Need a new wireless router

[iceman]

Hi guys

I'm looking for advice on a new wireless router, or maybe combined modem/router.

I currently have a Telstra Bigpond Modem that's probably 10 years old, and an old D-Link DI-624 (http://www.tammex.com.au/store/dlink-di624-airplus-xtremeg-108mbps-router-p-3847.html) (I think) wireless router.

The router/computer used to be upstairs and I could get wireless in most places of the house including outside, but now the computer/router is downstairs and there's parts of the house, including outside, that I can't get a signal anymore.

So I'm looking to get a new wireless router that has a stronger signal so it can be picked up from a bigger range.

Note: I'm on ADSL1 - I can't get ADSL2+ or cable where I am.

Any advice?
Should I get a combined modem/router, or just a wireless router?

We have about 7 devices that need to connect to the wireless network, but they're rarely in use all at once (3 laptops, ipad, iphone, ipod touch, printer).

A friend got this: http://arc.com.au/pub.php?pid=37497&p=product and loves it.

Is that good for me?

Cheers and thanks

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi Mike
I needed a more powerful wireless router and got a netgear N824 that has a longer range (it was the cheapest available). It provides wireless thoughout the house and to my neighbours accross the road. It is driven by my server and talks to the ADSL modem without any bother. All the remote computers are on the wireless net. I had a medium signal to the computer out the back but bought one of those gain aerials from Jcar .

Barry

[DJDD]

Hi,

Here is a review listing throughput between floors, etc.
http://www.cnet.com.au/billion-bipac-7800n-339300492.htm

certainly, my experience with Billion has always been good (at home and work).

Additionaly, my experience with wireless routers that do NOT have external antennas has been uniformly bad, so again, the billion you have suggested looks good.

Wireless-N:
it only allows for 2.4GHz on the Wireless N network but not sure if that is/will be a problem for you. Do you use 2.4 GHz Wireless N anywhere at the moment and if so has it been a problem?
The program InSSIDer (http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider) can be used to scan for wireless congestion.


(Sorry for any typos I missed- i have started using a new laptop with an "island keyboard" and it takes some getting used to.)

[mswhin63]

There are a number of option, ADSL 1 does not alter the internal wireless reception. I believe wirless N is supposed to have increase range but each of your PC will need wireless N fitted.

Another option if possible is an external antennna. Maybe cheaper option as well.

[gary]

Hi Mike,

We have that exact same model for over a year and have had reasonably good luck
with it so far.

We've had several ADSL modem/routers in the past. Prior to the Billion we had
a Netgear model DG834N that had a well publicized design flaw that would result in
an over-heating problem which would cause the unit to fail in various ways.
It really was a poor piece of engineering and despite Netgear replacing it twice,
it was an unreliable piece of equipment that we could no longer depend on.

So we decided to replace it and did a reasonably extensive search on the net for
the best possible replacement and the Billion 7800N received many endorsements.
We've been reasonably happy with it .. touch wood ... so far. That is to say, it is the
most reliable router/modem we have owned so far. The unit has three antennae and
and reception is available upstairs and downstairs and outside. However, a machine
in the workshop that was probably only 12m away but on the same level required
an external antenna to reliably connect to it. Equipment in the workshop acting as shielding
and the fact that the signal needed to penetrate several walls undoubtedly attenuated
the signal. This particular machine was fitted with a generic D-Link card (not a wireless N)
which could also be a factor.

One only need run the utility on one's notebook to see the number of WiFi routers
operating in the immediate neighborhood to see how congested the bandwidth
is becoming. As WiFi becomes increasingly popular and you watch more and
more neighbours pop up on the RADAR with a WiFi connection, the signal
to noise ratio drops and the congestion goes up. What's more the data requirements
of the neighbours will have been increasing as well. Whereas in the not so distant
past they would have been happy to just check their emails and look at the weather,
chances are one or more of them are streaming a YouTube video or
playing a bandwidth intensive online game. Plus add into the mix the proliferation
of wireless telephone handsets operating in the 2.4GHz band along with
Bluetooth enabled mobile phones and headsets. What may have worked well
wirelessly for you, say, a year ago may no longer be true today as you
fight on the airwaves with your neighbours. :)

With regards the 7800N, I suspect there is an issue either with its DNS or with the drivers in
some of notebooks we use with it. Specifically, after several weeks, a notebook may fail
to wirelessly connect to it and stopping and starting the driver on the laptop or
rebooting the laptop may not be sufficient. The only cure has been to power cycle
the modem/router. Possibly something to do with the way it is caching DNS lookups.

