Need some suggestions for a good wireless router

Hello peoples of the Networking and Wireless section!

I live in a very technologically backwards country. We don't get good PC stuff here. It's also very hot during the day. I must now buy two wireless routers, one for myself and one for my mother's house. All we get down here are the Linksys WRT120N and WRT160N machines. They suck. They drop connections a lot, and the 160N my mother bought refused to work. Myself, my cousin and the store technician checked it out. Just would not work.

So I need some advice on good, budget Wireless Routers I can buy. I'd rather they don't cost more than $60 USD each. If you know of one just a little more expensive tell me, but don't go over say... $75 per. I have no idea where to start searching.
Basic requirements:

- Will not conch out under hot climates (up to 36 degrees celcius during the day with 50%+ humidity).
- Can throw out 802.11g.

Special feature:
- IF it can throw out 802.11n, please allow it to simultaneously throw out 802.11g.

Any thoughts? I'd really appreciate it. We really can't keep paying $100 USD for something that won't even work at home, or when it works you keep getting annoying connection drops on the network.

 

Two solutions I would recommend- Netgear WNR3500L (300mbps 802.11n WI-FI, gigabit Ethernet, USB port, 480MHz CPU, 64MB RAM, 3rd party firmware capable). The other one is a bit cheaper in most countries although not everywhere- TP-Link TL-WR1043ND (300mbps 802.11n WI-FI, gigabit Ethernet, USB port, 400MHz CPU, 32MB RAM, 3rd party firmware capable).

If routers are overheating it may be a good idea to find photos of the open one on the net to see if there is a radiator on the main chip- if not you may want to open the unit and place one on the CPU. It does void the warranty but may be necessary.

 

Well thanks for the advice; it doesn't really matter if I can find the routers down here (I can't), so I'm getting a friend to bring them down from the US. I'll look for those though, thanks very much! The netgear intrigues me.

Can they both run Wireless G and Wireless N simultaneously?

 

All wireless routers can do that- it's called mixed mode. 802.11n speed suffers a bit but not that much.
If you're gonna get one from the US Netgear is the one to go for- TP-Link is more expensive in the US than in Europe.

EDIT: I've checked the photos- WNR3500L doesn't have a heatsink on CPU- it may be worth your trouble to install one.

 

I won't be able to install that down here; the parts'd be impossible to find. This place is a modder's nightmare. Such a shame, we're a creative people. Do you think it'll be a problem in general if I don't? I did list high temps, but would the machine die off in say... 6 months, or would it drop connections etc like my current one does by overheating?

Also, they're selling a router down here that doesn't have mixed mode. It was some nexxt model. It could *only* do wireless N, according to the store clerk. Because I said g-only would be fine, but if it could throw out N it has to be able to throw out G. He said that one wouldn't work. XD.

 

As far as I know it's impossible for "Wi-Fi N" certified router not to support mixed mode. As for the heatsink- it's a small chip and you don't need a special heatsink- any heatsink from an old computer (not even a CPU one) will do.

I used radiators for TSOP RAM modules and an old heatsink from 486 (without the fan on top) for modding purposes.
I don't know if a heatsink is essential but I would seriously consider using one- worst case scenario is you'll waste some time (and void warranty)- best case scenario- it's gonna make an otherwise unusable router stable.

 

Well I'll definitely consider it, warranty is useless since I'll have it internationally; shipping it to the US to replace and coming back will cost more than buying a new one on its own. If you could point me to a guide on how to do it, that'd also be good.

 

Hello!

I would suggest you a Ubiquti Power AP N. Its very powerful and stable. I had one of TP-link's and I had similar problem as you have. Since I have Power AP I have no problem at all. It is no advertising, I just telling you my experience.

Description:
The PowerAP N Ultra-Long Range WiFi Router is a multi-purpose indoor router
that is capable of connecting 100+ meters away at 300+ Mbps speeds†. The
PowerAP N can act as a standard SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) router or
operate in two other network modes: Bridge or Router mode. The PowerAP N
also offers multiple wireless modes including Station mode to extend your
wireless network and Access Point mode to function as the center of your
wireless network.
The PowerAP N offers Channel Shifting, a proprietary Ubiquiti feature that
allows you to offset your channels from standard 802.11n channels. Your
network benefits by being private and secure for your users while making it
invisible to millions of unwanted subscribers.

 

Never heard of that brand. Also, did you not see that the OP's price requirement was at $50 or lower, $75 stretching it? Your router is at $93, which for that money he could buy a much more powerful router from an established brand like Netgear, Cisco, etc.

@OP: The Netgear previously mentioned is a good router. I don't have that exact model, but I do have a Wireless-G Netgear router in my house and I've never had any problems with it here (living in South Carolina where the humidity hovers around 60-80% and temperatures can be very high; yesterday peaked at 106F near where I live, and 100F isn't uncommon during the summer).