Wireless Connection or alternative

i just purchased a new computer for my room. my family computer is in my
basement and my room is on the 2nd floor. do you think there will be problems
having the signal reach from my basement to my room 2 floors above? its going
to be such a pain to get a wired router so im hoping wireless will work since
i asked optimum online and they said they would charge me a monthly fee of
$45!!! to get a second modem. that is crazy. im thinking that if i have to i
may be able to run a wire up to my 1st floor and put the router there. but
does anyone have any ideas? and any routers that would be a good choice for a
low price of no more than $100?

starabvmybed wrote:
> i just purchased a new computer for my room. my family computer is in my
> basement and my room is on the 2nd floor. do you think there will be problems
> having the signal reach from my basement to my room 2 floors above? its going
> to be such a pain to get a wired router so im hoping wireless will work since
> i asked optimum online and they said they would charge me a monthly fee of
> $45!!! to get a second modem. that is crazy. im thinking that if i have to i
> may be able to run a wire up to my 1st floor and put the router there. but
> does anyone have any ideas? and any routers that would be a good choice for a
> low price of no more than $100?
>
Hi,
I live in a 2 story house(~3000 sq. ft.) There are desktops, laptops on
all levels; basement, main floor, upstairs. The router(Linksys WRT54GX2)
is located upstairs. My old router WRT54G has worked well too.
We don't have any problem at all.

Tony Hwang <dragon40@shaw.ca> wrote:

> starabvmybed wrote:
>
> > i just purchased a new computer for my room. my family computer is in my
> > basement and my room is on the 2nd floor. do you think there will be
> > problems having the signal reach from my basement to my room 2 floors
> > above? its going to be such a pain to get a wired router so im hoping
> > wireless will work since i asked optimum online and they said they would
> > charge me a monthly fee of $45!!! to get a second modem. that is crazy.
> > im thinking that if i have to i may be able to run a wire up to my 1st
> > floor and put the router there. but does anyone have any ideas? and any
> > routers that would be a good choice for a low price of no more than
> > $100?
> >
> Hi,
> I live in a 2 story house(~3000 sq. ft.) There are desktops, laptops on
> all levels; basement, main floor, upstairs. The router(Linksys WRT54GX2)
> is located upstairs. My old router WRT54G has worked well too.
> We don't have any problem at all.

And if there is, try positioning the antenna horisontaly - or nearly
horisontaly. That should theoretically give a much better signal between
floors.

"starabvmybed" <u27065@uwe> hath wroth:

>i just purchased a new computer for my room. my family computer is in my
>basement and my room is on the 2nd floor. do you think there will be problems
>having the signal reach from my basement to my room 2 floors above?

That depends on what the floor is made from. If just wood, with no
foil backed insulation, it just might work. Increasing the signal
strength with refectors will certainly help:
http://www.freeantennas.com
However, if the floor is poured concrete, tile, or something
impervious to RF, forget it.

>its going
>to be such a pain to get a wired router so im hoping wireless will work since
>i asked optimum online and they said they would charge me a monthly fee of
>$45!!! to get a second modem. that is crazy. im thinking that if i have to i
>may be able to run a wire up to my 1st floor and put the router there. but
>does anyone have any ideas? and any routers that would be a good choice for a
>low price of no more than $100?

You might consider using phone line networking, power line networking,
or sharing the CATV coax cable as an alternative to wireless.

Coax:
| http://www.multilet.com
There are others, but they are mostly for large apartment buildings
and OEM manufacturers:
| http://www.coaxsys.com
| http://www.mocalliance.org

Wireless power line bridge extenders:
| http://www.netgear.com/Products/Brid...Extenders.aspx

Phone line networking:
| http://www.homepna.org

Power line Networking:
| http://www.homeplug.org

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:46:30 GMT, "starabvmybed" <u27065@uwe> wrote:

>i just purchased a new computer for my room. my family computer is in my
>basement and my room is on the 2nd floor. do you think there will be problems
>having the signal reach from my basement to my room 2 floors above? its going
>to be such a pain to get a wired router so im hoping wireless will work since
>i asked optimum online and they said they would charge me a monthly fee of
>$45!!! to get a second modem. that is crazy. im thinking that if i have to i
>may be able to run a wire up to my 1st floor and put the router there. but
>does anyone have any ideas? and any routers that would be a good choice for a
>low price of no more than $100?

you've got a couple of options.

first, depending on the construction material used in your house you
likely WILL be able to receive a wireless signal on the second floor.
the only way to know for sure is to try it. buy your wireless router
from a retailer with a good return policy.

second, if you can put the wireless router ON the second floor and
have the family PC access it wirelessly. wi-fi is a radio signal and
radio signals will propogate farther as the transmission point gains
elevation.

third, you can always used a WIRED router at the family pc and run
some CAT5 cable up to the second floor. that may not be so easy but
where there's a will, there's a way. the wired router will function
the same as a wireless router in that your broadband connection
interfaces your broadband connection and your pc's.

as for a recommendation, i'd go with the US Robotics MaxG model 5461
<http://www.usr.com/products/networking/wireless-product.asp?sku=USR5461>
i bought one after a long period of research and am completely
satisfied with it. super easy set up. great security options. and
not all that expensive. i think it ran something like $39.99.

good luck.

73,
rich, n9dko