Subject: [Shop-talk] Trying to get WAN reception in the shop

From: "Steve Hammatt, Mount Vernon WA USA" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 15:54:56 -0700

Hi
Question for the computer geeks........
My Belkin Wi-Fi Router is a number of years old.
Itbs rated at 2.4GHZ and 802.11g capabilities.  Is it
worth going with the newer models to try and get
increased area coverage and building penetration?
Should I be looking at 2.4 & 5 GHz dualband units?
Do I need to update anything else to utilize an
upgraded unit? Should I be looking at go with a model
with 802.11ac capability?
Super thanks for any assistance.

Steve Hammatt
Mount Vernon WA USA
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From: Peter Murray <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:41:29 -0400

Steve-

Newer wireless technologies (like 802.11n and 802.11ac) do offer somewhat
improved coverage over 802.11g, but they are not a magic bullet. Much
depends on their design. I recommend units with multiple detachable
external antennas.

"High powered" access points also are not necessarily an improvement, as
very often you end up with a strong signal from the access point, but the
client is no more powerful - you can "hear" the access point, but not
vice-versa. They can be helpful in locations where the noise floor is high,
though best practice is to use the quietest channel you can. 2.4GHz is
often very congested, but 5GHz most often is quiet. 5GHz does not have the
range of 2.4GHz, but much depends on the local environment.

If you are trying to extend wireless to a remote location, I would do that
in one of a couple of ways:

1) You can focus the available signal in the direction of the desired
location, if that is practical. This is dependent on your wireless
equipment. Some access points have detachable antennas, with dual antennas
on a single band. One antenna is "primary" and the other "secondary".
Either of these (typically omnidirectional short whips) can be replaced
with a short piece of coax attached to a directional antenna, oriented
towards the location that needs additional coverage. (It won't do much for
you to have both antennas set up this way, as it doesn't get more signal
there, it just provides diversity, which can mitigate signal shadows.). If
you don't have multiple antennas for a single band (e.g. one antenna for
*each* band), putting the directional antenna in place can remove coverage
where you have it now.

2) You can add a wireless repeater, if you can locate it where the existing
access point and the desired location both will receive sufficient signal
strength. This will slow down your wireless somewhat, however.

3) You can add a supplemental access point at the location that needs
better service. So long as the security parameters and SSID are identical,
most modern devices will seamlessly hop among the access points as signal
strength changes. Doing this, however, requires connectivity at that
location, which might be delivered via an ethernet cable, a separate
wireless connection, or a network-over-powerline adapter.

My property is too big for a single access point (and the aluminum siding
on my house prevents much of my wireless signal from getting outside), so I
have three access points running at my house in order to ensure strong
signals both inside and outside. I do like the current Asus and Netgear
equipment. At home I use Mikrotik and Netgear hardware.

Let me know if I can explain further.

-Peter

--
Peter Murray
Reston, VA

On Sun, Jun 29, 2014 at 6:54 PM, Steve Hammatt, Mount Vernon WA USA <
[email-masked]> wrote:

> Itb s rated at 2.4GHZ and 802.11g capabilities.  Is it
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