Post by: SteveS on February 28, 2008, 03:56:49 AM
Post by: roo_ster on February 28, 2008, 05:02:54 AM
802.11n has greater bandwidth, but is not common and may not yet have had its standards nailed down (anybody know for sure?)
802.11b is an older standard and 802.11a is a short-range alternative to 802.11a (more to it than that, but that's close enough)
If it were me, today, I would run with 802.11g gear.
Exactly what hardware you'll need depends on how you get the fat pipe (broadband) into your house.
Assuming you have a fat pipe, most folks go with a combo wired/wireless router. I use older Linksys WRT54G hardware I find on ebay for several reasons (google "ddwrt").
If the router is near a desktop, please do use CAT5 or CAT6 to connect.
The other very important part of the deal is directional antennas. I like to have my router in a corner of my house with a 90deg, 14db directional antenna bathing my home in 802.11g goodness. Stock antennas are usually 2db and have a much more limited range.
Last, any computer must have a wireless card / antenna of some type.
Post by: Manedwolf on February 28, 2008, 05:36:41 AM
If you don't have it locked for a password and with encryption, you're not only providing free wireless to the public, but a hacker can sit across the street or even several blocks away with a can antenna, hacking into your stuff.
Post by: cfabe on February 28, 2008, 07:09:30 AM
We are installing harwood flooring and don't want to drill holes through it for a cable.
Have you considered installing a wall plate? Wired networks will always be more reliable than wireless, and probably cheaper to install unless you have many users. Of course if you have a laptop, wireless is the way to go for mobility around the house.
Post by: SteveS on February 28, 2008, 07:21:35 AM
We are installing harwood flooring and don't want to drill holes through it for a cable.
Have you considered installing a wall plate? Wired networks will always be more reliable than wireless, and probably cheaper to install unless you have many users. Of course if you have a laptop, wireless is the way to go for mobility around the house.
No, I hadn't thought of that. We thought wireless because we also have a Wii and PS3 and they are't near the computer. We also may end up moving them at some point.
Post by: Gewehr98 on March 04, 2008, 09:54:07 AM
DD-WRT and Tomato firmware take them to a whole new level. I've been going about 30 days without a hiccup since upgrading my WRT54Gv1.0 with the Tomato Linux internal operating system:
http://neuralmisfires.blogspot.com/2008/03/linksys-wrt54g-and-tomato-firmware-are.html
