Installing Wi-fi at my home

[victor_rambo]

Hi Guyz,
I am thinking of implementing Wi-Fi at my 6-room home. I get my connection through a ethernet cable(cable-internet) and my plan speed is 512 kbps.

From what I have inquired with the local hardware stores, I will have to buy a Wi-Fi modem and plug my ethernet cable into the modem.

My laptop already has an in-built Wi-Fi card. So, I need your help for the following:

1. What shall be the cost of the Wi-Fi modem?
2. What speed shall I get?
3. Can I secure it?
4. In what range can I use the Wi-Fi?
5. How will the walls between the rooms affect the speed?

Thank you
-Rohan.

[kalpik]

Its called a wifi router and not a modem

1. G series routers are from about 1.8-2.5k. I recently bought a D-Link DIR-300 router for 1750 bucks. Its working great and its dd-wrt compatible too. I have flashed it to dd-wrt.
2. G Series speed is 54mbps. If you are planning to just share your internet with it, there would be no issues. The LAN speed you will get is about 2-4MBps (notice the capital M).
3. Yes you can (should) secure it with WPA2 encryption (present on the dlink router i mentioned).
4. It should work well throughout your house.
5. Walls do affect the range, but not too much. Just place the router in a central place and as high as possible.

[gforce23]

Originally Posted by kalpik

2. G Series speed is 54mbps. If you are planning to just share your internet with it, there would be no issues. The LAN speed you will get is about 2-4MBps (notice the capital M).

If Rohan's subscribed to a 512kbps (64KBps) plan, how could he possibly get a connection speed of 2-4MBps?

[tgpraveen]

the net speed will remain 512kbps only but if he transfers files between the pcs with networking then max he will get 2MBPS

obviously

[kalpik]

When did i say connection speed? I said LAN speed.. As in speed between computers on the same wifi as his (if he plans to have more than one PC/laptop on his wifi).

[gforce23]

Ahh okay.. got it. I thought it was a bit faster than that. My phone gets a file transfer rate of 500KBps when connected to my laptop on an ad-hoc WiFi connection in "b" mode.

[rohanisbusy]

1. What shall be the cost of the Wi-Fi modem?

it depends upon the cpompany u choose i have linksys WI FI rOUTER ITS MODEL NO IS "WRT54G" these days its almost really cheap around 1600-2000 in bangalore i have a less clue abt mumbai prices....thee model no very common is "WRT54G2" its teh second version of the same one i have./.......


2. What speed shall I get?
speed of internet remains same 512kbps it reduces to 2mbps if filetransfer takes plance...

3. Can I secure it?
yes offcourse there are 4 types of security types...
u can put a WPA or WEPkey this the most common ones...

4. In what range can I use the Wi-Fi?
i live on the ground floor i use it on the 3rd floor of my house without loosing connectivity , range is wall dependent it usually crosses almost 5-6 walls

5. How will the walls between the rooms affect the speed?
almost 5-6 wallls it crosses easily


please note: installation is damn easy if u have any doubts, let me know.


its realy easy man i have been using this piece since 2.1/2 years its working especially too good
its a value for momne the model no i m quoting it even recieved value for money award in the digit magzine

if u hget the model i have its got two external antennas which is really helpful to direct ur transmission to a particular directions

[kalpik]

^^ Please dont disclose your email/phone number on a public forum. Please use PM for that.

BTW, the linksys WRT54G2 is a piece of crap router. Just 2 MB of flash and 4 MB of ram. Too less IMO. Also its range is pretty bad. The only good linksys wifi router is the WRT54GL, which is VERY hard to find as its not in production anymore.

[victor_rambo]

Kalpik and Rohan, thanks to both of you for the precise answers. Some of the local hardware guyz had left me in terrible doubts! Thanks for clearing them all.

BTW another reason I want to get a Wi-Fi at my home is cause I can share my single-user only internet connection easily. If not, I need to buy a multi-user plan and that costs a lot extra .

[rohanisbusy]

ur welcome man

[victor_rambo]

BTW just to confirm: Are 'Wireless LAN' and Wi-Fi the same?
My laptops supports 'Wireless LAN' but does not use the word 'Wi-Fi'
Also I have been able to detect some wireless networks. So it it Wi-Fi.

[rohanisbusy]

yes its the same.....

see internet usage isa type of application on wireless lan so its called wi fi....

