wireless routers

[automania]

need someone who knows some abou computers to help me. were getting a 2nd laptop in the house soon and will be wanting to run both on the net so am looking into wireless routers. now, there seems to be three types depending how fast you want it, but how do these equate to running throufgh a cable? are they slower if so by how much. im currently on virgin through the phone line and it connects at 2.2 mbps. anyhelp much appreciated i dont want to buy the cheaper one and end up with dial up speeds again. cheers

[carbore]

The router will not be a bottleneck.

Most routers these days are 54Mbs or above so much much faster than a dial up and will be for the forseeable future so there is no issue with "future proofing"

However the faster the router the better transfer speed you will have computer to computer e.g. if you want to copy a CD of photos or MP3 from one home PC to another. My advise is to get one of a good brand, such as 3com, Linksys, US Robotics or Buffalo.  Ti will be easier to get any updates and support or spares (PSU) if you have one a known brand.

If im not mistaken then Virgin is Cable as opposed to ADSL (BT etc) which means you need a different type of router (not just the connector)

[thermidorthelobster]

If im not mistaken then Virgin is Cable as opposed to ADSL (BT etc) which means you need a different type of router (not just the connector)

Not necessarily.  Some routers have built-in modems (ADSL or cable);  some don't.  If you buy a router with an ADSL modem, then it won't work on cable, but if you buy a wireless router without a modem, and plug it into your existing cable modem, then no problem.  If your cable modem has an ethernet port then it should be easy;  if it's a USB modem then less so.

[automania]

sorry for being thick but whats Ti and PSU?
when we went looking other day at laptops the guy said virgin was cable, but the wire goes into our bt phoneline?


i think ive got a bit confused between the 54 Mbs speed and the old dial up speed of 56 whatevers, thats what made me think they were slower

[automania]

sorry lobster we posted at same time, ill be honest ive no idea what your talking about. the cable to the phone line has a box on with flashing lights, dont know what an ethernet port is, it just has a phone line type plug.

[thermidorthelobster]

54Mbps router = 54 megabits (million bits) per second
56Kbps modem = 56 kilobits (thousand bits) per second

Broadband is usually slower than 8Mbps;  even an older 802.11b router should be able to handle up to 11Mbps (reception dependent).

PSU = Power Supply Unit
Ti = "It" spelt wrong, I think...

How does your flashing light box connect to the computer?  USB, or through a cable that looks like a phone cable but slightly wider?

[waveydavey]

The one tip I would give is look for one that you can unplug the antenna.

If you ever want to increase range then by far the easiest way is to put a better antenan on it but a lot of them are hardwired into place.

[automania]

the box connects through one of the usb plugs.

[Disco Matt]

If you look at the back, you should see a rectangular socket about 1cm across (RJ45 socket). This is what you plug a network into. You can buy a network switch (a box that allows you to connect multiple PCs and a router together with cables) for a few quid, which will probably be your simplest option.

Wired networks are more reliable and far more secure than wireless, but you will need to install the cabling to make it all work. If you want to go wireless and your router doesn't have it then you'll need to replace the router.

[carbore]

Hopefully I can clarify this.

You need to see how your current boradband "box" plugs into your PC. As its not currently wireless then its either USB or RJ45. Many broadband packages come with basic USB "modems". USB is the usually the same sort of cable you plug a Digital camera, modern printer or Mobile phone into a PC as below.



An RJ45 connection comes from a router or hub and is usually Ethernet.



Id guess you have a USB "Broadband Modem" as you plug into the BT socket it should be ADSL but you should check with your provider.

Most people replace the USB "modem" with a Wireless router, this performs two (or 3) functions

1. Converts the ADSL to Ethernet (the Routing)
2. Provides Ethernet Connectivity over Wireless
3. An over wired ethernet, usually 4 RJ45 Connectors on the back


If you do have Ethernet (RJ45 connector) you can as someone said plug this into a Hub/Switch. You can plug a "wireless access point" into this to send the wireless out for you, or if you have a non wireless router then you can plug a "wireless access point" into the back of that.

Something else to consider is that once you have the right bit of kit, you will need to know some settings, and you connection password in order to connect. Again your service provider will tell you these or they are usually on thier support site.

