WiFi point at end of LAN cable to workshop as well as PC?

Chris Wilson · 2 Apr 2020 at 12:06

I have used spare time during this lockdown to run a LAN cable from the router in my house to my workshop outside. It works fine with a PC or laptop on it. I would now like to make my mobile phone have good WiFi internet connectivity in the workshop, a WiFi RF booster in the nearest room of the house fails to give anything but the weakest signal in the workshop. I *THINK* I need a WiFi "Access point" hard wired to the ethernet cable in the workshop, but which make and type to buy, and do some have one or more LAN ports on them so I can still use a hard wired PC or laptop on the end of the LAN cable as well as the access point? Thanks.

BongoHunter · 2 Apr 2020 at 12:21

I've used the DrayTek AP-810 a few times for setups like this, works well and has additional ethernet ports - quite pricy though (£90)

BigT · 2 Apr 2020 at 12:22

You're right. You want an access point at the end of the LAN cable in the workshop. If you need more ports then don't worry about getting one with extra LAN ports. Buy a cheap £10 desktop switch, plug the LAN cable into that and then your access point and PC and laptop also into the switch. An access point can be had from the likes of TP-Link for as little as £30, you could re-purpose an old router to act as an access point if you have one laying around or if you want to spend a bit more then get a prosumer device like a Ubiquiti Access Point.

Caged · 2 Apr 2020 at 12:30

Get an Aruba AP11D - it wall mounts in an outlet box and has a switch built in

Chris Wilson · 2 Apr 2020 at 12:47

Thanks for the fast replies, another question has now come to mind, many of these devices seem to take their power source via POE (I assume this is power over ethernet?). Now the hard wiring to the workshop is from a spare port on my elderly Technicolour TG582n router as supplied years ago by my ISP, Zen Internet. I did this as the router is physically a lot nearer the workshop than an unmanaged, none POE capable, 24 port switch also connected to the same router, that's in the furthest end of the house to the workshop. Will this router supply power over ethernet (I suspect it will not...), or do I need a WiFi point that uses its own dedicated PSU? Thanks again.

bremen1874 · 2 Apr 2020 at 13:24

If you need PoE you can use an injector (often bundled so check). No need for a PoE switch for a single device.

Caged · 2 Apr 2020 at 13:24

The router won't provide PoE, but you can power the AP I mentioned from a nearby power socket.

Chris Wilson · 2 Apr 2020 at 13:39

OK, that's great, I will see who is delivering and what's available from trusted sources, thanks a lot everyone for your time and advice. Stay safe please!

Chris Wilson · 7 Apr 2020 at 11:16

Found a Draytek Vigor AP810 at a good price locally and despite the instructions being pitiful I now have it working and it gives an excellent range and was easy to set up once I started fiddling. Thanks!!