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  • WiFi router

    OK I am a total novice when it comes to this stuff. I want to get a WiFi router. I want the router option because I want to hard wire my PC into the router but have the WiFi option for my phone and maybe my TV and provide WiFi to guests I have over or who are temp staying with me.

    I do have the option to have my cable company activate WiFi BUT that will cost more $$s per month and I kinda want to try and avoid that if I can.

    Any decent suggestions at a reasonable price?
    I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
    -- Life Sucks Then You Die.


    "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

  • #2
    Maybe your existing cable router has built-in WiFi that they simply disabled, and will only re-enable for a fee? Wi-Fi isn't actually a service they can offer; either your router has wireless connectivity or it doesn't.

    Do you have the login info needed to get into your router settings? It's often on a sticker on the side of the unit. You may be able to turn it on yourself.

    As for the setup you describe: Literally do that. Plug your computer into an available LAN port via a CAT5 (or whatever) cable, and use wi-fi to connect everything else.
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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    • #3
      If you're looking for the least expensive acceptable option, I'd recommend an Asus RT-N12. $30 on Amazon. Basic, will only do 300 megabit wireless, capable of handling alternative firmware if you need more functionality.

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      • #4
        I've had pretty good luck just picking up whatever is cheap at Target. I've gotten a Linksys and a D-Link, at different times, both of which worked just fine.

        Most of the wireless routers I know of also have at least one or two Ethernet ports on them, because what you want to do is something a lot of people want to do. And because it's pretty cheap to manufacture with them. So you can just plug your cable modem's output into the input of the router, then your computer into one of the outputs of the router, and set up wifi normally...
        “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
        One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
        The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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        • #5
          I should clarify my current setup. I have internet access thru my cable co. I have a cable modem (company provided) that yes does have WiFi BUT the cable co makes you pay an extra charge/fee per month to have the WiFi active (and I want to avoid that). SO I figured I'd get my own WiFi router so I can hard plug in my computer (Cat5 cable) and provide WiFi for my house.

          One more question ---- I would have the WiFi unit on the second floor (my house is wood frame) how will that effect the signal going to the first floor where the TV amd most persons will be most of the time?
          I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
          -- Life Sucks Then You Die.


          "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

          Comment


          • #6
            Wifi will typically go between floors okay, but there are a lot of variables and it's really impossible to know until you try.

            Resist getting special antennas meant to boost signal strength; they boost it by shaping it, typically horizontally at the expense of vertically, so that'd reduce the signal on a different floor.

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            • #7
              Any physical object will slow down and/or interfere with the signal in *some* way. Brick walls, in particular. The ideal (which is, of course, often nigh-impossible) in any wi-fi setup is to have line-of-sight from the wi-fi transmitter to the device using the signal. Lacking that, reasonably high up in the room helps, as does NOT having anything crowding the router. Perhaps consider placing the transmitter on the "wall" below your stairs, but as close to the second floor as possible. Also, go for more oopmh than you need.If you wanna have full signal strength 300 feet from the router, consider a unit that claims to have a 500 foot "full strength" range for a few bucks more.
              Last edited by EricKei; 04-05-2019, 09:43 PM.
              "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
              "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
              "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
              "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
              "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
              "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
              Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
              "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth EricKei View Post
                consider a unit that claims to have a 500 foot "full strength" range for a few bucks more.
                There's unfortunately no such thing really. There's a federal mandate on the maximum signal output (without a license), it's pretty low, and even the cheapest routers will output at that strength. And like I said, antennas that supposedly extend range do so by shaping that output/reception.

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                • #9
                  I found out that for me to get WiFi through my cable company cable modem is an extra $30 a month. NOPE will buy my own thank you.
                  I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
                  -- Life Sucks Then You Die.


                  "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Shad0w -- Interesting. I sit corrected
                    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                    Comment

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