 

[automania]

right so ive been today to get the new laptop, and got a "netgear wireless g cable router" "for use with cable broadband".

now ive put the instalation cd in and it just comes up with internet connection not available, then goes on to say its either cos the modem is turned off or the its not connected to the computer, well im connected to internet so neither is the problem. anyone any ideas? as usual the instuctions may as well be in ancient urdu for all the use they are!

other thing is the wiring on my current modem is phone pulg to filter. then into the filter plugs a phone line for the phone and another smaller plug about  0.5cm square which then goes to the same type of plug again into the modem box. from the modem box a wire comes straight out with no plug to a usb plug then into my computer.

now the wireless ruter jobbie has a socket on the back of about 1cm square which the internet is sposed to plug into, clearly as mine are smaller then there not going to go into it, only other thing i got is a lead with to male ends that plug into aformentioned 1cm hole.

so basically how the hell do i wire up this thing if none of the plugs are the same? have i got the wrong router? or is it somethin simple?

thanks

[Wireless]

I must be unusual then;

I have an ADSL 2+ Modem (Draytech Vigor 110) that only has an ethernet port and is completely controlled by a NetGear FVS338 Firewall which handles PPP, and has a external Dial Up Modem for email only if the 1:20 contention ADSL fails.

This leads to a wired Cat5e network to a limited number of rooms in the house, and a Netgear 100Mbit Switch, Netgear WAG102 2.4GHz/5.8GHz Wireless Access Point AND Tyco Multimode Fast Fibre Media Converter in the loft.

Leading from the loft to the garden shed (20ft x 10ft) is Fibre Optic Cabling that via another Tyco Media Converter, enters another Netgear Switch, and another Cat5e wired network.

Had to be fibre to the shed, and wired inside the shed because the shed is also a shielded faraday cage for a 400 Watt transceiver with high gain antennas in the garden.  The shielding is to stop my high power transmissions crashing the computers in the shed, and therefore WiFi wouldn't get in the shed either, and you can interrupt data transmissions in ethernet cables (even the shielded ones) by routing them near a strong source of RF such as a radio antenna, hence the fibre link to the shed.

Maybe I take too many precautions...

[carbore]

Automainia.

The wireless router should replace the current USB "Modem" that you have (that plugs into your filter into the BT line)

My concern is that you said you bought a "Cable Modem" and im fairly sure that "Cable" modems dont plug into your phone line as "Cable" is not the same as a BT line.  What did your service provider say, sounds like you have Virgin broadband over a "BT" type line.

If you have got the right thing then you will need to plug your new router into the BT line, then either plug the PC into the router using a CAT5 cable (usually one is supplied int the router box) or connect the PC to the router via wireless.  This should be described in the router manaual.

You will need to connect to the router and use a web browser to connect to the admin screen on the router to tell it settings including username and password for your broadband provider.  Some routers/isp do auto detect, but I have not used one so cant help on how that works.

Finally once all thats done, your "old" PC which your old modem plugged into may need some settings removed for the modem so it does not try to connect via that modem everytime you use the internet.  Make sure you connect the new laptop via vireless to the net before you delete any settings or you could end up with no connection at all.

[automania]

as you can probably guess ive not much idea about computers other than using them, (think the problem is a lack of 1/2" bolts on them), anyway i just told the guy in the shop i had virgin b/band and said it went into the phone line and he said i was getting mixed up with the terminology and this is the one i need. sposed to pick up the new laptop tomos so ill just take evrything in i think and take it from there.

cheers for replies will update when/if i get sorted cheers again

[automania]

right ive hopefully got this sorted now. returned the router id bought, where the salesman told me i needed to get a new modem from virgin because mine was old and was missing a socket. anyway i got a refund and gave virgin a ring, they told me they no longer do medems and to get a particular netgear router with a built in modem.

anyhow i think i may upgrade my broadband and am thinking of bt home hub jobbie, anyone any experience of this?

[Disco Matt]

We have the old white Homehub which has been ok, although I have heard about overheating and a risk of fire. Ours is high up with ample ventilation, which I suspect may have been the problem. It does get warm but it has a decent airflow where it is.

The new black one is supposed to be much better and we're currently trying to nudge BT into sending one (if existing customers don't get the same service as new ones, we want to know why...).