wifi routers

any suggestions? i have a new hp zx5000 and want to set up a wifi network. i'm thinking about getting a linksys or d-link 802.11g router, but now that the apple airport express is out, i'm tempted.

more than anything i like the idea of travelling anywhere with it. it's so small that it might be worth the extra money. am i crazy or am i being swayed by the beautiful design of the airport express.

your opinions would be appreciated.

 

You're crazy. Unless you will really use it a good deal for travelling, get something else. I prefer the Netgear brand. Reliable and good support, though it is Indian...but I've always had good experiences with them.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

ok ok, i get it. but are any routers travel-friendly? they seem to be pretty clumsy with cables, etc. i don't necessarily NEED something as small as the airport express, but it would be nice. i'd be lugging around a big 10lb laptop and a whole bunch of photo gear.

what do you guys think of d-link?

 

I agree with Brian,
dump the apple airport and I would stay away from linksys too as I've had 2 of them go bad in less than 3 months each. I've learned my linksys lesson and bought a netgear. It's been going for 6months and I could not be happier with it! No dropped connections like the linksys did on almost an hourly basis when they did work.

Jack

The color of justice in america is green.
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

I had the d-link extreme g one and returned it...it did nothing but drop my connection 24-7 and then finally died 32 days after buying it. I now have a linksys 802.11g with speedbooster and so far its working great and hasnt droped my connection plus it gets better reception.

 

I have had the linksys wireless "g" router for about a month, and have had absolutely no problems. I was at best buy and was planning on getting the netgear router, but the salesperson said that people that other employees (including himself) went with netgear or dlink to start out with, and ending of switching to linksys. I assume that the salespeople dont get any premiums for recommending certain brands, so I took the guys word, and am happy I did. Once I got the thing configured with security measures, I just "set it and forget it". I havent had any dropped connections, and the signal is strong. Ultimately, you can get whatever brand you want, but I though I would tell you my story.

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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I have a linksys Wireless G broadband router. I haven't had any real problems however when I look at the connection speed for my laptop It will vary from 54k down to 18k. And this is with the laptop 4 feet below the router. And I do get disconnected once in a while from it.

Just my 2cents

Acer Aspire 1501LCi

 

Hi edgranado,
I'm a little confused as to why you need a wifi router for travel??
Do you have a LAN at many places that you want to connct your router to? Usually for travel you do not take a router with you as there is usually not a LAN that you can hardwire your router to. Usually you just have a wifi card in your notebook and connect through someone elses wifi router.

Correct me if there is a use for traveling with your own wifi et router...I don't get it.

Jack

The color of justice in america is green.
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

true, not many uses for a travel-worthy router, but i do plan on moving to another country in the near future for a couple months. that means i'm going to transport my entire setup with me. it would be nice to have a small portable router instead of a bigger one with movable parts (ie antenna).

also, i was thinking about taking the airport express with me when i travel. i could connect in my hotel room and not be anchored to the desk they give you. a small insignificant thing, but nice, nonetheless.

really, it came down to travelling overseas with my laptop, cables, and router.

i'm basically looking at the d-link and netgear routers now. i think i'm done thinking about the apple product. anyone have experience with netgear's media router? i have an external hard drive (yes, taking that overseas too) and it would be nice to connect that thing to the router and not have to move around my apartment with it connected. i've been seeing mixed reviews on it, though.

thanks.

 

FYI: I have the same router. When I am right by it I get 54.0 Mbps. When I am fifty feet away, I usually get anywhere from twenty something to forty something (through a couple of walls), and right now (at fifty feet) I am getting 54.

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by jason54

 

You may wish to look at some of the forums in DSL Reports. You can look at what people are saying about different Wireless routers in general or look at the forums for specific manufacturers. People on that forum may not know much about notebooks, but there is a wealth of knowledge on broadband and associated equipment.

See http://www.dslreports.com/forums/all and then look at the forums that interest you.

Harold

 

One of the best sites I have found to compare wireless hardware is HERE. It is fairly technical but gives a lot of great information to those wishing to do their homework and understand the differences.

