Range Extender?

[phi1]

Hi there,
I have been helping a friend I installed a new Belkin N router he owns a workshop on the side of his land where he runs his business from. The router is in there and he has a laptop that he uses in his house but it only has 2 bars of signal and drops off when he moves about. I was looking at getting a extender to put in his house so it will boast the connection. I am unsure on what I need to buy! Any advice would be great.

Thanks phil

 

[SMB30]

You need a wireless repeater/access point.

Have used the belkin ones in the past and they work fine.

 

[manic_man]

You can also buy boosters if you look at some specialist wifi suppliers. They will supply up to 1 Watt boosters, but those aren't strictly legal in the UK Quite pricey too.

An easier and simpler solution is, if the aerials can be removed from the router, simply buy larger 10dB aerials (normal ones are usually 4-6dB depending on the router) and simply replace them Can make a huge difference as it increases the radiance "cone" eminating from the aerial.

Or, as has been said, simply buy a wifi repeater, (a bridge), and place it in the house where it has a good signal, then he connects to that from in his house rather than directly to the router. This method can start to introduce routing problems though, especially if you mix brands of router and repeater, if you try and do anything clever like media streaming.

 

[SMB30]

Good points raised above.

Could never get a netgear router and belkin repeater to work properly with an hp printer.

So try and buy the same brands if you can.

Can't seem to find any repeaters on overclockers so you may have to look elsewhere! (Don't ban me for suggesting this please!)

 

[phi1]

Thanks for the replys, he is a very basic user and all he uses it for is pistonheads forums! Posting all his race cars! I have ordered a belkin range extender so should hopefully be all good!

Cheers Phil