[victor_rambo]

Thanks Rohan, I actually tried to google but coudn't get a satisfactory answer

[rohanisbusy]

well since ur uage is limited s long as its internet related so only i mentioned the model no im using im happy withe product i own so have a check ur self when u r installing this product iu can call me or contact me fo any sort of help a in case its quite easy i dont think so ull be needing my help

for dtailed photo heres the link to it

http://www.cguy.net/wireless_network...54G%20back.jpg


the look is this one

http://z.about.com/d/compnetworking/...sys_wrt54g.jpg

wi-fi is
WIRELESS FIDELITY

WI FI IS

wireless fidelity

[ashu888ashu888]

THanx Kalpik, Rohan and Rohan (witht eh Shenoy surname) for this thread,

actually i too hv a wired ADSL D Link Router (model DSL 502T) and hv MTNL Triband BB connection giving me 256 kbps speed for the BB, so even i wanted a wifi router (for surfing the net on my SONY PSP)..

so will the same G series wifi routers from D link (wat Kalpik mentioned) will be suitable for me too ?? (im also not well versed in this..) so plz be easy on me with the replies guys...
-------------

Cheers n e-peace....

[kalpik]

Yes, should be suitable for you too Its probably the cheapest and also good at hardware specifications

[Most Wanted]

Originally Posted by ashu888ashu888

THanx Kalpik, Rohan and Rohan (witht eh Shenoy surname) for this thread,

actually i too hv a wired ADSL D Link Router (model DSL 502T) and hv MTNL Triband BB connection giving me 256 kbps speed for the BB, so even i wanted a wifi router (for surfing the net on my SONY PSP)..

so will the same G series wifi routers from D link (wat Kalpik mentioned) will be suitable for me too ?? (im also not well versed in this..) so plz be easy on me with the replies guys...
-------------

Cheers n e-peace....

what is this, one Rohan asking second Rohan is giving answer. Very interesting......

[Ecko]

Guyz 1 more thing I wanna ask here is that if I can play Lan game with my neighbor somehow using that on a Wifi Connection without using Internet

[victor_rambo]

^prolly yes!

[NucleusKore]

My experience with this WAP, Netgear WG 602, in my 8 room house is BAD. It's fine if you don't have walls

I'd recommend something more powerful. A good idea would be to try to ask for a demo before buying.

[Huzefa]

WIFI is a gr8 system to use at home... though the Q I have is how do I transfer files using WIFI ? My desktop runs WinXP and m laptop runs WinVista

[NucleusKore]

And I really do not understand why they do not mention the operating range (distance) on the websites?

[kalpik]

You can have a look here for router specifications (more CPU speed, RAM, Flash is better )

And yes, you can share files and play games using wifi without having internet. Wifi is just like regular LAN, only wireless

Oh and if you want more range (about 3 times more), go for Draft N Series routers, would cost upwards of 5k. But you need a N Series capable wifi card/laptop for it to work in N mode.

[rohanisbusy]

hi hufeza ur having problems with transfer of files from vista to xp but it wont be occuring if ur trying to access from vista.....................
pm me ill let uiu know u have to authorize some privacy settings to communicate with bot of each other its possible need not worry.....

ECKo ................
yyes u can play games on wi fi but try only playing games with less show fuiltering on a lan play....

[victor_rambo]

Ok, here is an update!

I have not bought the router yet, but will buy in a week or so!

I inquired here, the price starts from about Rs. 1850(Netgear) to 2000 for Linksys and other systems.

I have a few doubts again:
1. Can I limit the speed at which they download from the internet. I don't want a user hogging all bandwidth.
2. I have a laptop(with WLAN card) and an old PC with wired LAN card. Now do I have to buy a WLAN card for old PC too? Or will a straight cable connect router to old PC?

Thank you.

BTW I may go to Lamington Road(most famous electronic market in Mumbai) with Coolg5. Lets see if we get a better deal there!

[kalpik]

1. You can, with dd-wrt i think.
2. You can connect the PC to the router via a straight LAN cable.

[victor_rambo]

Thanks Kalpik.

but will dd-wrt work on Windows Vista Home Basic?
I have a WinVista HB laptop and a desktop(WinXP pro sp2 and Ubuntu).
I plan to connect the old desktop to the router via a ethernet cable, and laptop to router shall be wireless.

Will it be possible?