 

I have the d-link DI-624. It has performed flawlessly since I bought it three months ago. It's also reasonably compact. Only drawback is the on-screen interface for the router--it seems kind of mickey mouse-ish and is not as easy to use/understand as previous router's interface (a wired Linksys). Having said that, I haven't had to look at the interface since I configured the thing several months ago, so that's not a biggie. The main point to take home is that the router performs like magic. Gives off a strong signal and my laptop never drops the connection.

One word of caution about Linksys: if you are using a cable modem, be sure you can return the router if it won't connect properly to your ISP's network. We've heard lots of complaints about incompatibility between Linksys routers and cable ISPs in Canada. This is a relatively recent thing--I understand Cisco made some mods to the product when it acquired Linksys, and that's the root of the problem. At one computer shop, the clerk advised me strongly not to buy Linksys when he found out I was using a cable modem; he said they were getting a pile of returns.






<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by edgranado

 

CSpwntsYOU:
I have the same one. Make sure you set up some sort of security measures for your wireless network.

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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Just bought a linksys wireless g router today, and i have several buddies that also use the same router, they all recommended it for me, and we're on-line junkies, and i can be 50-60ft away and i am still getting a strong signal. I can't imagine a company staying in buisness if their products only last for a few months, u may have just gotten a defective one.

Inspiron 9100- 3.2ghz P4 HT - 1gb RAM - 100GB HD - 4x dvd/cd burner -128mb ATI 9700. RoX0r mY coX0r!

 

ya, ive been informed to doing something about that. But thinking about it, my house is easily 1/4 mile away from anyone else. Im not really worried about anyone hackin in or milking my internet. But what would u recommend i do, im new to wireless.

Inspiron 9100- 3.2ghz P4 HT - 1gb RAM - 100GB HD - 4x dvd/cd burner -128mb ATI 9700. RoX0r mY coX0r!

 

to help the poor guy out, there's an asus wl-330G compact router. check it out at www.proportable.com

i read about it and it seems to be pretty good. hope that helps

 

This thread should tell you everything you need to know about wireless security:

http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3019&SearchTerms=wireless,security

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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I just got my zx5000 today [ ][ ] and am trying to hook it up to the wireless network at my girlfriend's house. She has comcast as the provider and none of her roommates know the network key. Does Comcast have a typical password they use (probably not very smart) or do I have to call them up to find it out.

 

What do you need a password for. When I set up my wireless network, I didnt need a password.

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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I am trying to connect to an existing wireless network in my girlfriend's house. To be able to access the network, I need the "Network Key". I didn't know if that information was listed on the router somewhere or if I had to call Comcast to find out what it is.

 

A "key" is used for encryption. In this case, it sounds as if someone has enable encryption on the wiress Access Point. This was done by whomever setup the wireless router and that likely wasn't Comcast - broadband providers generally don't mess with a home network. I suspect your girlfriend has a "friend who knows a lot about computers" come set the whole thing up for her initially. Calling Comcast likely won't help.

The good news is that you should be able to lookup the key on the Access Point (and maybe on her laptop but there is a better than even shot that it is "hidden" there). Typically, you can access the configuration for the Access Point using a browser but you have to hope whoever set it up didn't change the admin password. If so, you'll have to reset the box and reconfigure the whole thing.

If the Access Point is a router/access point combo, it is at least easy to get the IP address as it will be the gateway address. Go to a machine that is currently connected to the network. Select network connections within the control panel and double click on the active network device (try them one at a time if you don't know which it is). When the little box comes look, click the "support" tab and the default gateway is listed as the last item. Once you get that address, just type it into the address area of a browser and that should take you to the configuration screen of the router. The default password is often "admin" (sometimes with a username of "admin" and sometimes with the username blank - try both of those combos). If that doesn't work, then you likely have some real work to do.

If you can get in, then you just have to find the wireless configuration area where the encryption key will be setup.

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure someone helped her roommate set things up because the network name comes up as the roommmate's last name. I thought the key might be her first name but a pop-up box tells me it has to be 5 or 13 characters. So that's out.

I had no idea how to access the router configuration. I think I'll give that a try tonight. If all else fails, I can just change the key to something I know and then change all the other computers in the house to match. I hope that works. Reconfiguring the whole thing doesn't sound like something I want to tackle.

Thanks again for the advice. This site is fantastic.