placing router in loft

Siliconslave

Siliconslave

Siliconslave

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Not sure if this should go in networking or in here - but what the hell...

Currently our master socket is in an old extension in a far corner of the house so naturally the best place to site our router :( what with about 1m of brickwork, a staircase and other paraphernalia in between it and the ensuite where I spend most of my time browsing Home and Gardens.

The temptation is to run a network cable outside, into the loft and position a repeater the other end of the house upstairs - this having the added bonus of giving some of the garden wireless coverage as well.

So - would it be ok to put a wireless router in the loft, there's already a masthead aerial amp there so i could spur off the power from that and add annother socket. Would the environment be an issue?
 
I wouldn't,Reason been during the winter it gets super cold up there and if its anything like our loft the odd bit of Condensation,Plus during the summer gets bloody hot.

Not great conditions for electronics imo,But then again its only a Router so nothing thats going to cost an arm & leg to replace.
 
Is it very easy access to the loft? If not, it's a bit of a pain when it needs resetting. Something that virginn hubs seem to need doing, a lot.
 
yer, access if fine but know what you mean about the temp changes - and i'd want to get an AC repeater to match the router so wouldn't be the cheapest. I wonder if i could drop the cables into something like the airing cupboard...
 
I think if you mod the router with a decent heatsink, it'll be fine even in winter. It's own heat should be enough to stop any condensation forming inside it anyway.

If it were me and I wanted to be safe, in the winter I'd be tempted to pop the router on top of it's own PSU to ensure that it's kept snug.
 
robfosters said:
Is it very easy access to the loft? If not, it's a bit of a pain when it needs resetting. Something that virginn hubs seem to need doing, a lot.
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Remember years ago when I use to have my router under the floor boards..

I use to just switch the plug socket power off/on to reboot it...;)
 
I'd put a ubiquiti outdoor wireless access point up there. It'll give superb range and be perfectly fine no matter what the temperature. No need to power it up there as if you run an Ethernet cable up that will carry the power too.

Edit: specifically one of these: https://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap-ac-outdoor/
 
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I run my router and switch up in the loft.. No problems so far! It does get quite toasty up there in the summer though.
 
Nevakonaza said:
I wouldn't,Reason been during the winter it gets super cold up there and if its anything like our loft the odd bit of Condensation,Plus during the summer gets bloody hot.

Not great conditions for electronics imo,But then again its only a Router so nothing thats going to cost an arm & leg to replace.
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Yeah :( I had some old computers - fortunately nothing I really wanted long term any how - that someone chucked in a loft space for storage - a few years later when I go back to them the motherboards, etc. were all corroded to **** (I think largely it was the BIOS backup batteries didn't handle the conditions too well and started leaking).
 
My router is pretty much in the worst part of the house, in the furthest corner in the lounge from the rest of the rooms, behind a TV with a socking metal wall bracket. I was getting poor reception in only the kitchen (furthest point from router) so I put it in loft and it degraded signal so much from rest of the house I put it back. Fortunately the loft is properly sealed so that's where I keep server, UPS and switches.

To resolve my kitchen signal issue I ended up buying a Devolo dLAN 500 (Wi-Fi Powerline) and works an absolute treat. Having tried several powerline brands, this one works brilliantly for me and the software provided is excellent.

My point is basically if you can try router out in situ first (running cable loose in house) I would do that as you could find you are in a worse position afterwards.
 
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I run a router as an AP, a server, 2 x 5 bay DAS's and a monitor in my loft and have done for over a year now. Yes it gets a little warmer in summer (nothing a fan blowing on them can't fix), but not had any issues with condensation.
 
i'm thinking i might just drill down and mount a Uniquiti in the upstairs hall - with signoff from SWMBO naturally - wonder if i can convince her its a firealarm...
 
My router is in the lounge for proximity to the master socket and most wifi devices (iPads/iPhones) but all other equipment is up in the loft (switches, home server, cctv - which is also locked/secured) and I've had no issues at all with summer heat or winter cold/condensation.
 
Sounds to me like everyone is overthinking this! Just stick a cheap £30 router up there and I bet it'll keep going for years and years with no issues whatsoever. No need for heatsinks, boxes, fans etc.

Just as a couple of random example, and bear in mind this is the range within the spec, it'll still likely function well outside these ranges:

http://www.belkin.com/uk/p/P-F9K1102/
Operating: 0~ 40C (32 ~ 104 F) Storing: -20 ~ 65 C (-13 ~ 155 F)

http://www.linksys.com/gb/p/P-E2500/
32° to 104°F (0° to 40°C)
Operating Humidity:10 to 80% Noncondensing

It's high unlikely the temperature in your loft will hit sub-zero as long as the property is occupied. It may peak past 40 degrees on the odd very hot day but I'm still not convinced it will cause any issues.
 
Abyss said:
Sounds to me like everyone is overthinking this! Just stick a cheap £30 router up there and I bet it'll keep going for years and years with no issues whatsoever. No need for heatsinks, boxes, fans etc.
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Not convinced i want to put my R7000 in there even if it is within its operating parameters... I'm figuring dropping a cable down into the upstairs hall and mounting a AP on the ceiling would be safer and probably better for the signal :)
 
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