matters, like the mini version instead of the regular one is doing the rounds these days, is there any performance changes ?
 
bbthumbhealer said:
@Vivek : Thanks will look for it.

One more thing, does the size of the dongle matters, like the mini version instead of the regular one is doing the rounds these days, is there any performance changes ?
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No mate the size of th dongle have nothing to do with the speed of the adapted.

The speed depends on the internal wi-fi chip and the signal reception depends on the internal antenna. Using an external antenna improves the signal reception significantly
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You could instead buy a wifi router, and make it extend your existing wifi network in repeater mode. And you can connect your desktop to the ethernet port of this router. In my opinion this would be a better solution for a desktop as portability is not needed: better coverage, no driver issues with any OS. It will also give you the added benefit of having your wifi signal extended for other devices. You can find a cheap router for as little as 1k.

The USB extension method will be risky. USB is not made to be extended beyond a small limit, and you will have to use a very high quality extension cable. In case the repeater is also incapable of receiving the signal inside the room (which I doubt), you can place it near the door and run an ethernet to your desktop.
 
Nomad said:
You could instead buy a wifi router, and make it extend your existing wifi network in repeater mode. And you can connect your desktop to the ethernet port of this router. In my opinion this would be a better solution for a desktop as portability is not needed: better coverage, no driver issues with any OS. It will also give you the added benefit of having your wifi signal extended for other devices. You can find a cheap router for as little as 1k.

The USB extension method will be risky. USB is not made to be extended beyond a small limit, and you will have to use a very high quality extension cable. In case the repeater is also incapable of receiving the signal inside the room (which I doubt), you can place it near the door and run an ethernet to your desktop.
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Thanks Nomad.. this sounds interesting. I'm a noob in networking and don't know to do this repeat thingy in my router. Can u pls explain how this can be done ? And is my router Netgear WGR614v9 capable of this ? Won't i be needing another modem line i.e RJ-11 to be plugged in this router which i buy, cos the only connection is downstairs and the only line is plugged in the existing modem.

This thing, if possible will surely prove beneficial cos it will offer great coverage upstairs as well, and then i can plug the ethernet cable from the PC to this new router.

Thanks for the idea.
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#CA50 & #vivek.krishnan : Thanks for the info guys. Can u also pls give ur invaluable comments over the method suggested by Nomad.
 
Althought the repeater idea is an easy one, it would lead to a drop in performance. IF possible, get the one with the external antenna's and see if its enough. Else, just upgrade the antenna's to ones with better strength, they ought to be enough.

If you plan to do the repeater thing, get any basic router, set it up with the same SSID and password in repeater mode. You might be limited to WEP though, which can be cracked easily.

Another option is this (though I have not tested it, in theory, should work):

Get a cheap router which is DD WRT flashable like TP-Link TL-WR703N/TL-MR3020 or one which support usage as an access point. Set it up as a AP. Connect both by Ethernet cables! The additional USB option is so that you can do data logging (to see the connected users/signal strength/etc) if using DD WRT/OpenWRT using a pen drive.
 
vivek.krishnan said:
Althought the repeater idea is an easy one, it would lead to a drop in performance. IF possible, get the one with the external antenna's and see if its enough. Else, just upgrade the antenna's to ones with better strength, they ought to be enough.

If you plan to do the repeater thing, get any basic router, set it up with the same SSID and password in repeater mode. You might be limited to WEP though, which can be cracked easily.

Another option is this (though I have not tested it, in theory, should work):

Get a cheap router which is DD WRT flashable like TP-Link TL-WR703N/TL-MR3020 or one which support usage as an access point. Set it up as a AP. Connect both by Ethernet cables! The additional USB option is so that you can do data logging (to see the connected users/signal strength/etc) if using DD WRT/OpenWRT using a pen drive.
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If i go with the USB adapter, i'll get this one from TP-Link if available : Object moved Comments please.

As for the repeater thing, leave aside performance ,the shortcoming you've already notified that is on the security front i.e WEP instead of WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK which i can't compromise upon.

Also what i have interpreted is that i'll need to connect both the routers by ethernet and that can't be done as they are going to be placed on different levels so that much long cable would be impractical.
 
Go with the USB adapter you have mentioned. The reason I dont like repeaters is because of WEP issue. There is wirelss bridging with WPA2 but another user had issues with it.
 
I am using Asus RT-N13U-B1 in repeater mode with security set to WPA2 for the past 6 months without having any issues.

Edit: My setup: There is no physical connection between the two routers. My main router (TP-Link WR740N) is connected to the WAN port of the ADSL modem. This is in a corner of the house. I have placed the ASUS router towards the center of the house and set it to repeater mode to extend the wireless coverage. The ASUS router is only connected to electricity. The signal extension is completely wireless. Setup is very simple. In my case, there is a hardware switch on the Asus router to set it to repeater mode, then all you need to do is choose your SSID and enter the password from the Web UI.

With this setup I get extended coverage and a few LAN ports. I don't see any difference in the internet bandwidth (2 MBps). There is minor delay though, but not an issue, as I can comfortably do VOIP.
 
#Nomad,Thanks for all the info. Yes after doing some research, i have found out that security can be set to WPA2-PSK in repeated mode also. But now my second concern, i'm unable to find any router supporting DD-WRT in the price bracket of 1-1.3K, don't want to spend more than it. Can u suggest any ? Otherwise, i think adapter will suit me better.

Or is it possible to bridge connections b/w routers in absence of DD-WRT firmware ?
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EDIT : TP-Link WR740N v1,2,3 are supported but for v4, work is in progress. So can i find out before buying which version i m getting by looking at the box ? Like on eBay the router is available for 1100 Rs. but which version, it isn't mentioned.

EDIT 2: In that price range, Asus RT-N10 is also supported but its unstable.
 
bbthumbhealer said:
#Nomad,Thanks for all the info. Yes after doing some research, i have found out that security can be set to WPA2-PSK in repeated mode also. But now my second concern, i'm unable to find any router supporting DD-WRT in the price bracket of 1-1.3K, don't want to spend more than it. Can u suggest any ? Otherwise, i think adapter will suit me better.

Or is it possible to bridge connections b/w routers in absence of DD-WRT firmware ?
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EDIT : TP-Link WR740N v1,2,3 are supported but for v4, work is in progress. So can i find out before buying which version i m getting by looking at the box ? Like on eBay the router is available for 1100 Rs. but which version, it isn't mentioned.

EDIT 2: In that price range, Asus RT-N10 is also supported but its unstable.
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You don't need DD-WRT for repeater. I am using the stock firmware from ASUS. It should be true for other routers also. I cannot say for sure about the capabilities of RT-N10 and WR740N as repeater with the stock firmware.
 
Ay Caramba! Had no idea repeater mode would work with WPA2 too! In this case, go for any ASUS one, ought ta do the trick.
 
#Nomad & #vivek.krishnan : Another party spoiler, WPA2 works in repeater mode, but Netgear forbids it with its stock FW in place and DD-WRT for WGR614v9 is in progress. So even if i get another router like as Asus, i'll have to stick with WEP as security settings of both the routers should be the same.
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Asus permits WPA2 with its stock FW whereas Netgear doesn't.
 
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