Does having multiple RJ45 jacks degrade the Internet signal a lot?

Jim Elbrecht wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I have FiOS, so deal with their ActionTec. Its wireless became much easier to connect to after I changed the WPA from TKIP to AES encryption.

I found AES negotiation faster on my ThinkPad. Unfortunately it won't connect to my cell phone at all (well, it did twice). :-(

" snipped-for-privacy@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

No problem with either iPhone 3GS or 4S. Even wife is happy now ...

Wow. Is it really that simple?

I have a telco (Verizon) dsl wireless router around somewhere ... I think I'll look for it to see if I can log into it to try this.

Yep. Any wireless router can be used as an access point:

etc...

Reminder... Turn off the DHCP server, turn off Plug-n-Play, turn off RIP2.

Sorry for not being clear.

The Wii, by default, connects wirelessly.

My current problem is the signal strength at the Wii of the wireless signal from my Linksys WRT54G home broadband router in the office is weak at the game room.

I had hoped to simply wire the Wii (and I still may do that using Jeff's suggestion of the USB-to-Ethernet adapter for the Wii)...

But, another option is to get a second wireless router, and set it up in the game room (near the Wii) as a wireless repeater/access point (I'm not sure if it's a 'repeater' or an 'access point' because I'm not sure of the differences yet).

According to the information just posted by Char & Jeff, all I need to do to convert the new router to an (access point? repeater?) is:

1. Disable DHCP
2. Do not use the WAN port
3. Plug the incoming cat5e wire from the office router into one of the LAN ports of the game room router
4. Optionally set up the SSID, WPA2/PSK, & channel of the game room router to the same settings as the office home broadband wireless router

I think the signal speed is halved though ... but I have to do more research reading Jeff's links...

Also, in practice, I'll likely see if I can dig up that Verizon telco wireless router instead of buying a new one ... or ... if I can't find it and if I buy a new one, I'll probably switch the new with the old (just because).

-snip-

Thanks--- I might give this a try. When I get around to it I'll wander over to a-i-w & try to absorb enough knowledge to pull it off.

Jim

Read this ... (which I just read myself to figure out the difference between setting up an additional access point (wired) versus a repeater (not wired):

Just looked that up.

Secondary access point is wired (which is what I have).

A secondary repeater is not wired (which isn't what I want).

Nope. The speed from a seperate access point is the same. No losses.

However, the *MAXIMUM* speed of a store and forward repeater is cut in half. Each packet goes through the air twice. Once between the AP and the repeater, and again between the repeater and the computah. Actually, 50% is rather optimistic as I've seen repeaters that cut throughput to about 10% of max speed. Note that a repeater has to operate on the same channel as the wireless router. Same opinion as before... repeater suck.

I suggest you use a different SSID from your Linksys wireless router so that the kids can choose which one to connect. Also, select a different RF channel (1, 6, and 11) so that there's no mutual interference.

Correct. You want an access point, not a repeater.

Ah, I got it. (I'm mostly from alt.home.repair ... so this is a 'new' revelation that is old hat to you on alt.internet.wireless).

ACCESS POINT vs REPEATER:

• The 'access point' is wired & the speed is the same

• The 'repeater' is not wired; and the speed is lousy

• I clearly would want an access point

WE WANT AN ACCESS POINT:

• The access point is simply a router with: a) DHCP turned off b) The WAN port unused with the incoming cat5e going into a LAN port c) The SSID, encryption, & channel can be the same or different as the primary router but two of you (Jeff & Char) strongly recommend different SSID & channels than the primary router.

Hi Jim, Your signal-strength problem & wiring situation 'appear' to be the same as mine (just substitute Toshiba for Wii).

Here's my first rough draft so that the others will correct our mistakes (before we make 'em!).

Note: These are just example numbers (yours & mine will vary). Note: This assumes Linksys WRT54G routers (the only one I know).

Write down the primary router information (note 1' === primary): a) SSID, security, & passphrase (e.g., WRT54G-1, WPA2/AES, & 'foobar') b) IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1) c) DHCP range (e.g., 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.150) c) Channel (e.g., channel 2)

Set up your secondary router (note 2' === secondary): a) Temporarily connect a cable from your PC to the 2' router LAN port b) Set your PC IP address to the same subnet as the 2' router

- Linux: ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.2

- Windows:

(i.e., obtain an IP address automatically) c) Log into the 2' router default IP address (e.g., http://192.168.1.1)d) Turn off DHCP (i.e., let the 1' router assign all IP addresses!) e) Set up the 2' router with a different SSID (e.g., WRT54G-2) f) Use the same encryption & passphrase in the 2' router as in the 1' router (e.g., WPA2/AES, & 'foobar') f) Give the 2' router an unused IP address in the same subnet as the 1' router DHCP range, but "outside" the range of the 1' router (e.g.,

192.168.1.200) g) Set the 2' router channel opposite that of the primary (e.g., channel 11) h) Unplug the PC from the 2' router (which is now configured as an access point)

Hook up the 2' router as the access point downstairs: a) Don't plug anything into the 2' router's WAN port! b) Plug the cable from the wall jack to a LAN port on the 2' router c) See if you can connect to the SSID of the 2' router!

