Wireless Access Points

[Byron Trantham]

I would like to extend [improve signal strength] the range of my wireless system in my house. I have done quite a bit of reading and frankly I'm not sure what to do. I am using LinkSys equipment - their wireless router. It looks like I have two choices; their WAP54G or WAP54GX. The first one is about $80 while the MIMO unit is $150. From what I have read the MIMO unit is unreliable. I will be able to locate the new unit in a location that gets great reception as indicated by my wife's laptop nic monitor. Five bars in our bedroom directly above the router as opposed to 1-2 bars in her sewing at the other end of the house. In other words, if she uses her laptop in the bedroom she gets a great signal. I was thinking that installing a WAP in the bedroom would "extend/improve" the signal at the other end of the house. Anyone out there payed with this problem?

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I would like to extend [improve signal strength] the range of my wireless system in my house. I have done quite a bit of reading and frankly I'm not sure what to do. I am using LinkSys equipment - their wireless router. It looks like I have two choices; their WAP54G or WAP54GX. The first one is about $80 while the MIMO unit is $150. From what I have read the MIMO unit is unreliable. I will be able to locate the new unit in a location that gets great reception as indicated by my wife's laptop nic monitor. Five bars in our bedroom directly above the router as opposed to 1-2 bars in her sewing at the other end of the house. In other words, if she uses her laptop in the bedroom she gets a great signal. I was thinking that installing a WAP in the bedroom would "extend/improve" the signal at the other end of the house. Anyone out there payed with this problem?


Byron, you can extend the range of your network by installing another WAP in AP to AP mode. Move them around until you optimize coverage, you may need to move the original to get oprimum performance. This is a common problem in larger or even just long homes.

[Joe Pelonio]

We have the WAP54G, the router is in a bedroom in the middle of the house upstairs. The other computers were in the room next door, one
20 feet away on the same floor, and one very close on the lower floor.
We finally gave up and went hard wired. It happens that most everyone in our neighborhood have wireless networks and cordless phones, so we just kept getting a lot of interference. Once we got connected it was always fine, for as long as we needed it, but when we first tried to connect it
would take 10-30 minutes trying over and over. The little window would always display 3-5 networks besides ours.