It's always entertaining to see how much time and money people will spend trying to get something on the cheap, only to end up spending more to get it done right.
Long range wifi extenders
- Thread starter rickryan.com
- Start date
There are very few times when there is only ONE “right” technical solution. There are usually several; each with its own risk and cost. You have to do your research, get advice from knowledgeable people, and weigh your options. As someone who made their career at a severely under-funded state agency, I was able to find the least expensive solutions that worked. That’s the key, of course. The inexpensive solution MUST work, or the cost of rework and a second solution ends up costing more. People who think there is only one technical solution, and it’s THEIRS, are not the kind of people you want to get advice from. You want people who can think outside the box. If you can test a possible solution and all it costs is a little time, why not try it? If it doesn’t work, you can always go to the next alternative.
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I've successfully used two routers to reach from inside my office to a separate cabana outside on my home which provides full internet, wifi, and streaming services to the "outdoor man cave".
Run a cat5/6 cable from the base router (any cat5/6 output jack) to the location of the second router and insert into the yellow input.
On the secondary router, designate the second router from the typical 192.161.1.1 to 198.161.1.2 which makes it a device instead of a router. This method also helps eliminate speed throttling. Also, one can allow guest access on the sub-router without opening up the main router to potential hazards.
Run a cat5/6 cable from the base router (any cat5/6 output jack) to the location of the second router and insert into the yellow input.
On the secondary router, designate the second router from the typical 192.161.1.1 to 198.161.1.2 which makes it a device instead of a router. This method also helps eliminate speed throttling. Also, one can allow guest access on the sub-router without opening up the main router to potential hazards.
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There is another piece to this. Say you get the signal there wether it be running a cable or extending your home Wifi. Is this somthing you are going to let Guests use? Are you going to use this to download videos or music? A lot of internet providers are changing their bandwidth pricing and if you exceed the limits you will be charged for it and could cost you more then that $100 a month to just drop a business line in. Also if they find out you are doing it they could cancel your service all together. We get on Mixy for being cheap and doing things cheaply and hav to stay this is a business expense that you cant get around anymore and it should be done properly.
Well... not exactly. What you’ve done by designating the second router as 198.161.1.2 connected to the primary router 192.161.1.1 is create a separate Subnet. It’s still a router. If all you are wanting is Internet access through the second router, that will work fine, but if you want the nodes on both routers to see (and communicate with) each other, you’d have to set up routing tables. If you want that second router to connect to the primary network, you have to change the device mode to “Access Point”, then give it an address in primary router’s range; like 192.161.1.100.
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Totally agree.
Because of being a legally legitimate business, I have my internet subscription via the business arm of Spectrum (Spectrum-Business). The speed, reliability, and bandwidth is better than the consumer products but not by any ginormous multiplier. We don't use their business phone nor business cable TV, so the costs are not bad.
^This. Don't skimp. I finished my basement 10 years ago and a friend told me to run Cat 5 cables to a few locations while the walls were open, even if I had no intention of using it right then. It turned out to be the BEST advice; everything is more reliable and faster on that wired connection than it would be with a wireless or even Powerline-type of solution. There are so many useful devices that benefit from a good internet connection - security cameras, leak/flood detectors, thermostats, etc that there's no way you wouldn't want the best connectivity available in your building. A $207 device from Amazon isn't going to work consistently, if it works at all.
Yes... like I said, that method works if you just want to use the primary router as your Internet gateway. I have mine set up that way as well, with two separate SSID’s. However, my main (primary) router is where my cable modem hooks up to give me access to the Internet. The second router (which sits next to my primary router) has all the other nodes (servers, computers, and such) connected to it, on a separate Subnet. I hide that Subnet from public broadcasting, and I have the devices on it using MAC filtering. The primary router appears to have nothing attached to it, and since I have no router tables set up on it, no device that attaches to it can see any of the nodes attached to the second router (Subnet). I also have a third router on the other side of the house set up as an ACCESS POINT, attached to the second router (subnet). Again, this access point is invisible to anyone connected to the primary router, but has full access to all the computers, servers, and printers attached to the second router (Subnet). I have a fourth router with yet another subnet setup for my DJ business. It has a routing table set up to access my home media server, so I can copy new music to my DJ computers, which are attached to the DJ business router.
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If there's no Internet, then it doesn't matter how many devices will use it.
How does that change your advice?
Do you have a different recommendation if it's 1 device vs 20?
My suggestion was to get a modem for the internet connection, connect a router to the modem and use the router to go wireless with the different devices you plan to use to get those devices to go online.
Now he maybe having another issue with him spending money because of the divorce he's dealing with. He said 80% of the money is going to her.
Now since he was talking about raising his prices I would invest in the right stuff so he can use the TVS to get online adding to what he offers now. People get to see that at a meeting looking to book the venue, that could be an incentive for people to book the venue.
Now he maybe having another issue with him spending money because of the divorce he's dealing with. He said 80% of the money is going to her.
Now since he was talking about raising his prices I would invest in the right stuff so he can use the TVS to get online adding to what he offers now. People get to see that at a meeting looking to book the venue, that could be an incentive for people to book the venue.
A modem is useless if there's no connection available. A router is useless if there's no connection available. Devices are useless if there's no connection available.
If your house has no electricity, how many light bulbs are you going to use?
If your house has no electricity, how many light bulbs are you going to use?
Trick question, horses don't wear sneakers.
That's where you contact a company about internet service. See who can offer service in that area. I live in East Orange, NJ and can't get Optimum because I live in East Orange, NJ. I live on the border line of Newark and East Orange. You go on South Orange Avenue and you're in Newark.
The advice given here is profound.
Which is what he's trying to figure out. Welcome to the current state of conversation.