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[OT] home routers



Good discussion. BTW: We have some Netgear stuff here in the office,
specifically 3 GBit rack mounted managed switches, and a ReadyNAS. So
far the ReadyNAS has exceeded my expectations, both on ease of
configuration, performance, and accessibility over ssh.=20

WRT: Router, I'm not sure whether I'll get my friend a Netgear or a
D-Link. When I bought the D-Link at MicroCenter there was a double
rebate that made it a rather attractive price although the rebate
fulfillers initially rejected one of the rebates, but a quick phone call
fixed that including a nice apology from the lady I spoke to. My  D-Link
DIR-655 has been pretty solid and I have heard no complaints from my
wife who uses it upstairs. In terms of my friend, we'll probably replace
the Linksys with either a Netgear or D-Link depending on price.

On 09/16/2010 09:34 AM, Jim Gasek wrote:
> Let's talk about RF.
>
> Many utilities that ship with wireless cards and=20
> devices have an "audit" or "analysis", which will show
> all the beacons, which channel they're on.
>
> Net Stumbler (Network Stumbler) is excellent, although
> old ans hasn't been updated much lately
> Most devices ship by default at channel "6".
> Net stumbler (I believe) shows signals without beacons
> too.
>
> I think, although no hard evidence, there are really
> only 3 "channels",  low (1)  medium (6) and high (11).
>
> Choose the one that everyone else ISN'T using.
>
> If people are on all of them, choose the one with the
> weakest (farthest away) signals.
>
> Also, you can get a (what we used to call) spectrum=20
> analyzer, and watch the noise and signals at different
> frequencies. =20
>
> Antenna:
>
> The signal off most (look like a pencil) antennas can
> be thought of a doughnut (matematically- torroid).   Signal=20
> strength goes out best perpendicular to the pencil.  So aim your=20
> antenna(s) appropriately.    _ |   ...gets up and down power.
>
> There are other antennas (passive and active) which will
> increase gain, but usually only in certain directions.
> Think - dish TV style (parabola, etc.).
>
> Pringles can antennas have been used by geeks for a while.
>
> Also, there are (were) piggy-back amplifiers that you
> could buy for linksys.
>
> Lastly, you can just hack and make your own amplification.
> Transmit can be increased, receive is passive.
>
> Like cell phones, WiFi RF power is limited for a reason.
> We all have to play nice together.
>
> Another good analogy is walkie-talkies.  Many people bought
> Motorola FM walkie-talkies, and were shocked, shocked!
> that others would be using "their frequencies".
>
> Sometimes you can hear CB radios from Florida, it works,
> but not really playing nice. =20
>
> That's the rub, it is a shared resource.   It helps if you
> live in the country.
>
> I've heard of optimized cases where signals can go a mile
> or more with the right antennas/conditions.
>
> I'm sure many here know much more than me...
>  =20


--=20
Jerry Feldman <gaf-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
PGP key id: 537C5846
PGP Key fingerprint: 3D1B 8377 A3C0 A5F2 ECBB  CA3B 4607 4319 537C 5846








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