Will Wifi work for 2 flats on same floor?

R

raul

Adept
Hi guys, I am planning to set up a wifi point. From the threads Buffalo seems to be the current favourite so I am going with that. Now I don't know much about wifi so I need some help on how to set it up and more importantly whether its possible to have the connection available in 2 adjoining flats.

Here is the scenario, 4th floor, 3 flats per floor, 2 are mine. Both are 2BHK and are adjoining. Airtel broadband connection is setup in both houses, in the living room of one house and in my bedroom in the other. This is a single connection that I can use in both flats by moving the adsl modem. The PC is in my room. I am giving the laptop to Mum and want her to be able to access the net from anywhere in the other house.

The distance from my bedroom to the main door is about 20m - unobstructed apart from my bedroom door, then a 90degree turn to the main door of the second flat and another 15m to the living room airtel connection point - again unobstructed apart from the main door. My bedroom wall if broken (we were planning to do this) will connect directly to my sister's bedroom which is next to the living room and about 10m from my room.

I hope I haven't confused anyone and have managed to give you guys a clear picture. Now the big question is is it possible to set up a wifi point so I can access the connection in my bedroom and in the other house? Thanks.
 
easily

it works in my office, wi-fi router is in first floor in some room

and m using it in ground floor without any troubles

anyway you'll be getting new MIMO technology kindoffs so they'll do great..
 
Thanks coolraghav, thats encouraging.

Also my desktop doesn't have wifi so presumably the wifi point should be near my desktop so I can run a wire to it and the laptop in the other house can access over wifi. Would that be a good setup?
 
@raul

dude..wifi signals depend on a lot of variables..walls, obstructions, metal objects absorb the signals..mere distance can not be used to determine the suitability of a particular router..

also, i wud rather not directly compare the range in an office setup to that in a flat or a house. simply because, office environments are typically open and the partitions are mostly gypsum boards unlike the thick brick and mortar walls one finds in residences..that makes a big difference.

that said, among the current routers available in India, the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 (i own this..!) is ur best bet, as its based on the MIMO(multiple input, multiple output) technology..it basically offers much better range and speeds over regular 802.11 g standard routers.

The other options are limited and few..other choices include recently launched draft N routers..but they will burn a hole in ur pocket..also draft n technology is still not fully established and definitely not an automatic choice.

anyways, moving on to ur query...it wud be best if u cud post a brief sketch of ur house showing the number of walls and the approximate distances..the no. of walls and presence of beams and pillars are important as they will determine the quality of ur signal and the range u can achieve..

most important factor in setting up a wireless network with a good coverage is where u decide to place the router..

u can definitely set up a wireless network for ur two flats..i say this cos i just mine up for my flat(which is basically 2 flats joined as one)..it was a pain to begin with, but once i had decided the best place for my buffalo, everything else was a breeze..and now i access the net nywhere and everywhere..from my living room to my balcony :D

so if u cud provide us with some more info on ur budget and maybe a brief sketch, we cud help u further..

cheers :)
 
Guptaji, sounds good. Let me get home from home, will upload a sketch and more details. Budget is not an issue at the moment, important thing is mum can access net from anywhere in that house from the laptop.
 
Guptaji, I have attached a jpeg of the layout. For sizes this is the typical flat so the bedrooms and living rooms are your average size. Hope this gives a better idea of the layout.
 
Even I'm planning to go in for the Buffalo.

What is the cost of the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 anyway ??

I'm still confused....Tomato or dd-wrt ???

Cheers.
 
i have Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router wpn824 v2

Works great, but make sure if you buy it..you get rangemax wifi cards too

and for your desktop..do like I did ...25 metre wire from it.

but I got it inside wall when renovation was done..now if you get channeling ..it wont look that good
 
Wow.. MIMO should definitely have no problems working in 2 flats.. My 802.11g router's range extends between 2 floors! I was testing a MIMO router on my campus (well, it was almost an open ground) during busy hours (lots of students moving around, and lot of interference from labs), and I got a range of 125 meters till the signal dropped!!! So, surely, you don't need to worry about anything!
 
Cool, now the only problem is sourcing the buffalo router, I believe its HP G54 not the G54S version I need and costs around 3.5k.

I am in Pune and no one seems to have it, there was another thread with a similar query about Buffalo in Pune and I have sent a PM the person but haven't got a reply yet.

On a related note isn't it frustrating when a query is resolved in a forum post and the original poster just says problem solved and vanishes.
 