Note: I don't yet have that 2' router so I haven't actually done this yet; plus, I have an unused (Verizon) DSL router somewhere that I would use first ... so assume this is only an untested rough draft, submitted for comment & corrections.

Ok, I'll keep it simple.

I previously posted 3 URL's to sites explaining how to do it. Please re-read:

etc...

Turn off the DHCP server, RIP2, and Plug-N-Pray.

Nope. NOTHING goes into the WAN (internet) port on the access point. The CAT5e cable goes between any LAN port on the main wireless router, to any LAN port on the access point.

If you make the SSID the same, you might be lucky and get "seamless roaming" where it switches automagically to the strongest signal as you wander around the house. More likely, it will stay connected to the first signal heard, and not release even if the other signal is better. When you try to manually select which signal to use, you'll find that you have on choice with a single SSID, unless your wireless client is one of the few that allow for selection my MAC address.

If you put both on the same RF channel, you can realistically only use one system at a time, as the added traffic from a connection on the other radio constitutes co-channel interference.

I think the three of us are saying the same thing. Change the "nope" above to "yep" and we're all set.

Hi Jeff, I read 'all' the quoted references (see reference section at bottom). I'm sure I'll still make mistakes, but, here is my second draft of the plan (mostly for Jim Elbrecht & anyone else who has never done this but who has Linksys equipment), for review, for setting up a second Linksys WRT54G router as an access point in a typical home setting:

Write down the primary router information (note 1' === primary): a) SSID, security, & passphrase (e.g., WRT54G-1, WPA2/AES, & 'foobar') b) IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1) c) DHCP range (e.g., 192.168.1.10 to 192.168.1.100) d) Channel (e.g., channel 1) e) All subnet masks for both routers are assumed to be 255.255.255.0

Set up your secondary router (note 2' === secondary): a) Temporarily connect a cable from your PC to the 2' router LAN port b) Set your PC IP address to the same subnet as the 2' router

- Linux: ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.2

- Windows:

(i.e., obtain an IP address automatically & release/renew with "ipconfig") c) Log into the 2' router default IP address (e.g., http://192.168.1.1)d) Give the 2' router an unused IP address in the same subnet as the 1' router DHCP range, but above or below (i.e., "outside") the range of the

1' router (e.g., 192.168.1.200) e) Turn off DHCP serving (i.e., let the 1' router assign all IP addresses!)' f) Turn off RIP or RIP2 if that option exists. g) Turn off Universal Plug-N-Play (UPnP) support, if that option exists. h) It's best to set up the 2' router with a different SSID (e.g., WRT54G-2) but the same case-sensitive SSID 'can' be used. i) It's best to allow broadcasting of your 2' router SSID j) It's best to use the same encryption & passphrase in the 2' router as in the 1' router (e.g., WPA2/AES, & 'foobar') k) Choose a channel with good separation between the 1' and 2' router (e.g., if the 1' router is on channel 1, put the 2' router on channel 6 or 11) l) Unplug the PC from the 2' router (which is now configured as an access point)

Hook up the 2' router as the access point downstairs: a) Don't plug anything into the 2' router's WAN port! b) Plug the cable from the wall jack to a LAN port on the 2' router c) Technically, you need a crossover cable to connect the 1' router to the 2' router but most routers support auto-crossover (MDI/MDI-X)

Test the newly set up access point by wire: a) Connect the PC by cable to a LAN port of the 2'router b) If you're not immediately connected, reboot routers & PCs in that order c) If still not connected, doublecheck the PC IP address is on the same subnet (see prior instructions above)

Test the newly set up access point by wireless: a) Disconnect the PC from the 2' router LAN port b) In wireless networking, search for & select the broadcast SSID c) Enter the 2' router passphrase and you should be connected wirelesssly!

REFERENCES:

I appreciate it, too. There is no tutorial better than one written by someone who doesn't just do this stuff all the time without having to think through every step.

And we get the benefit of the guys who *can* just throw this together looking over our shoulders and pointing out mistakes.

Thanks all- I'll start shopping for my second router. Jim

The phone (Moto Droid Razr) will connect to my routers fine but my ThinkPad won't connect to the phone when it's doing G3 or G4. I got it to work twice out of perhaps two hundred attempts. My EeePC connects without problems. Hmm, I should try my wife's ThinkPad (much newer)...

I moved my DLink DIR-655 GigE/N router to the far end of my house and dragged a cable under the house, so I could hardwire a couple of DirecTV boxes. I only use that WiFi for the Wii.

It seems to be an excellent box.

The reason it is at the far end of my house is because I have a SamKnows Whitebox NETGEAR WNR3500L as my primary router. I do this to participate in the FCC survey of broadband providers, but it is not as good a router as the DLink. The WiFi range is less, and some devices connect to it at

65Mbps, but none at higher, and some at only 54Mbps. I suppose tat could be because of the non-standard firmware load from SamKnows, but their support isn't helping, and I think the lack of good N speeds is a hardware fault.