Certainly its up-time as a modem has been much more reliable than the Netgear unit
it replaced.

[iceman]

Awesome - thanks for the generous review, Gary.

I've just ordered it online. Hopefully will be here in a couple of days and I can get my laptop working outside (at the telescope?? :)) again :)

[DJDD]

Thanks for starting the thread.

i have an old billion modem and a netgear dual-band wireless-N router (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz simulatneously) which never connects at 5 GHz with my duel-band wireless USB dongle. plus, the internal antenna seems to be pretty poor.

so, i have been loooking for a replacement wireless router and adsl2+ modem and have just ordered this.

[ballaratdragons]

Nope.
'N' wireless signal is back compatible with A, B, & G wireless PC's and lappies.
'N' gives A,B,G & N a wider coverage area.

However, the reverse matters.
It's not good to use an A,B or G Router with a new 'N' PC or Lappy.
The signal is poor.
It's like trying to force-fit a V8 into a Mini :lol:

We have a Netgear 'N' series N300 and ALL our lappies and PC's are 'G'.
Works faster and cleaner (less dropouts) than our old 'G' router. :thumbsup:

I only have 1 PC that won't connect but that is coz it has a dud card :P

[mswhin63]

Hi, Have a concern on above but if you can clarify it would be good, Generally wireless communications is 2 way so if the N work better to A, B & G wireless. Would it conclude that the transmission from the PC aren't forward compatible and would suffer in that direction.

I only ask as I have a wireless "N" router as well and found there is no change to the range in our installation. It maybe possible that you had a previously bad router before upgrading the "N". All 5 of my PC's and Laptops at "G".

[floyd_2]

Just out of interest, I'm thinking of getting a high gain antenna to boost reception in the obsie. Do they make a noticable difference?

Dean

[ballaratdragons]

Before I bought my 'N' I did a lot of reading about them and asked a lot of questions.
Here is what I read and was told:
'Apparently' because the 'N' router has a more powerful signal strength it is able to pick up an A,B, or G signal easier from a PC without signal loss.

The A,B or G PC is still sending it's normal signal but being picked up easier by a better reciever (the 'N' Router).

The A,B or G PC is recieving a stronger than normal signal (from the 'N' Router).

I don't know why It doesn't work good the other way (A,B or G Router to an 'N' PC). I'm not a Radio Technician, but apparently it doesn't.

I got the V8 analogy from a guy at Officeworks :P

[acropolite]

Mike, another way to get decent coverage is simply to put another wap with the same ssid and security settings in the area where your reception is lacking. You would need a wired connection between the router and second AP. Often this is the best solution. High gain antennas can be a good option and you can also get high power amplifiers ( up to 500mw) to boost your radiated signal.

[floyd_2]

I use a WAP on my network to extend the range of my WiFi. However, I still get poor quality links and random dropouts in my observatory. I purchased a 12dBi external antenna today and plugged it into the NIC in my observatory PC. Amazing change - 54Mbps with full strength and no dropouts. The best $30.00 I've spent in ages!

Dean

[iceman]

The Billion 7800N arrived today, and it took no more than 5-10 minutes to set it up and configure it and be back connected to the 'net (most of that time was trying to find the PPPoE username/password in the setup menus).

It works great - I now get wireless everywhere I wanted to. In our bedroom, outside in the back yard, and in Jacob's room (not sure that last one is such a good idea ;)).

Seems a bit faster too. And one less device hooked up too, since I had a separate modem and router before.

Very happy.