@raul
i dont think u shud have any problems with the WHR-HP-G54.
the best location for ur router wud be either of the living rooms. ur bedroom where ur PC is may not be the best location for ur router, as bedroom 2 in flat 1 may not get a good signal. I wud suggest gettn a wi-fi card fo ur pc.
Sourcing is definitely an issue, but i wud suggest u get in touch with the main distributors in mumbai and bangalore and ask them if they can ship it.
But i wud still suggest trying to get it locally. Its best if ur dealer can take the router back in case it doesnt suit ur needs (although thats unlikely cos the buffalo shud be able to cover ur flat)
coolraghav said:
i have Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router wpn824 v2

Works great, but make sure if you buy it..you get rangemax wifi cards too

and for your desktop..do like I did ...25 metre wire from it.
but I got it inside wall when renovation was done..now if you get channeling ..it wont look that good
Click to expand...
how much is this router in India?
I would still suggest the buffalo.

Dark_Knight said:
Wow.. MIMO should definitely have no problems working in 2 flats.. My 802.11g router's range extends between 2 floors! I was testing a MIMO router on my campus (well, it was almost an open ground) during busy hours (lots of students moving around, and lot of interference from labs), and I got a range of 125 meters till the signal dropped!!! So, surely, you don't need to worry about anything!
Click to expand...
dude..as i mentioned earlier, most of the residential apartments and houses cannot be compared to open spaces like those n offices or schools.
 
Hey Guptaji, thank you for your detailed help. I will be listening to you about positioning the router. Since there is already an airtel connection point in Flat 2 living room I could locate the router there, only thing is how to connect my PC then. Hmm. Have to figure out the best way here.

Only thing left to do is source the router, I have friends in Bbay and I travel there anyway every week so I can get it from bbay if required. Hope I can get it in Pune though, then I can set this up today itself. Holiday and best day to experiment.
 
i use a linksys WRT54G v7... the castrated :p version... functionally identical to the buffalos, but cant run dd-wrt/tomato...

got it for 2.4 k :)
 
OK the layout seems to be fine.. but then if you can buy 2 WiFi access points then that should also do the trick.

This being and option if your Router is sufficient.
Go for 2 routers and place them in both your flats. Now when config do not connect the cables to WAN port of the routers.

Here is the connection

Router1
WAN >> Empty
LAN1 >> Router 2 LAN
LAN 2>> ADSL Router

Router 2
WAN >> Empty
LAN1 >> Router 1 LAN
^^ Use the same SID for both the routers and also same authentication.
Only problem is you will have to wire between Router 1 and Router 2.
We generally use this setup when covering WiFi range across hotels rooms and galleries and large offices.
 
@siddharth

dude..using 2 routers and bridging them is a good idea..but it'll end up costing this guy much more than a single MIMO router. for ex, the buffalo basic router WHR-G54S is about 2.2k i think.two of those wud cost 4.4k which is almost 1k more than the WHR-HP-G54.

Also, setting up 2 wireless routers is a time consuming process for a person doing this the first time..dont u think :)

@raul

either u cud run a CAT5 cable to connect th two..or get a decent wi-fi card.
 
Ya, these 2 routers things seems to something I can attempt a bit later, better to get a reasonably powerful single one now and see how I can set it up.

Well I am drawing a blank sourcing this in Pune, the fellow member who may have the contact has not responded to my PM or followed up the details of where he got it in Pune in his post which is hugely frustrating. I have mailed buffalo, and tried calling both Advent Mumbai and Bangalore with zero results, maybe because its a saturday. Well I have to do this sometime next week I think.
 
@guptaji

Well the two router thing should only be attempted if 1 router fails to cover. So you always knw what to do after that. Its always a second option.
Yes Buffalo routers are good but Linksys routers can be moded and you can increase the signal power ;) Also as for the support Linksys router have less waiting time for replacement.

There is one more router from Buffalo which has higher signal range (6x).
 
siddharth_menon said:
@guptaji

Well the two router thing should only be attempted if 1 router fails to cover. So you always knw what to do after that. Its always a second option.
Yes Buffalo routers are good but Linksys routers can be moded and you can increase the signal power ;) Also as for the support Linksys router have less waiting time for replacement.

There is one more router from Buffalo which has higher signal range (6x).
Click to expand...

yes..indeed u can increase the power using a modded a firmware like the tamatar :D..but again, that ends up heating ur router..and the range gains are not phenomenal..
 
Back
Top