Realistic wireless

[Jim]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I now have my first ever wireless equipped laptop. Tempted to replace
my existing wired router (Netgear RT-314) with a wireless unit. What is
the real user expectation regarding range from the home user units?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

With a new setup you can achieve a good connection over a surprising
distance. A friend can still use his laptop, a Dell Inspiron 6000, from the
end of his driveway. His driveway is 670 feet long. We know, we measured
it with a surveyors tape. Of course, it's a straight shot, with no
structures or trees in the line-of-sight from his office to the end of the
driveway. This is contrasted by his "real" office where he is lucky to have
a connection just down the hall in the lunch room.

"Jim" <chief_jim@go.com> wrote in message
news:G_8Ke.25137$sf6.8788@fe08.lga...
>I now have my first ever wireless equipped laptop. Tempted to replace my
>existing wired router (Netgear RT-314) with a wireless unit. What is the
>real user expectation regarding range from the home user units?
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Tue, 09 Aug 2005 17:12:06 -0400, Jim <chief_jim@go.com> wrote:

>I now have my first ever wireless equipped laptop. Tempted to replace
>my existing wired router (Netgear RT-314) with a wireless unit. What is
>the real user expectation regarding range from the home user units?

OK, I have a WRT54G router from Linksys. I get connections
everywhere in my house using an IBM ThinkPad with its internal A/B/G
wireless card. Right now the router is about 30-40 feet away from me
(through 3 or 4 walls) and I have a connection that varies between 24
and 36 Mbps. When I go outside my house, the connection suffers
quite a bit (I suspect due to the aluminum siding more than anything
else). Even with this, I can cross the street into another
neighbor's drive and still have a 1 Mbps connection to my own network,
which is still almost as fast as my internet connection. That link is
through 1 exterior wall & through the asphalt shingles of the roof
gable and still reaches 100-150 feet.

Now, I can tell you that I don't have 2.5 GHz cordless phones, and I
seldom use my OLD microwave, so the two largest interference points
for home wireless are eliminated. The next largest interference point
would be from neighbors with their own wireless networks. Sitting
here, I can see at least 3 other networks, two of which I can
access, as I found-out when I converted my wireless from WEP to WPA
encryption and was having problems getting my notebook to access my
network over the open networks it was seeing...

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Jim <chief_jim@go.com> wrote:
: I now have my first ever wireless equipped laptop. Tempted to replace
: my existing wired router (Netgear RT-314) with a wireless unit. What is
: the real user expectation regarding range from the home user units?

Depends on the technology of the WAP/router and the card. I have an older
802.11b WAP/router. The WAP/router is upstairs and I use my laptop
one story down and over about 60 feet and I still get great signal. I
can also pick up a few neighbors' signals and they are a few houses
away, though only one or two of these is usable and is of low
strength.

Some of the newer 802.11g WAP/routers have "enhanced" modes that claim
greater range but I don't know how those hold up. If your WAP/router will
be a long way away from where you use your laptop it may be marginal
but you still have the option to get a better antenna for the
WAP/router. Unless you live in a mansion I'll bet you will do fine.

Andrew
--
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[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

On Tue, 9 Aug 2005 18:34:28 -0700, "Kevin" <webman6@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>With a new setup you can achieve a good connection over a surprising
>distance. A friend can still use his laptop, a Dell Inspiron 6000, from the
>end of his driveway. His driveway is 670 feet long. We know, we measured
>it with a surveyors tape. Of course, it's a straight shot, with no
>structures or trees in the line-of-sight from his office to the end of the
>driveway. This is contrasted by his "real" office where he is lucky to have
>a connection just down the hall in the lunch room.

Well, I just checked at work today. We have a Checkpoint wireless
router (with embedded firewall like we use for VPN access) in one of
our warehouses. One router covers almost the entire 730,000 Sq Ft
warehouse. It is full of metal racking, etc.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

It really does vary a lot. 300 feet is possible, but I've seen
situations in a building -- and I mean a wood-frame house -- where it
didn't work reliably at 50 feet. Generally, however, in a residence, it
is likely (but not certain) to work anywhere in the residence.


Jim wrote:

> I now have my first ever wireless equipped laptop. Tempted to replace
> my existing wired router (Netgear RT-314) with a wireless unit. What is
> the real user expectation regarding range from the home user units?