wireless router as Lan adapter

Given that network adapters are SO CHEAP these days, why torment yourself with this? Just the wasted electricity alone running those boxes would surely end up costing more than a couple of USB adapters.

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The routers cost me $5 each at auction. I have had a couple of USB devices and they both got damaged(I have kids)costing me over $100, and sometimes you just like to do stuff because you can. Doing something like this is far from TORMENT and geeeez God forbid I may learn something in the process.

Jimmie

You can use a wrt54gs as an access point by turning off DHCP server. I'm not sure what you mean by LAN adapter. You could have turned off the DHCP on the stock units.

I'm not familiar with dd-wrt but the wiki might be instructive.

Post here, read here - that way everyone learns from the advice you get.

I guess he means use it as a wireless client / wireless bridge / whatever you want to call it.

This is no big deal and I think you have the right idea for $5 (or even $30) each! There are few adapters that will work as well as the setup you are attempting.

The big question is whether it's wise to drop a wired connection for a wireless? I would only put wireless where the wires won't reach or where notebooks prevail.

What is the geography and computer locations for your local network? We can help you sort out whether and where you really should use wireless.

Apart from that, using the routers as ethernet bridges should be easy. Have you read the DDWRT wiki yet? Googled for tutorials?

Well, since you asked, I did your homework for you. Read over these and come back with any questions; the first link may be a little easier reading.

Thanks Steve, I was considering the bridge and client options. The fact that you made the same two suggestions makes me feel a little better about going ahead and trying them. Once I get my network up and running I will pass along the details of how I got it up and going.

Jimmie

This is too cool. I am using a router in the client mode to connect to my primary router wirelessly. Normally from this location using my BELKIN USB adapter the connection is pretty poor. Using the WRT54GS in Client mode I have an excelent connection. THANK YOU STEVE. Part of the reason is that I can place the router in front of a window and the signal is now line of site to the other router. Steve You were so right about the WRT54s being better than regular adapters even if I had to pay full price which I think is about $60 now. I can even see my neighbors computer now good enough to log in. I do have his permission.

Jimmie

Great ! If you ever need yet more range, throw a homemade reflector on the antenna(s). google easy 10 easy 12 windsurfer.

Building a gain antenna is easy enough, what I was wondering about is the losses in the cable. At 2.4Ghz its going to take some really good feedline. How do the WIFI people handle this? I would think about putting a router very close to the antenna since low loss cable can cost bucks a foot.

Jimmie

That depends on how much cable and how much fade margin you have. I prefer to put the router next to the antenna, but even that requires a coax "pigtail".

The question is how much additional cable loss you can tolerate before your signal craps out. There's a really crude test that might offer a clue. Take a piece of wet cardboard or black IC foam to block half your panel or dish antenna. That's a 3dB loss. Block off 3/4 of the panel, and you have a 6dB loss. Crude, but effective. Don't use foil or metal reflectors for this. You want the blocking device to be an absorber, not a reflector. That should give you a clue as to how much loss you can tolerate. Of course, a real coax RF attenuator is the right way, but if you had one, you probably wouldn't be asking this question.

Cable loss is easy and comes from a simple chart: LMR-200 16.9 dB/100ft LMR-240 12.9 dB/100ft LMR-400 6.8 dB/100ft

So, if you decide that you can tolerate 3dB of additional cable loss, that means you can use about 44ft of LMR-400, or 23ft of LMR-240, or

What this means is that for fairly short coax runs of perhaps 10ft or less, don't worry about cable type. Almost anything will work. If a few dB make a difference, you already have a marginal system anyway and need to do something else.

Also, I've been quite successful using 75 ohm coax instead of 50 ohm as in RG-9/u CATV coax. There's a slight mismatch, and two additional coax adapter are required. The nice part is that it's commonly available, very cheap, and can be assembled without expensive tools and crimp connectors. However, don't go cheap on the F connectors. Use proper piston type tools and "push on" F connectors.