Question:
I've got ntl broadband, a pc and one of the cheap wireless Dell lappies just delivered. Is it just a case of swapping my ntl supplied standalone modem with an off the shelf wireless modem? Ie. plug the ethernet cable from my pc to it and let the laptop connect wirelessly? Sorry to be a bit of a luddite.
The laptop show there are already two wireless networks available. Presumably these are from neighbours. How do you set the laptop to connect to the correct wireless network? Is it encryped?
**I really don't have a clue!**
Answers:
Yes, you will need a Wireless Cable Router. Make sure it is the Cable (NTL/Telewest) version and not the ADSL (BT) version. Someone will no doubt have a recommendation.
The two wireless networks are most likely neighbours. Go to this page:
and download and install the program. Run it, and it will tell you the channels the other wireless networks are operating on. This will help you set your channel up so it doesn't get inteference.
Lastly, you do need security set up. There should be instructions with the router. Let's wait until you buy the router, then someone can help you through the security of the router.
Answers:
You need something like a Linksys WRT54GS which is both cheap and readily available. This has 5 ethernet ports. One is the WAN port which plugs into your cable modem. The other 4 you probably don't need but they are for plugging your PCs into if you don't have wireless. Otherwise just connect the laptop to the "linksys" network that appears and you are wirelessly surfing the net within seconds. You might want to log onto the linksys router - with the default login of admin/admin then change the channel number to something that your neighbours aren't using, change the SSID (network name) from "linksys" to something else, change the admin password and consider enabling wireless security as you know that there are other networks nearby and you don't want others to illegally piggy back off yours.
Another attraction to the Linksys WRT54G family of routers is that their firmware is open source. You can download alternative firmware that gives you some really nice features like WDS (setting up multiple routers in your house if your standard router won't cover the whole house) and software configurable transmitter power to increase range.
Mike
Answers:
Thanks chaps
Just to clarify the Linksys WRT54GS plugs into the cable modem and doesn't replace it? Netstumbler will show me the frequencies of the neighbour's wireless networks so I don't duplicate?
Thanks
Answers:
Just to clarify the Linksys WRT54GS plugs into the cable modem and doesn't replace it?
Correct. Via Ethernet Cable.
Netstumbler will show me the frequencies of the neighbour's wireless networks so I don't duplicate?
Correct, it will show you the channel numbers.
Answers:
Thanks! It's a lot clearer now.
Answers:
Just to clarify the Linksys WRT54GS plugs into the cable modem and doesn't replace it? Netstumbler will show me the frequencies of the neighbour's wireless networks so I don't duplicate?
Linksys - Correct.
Netstumbler - correct. It will show you a channel number between 1 and 11. You should set yours so that you have at least 2 channels separation from any other wireless network.
b.t.w. If you load the dd-wrt firmware on your router it has something like netstumbler built in (site survey I think it is called) Very useful when you want to debug problems.
Mike
Answers:
You need something like a Linksys WRT54GS which is both cheap and readily available. This has 5 ethernet ports. One is the WAN port which plugs into your cable modem. The other 4 you probably don't need but they are for plugging your PCs into if you don't have wireless. Otherwise just connect the laptop to the "linksys" network that appears and you are wirelessly surfing the net within seconds. You might want to log onto the linksys router - with the default login of admin/admin then change the channel number to something that your neighbours aren't using, change the SSID (network name) from "linksys" to something else, change the admin password and consider enabling wireless security as you know that there are other networks nearby and you don't want others to illegally piggy back off yours.
Another attraction to the Linksys WRT54G family of routers is that their firmware is open source. You can download alternative firmware that gives you some really nice features like WDS (setting up multiple routers in your house if your standard router won't cover the whole house) and software configurable transmitter power to increase range.
Mike
I just looked at the specs on kelkoo, and it mentions that the transfer rate is 54Mbps. Does it mean that you will be going back to dial-up transfer speed even though you are on broadband?
Answers:
I just looked at the specs on kelkoo, and it mentions that the transfer rate is 54Mbps. Does it mean that you will be going back to dial-up transfer speed even though you are on broadband?
No
Dial Up is 56Kbs (56 Kilobits a Second)
Wireless is 54Mbs (54 Megabits a Second)
It is an order of magnitude higher.
Answers:
Dial Up is 56Kbs (56 Kilobits a Second)
Wireless is 54Mbs (54 Megabits a Second)
So, will there be any loss of speed whatsoever? I am very new in this techno stuff, and like everything, it is only easy once you know how, and I can't begin to thank the MSE members for sharing their knowledge with everyone.
Answers:
A couple of questions before I purchase the Linksys router.
I downloaded the instruction manual but couldn't find the answer in there. Is it possible to keep the router switched on for my 'tethered' pc but switch off the 'wireless' transmitter part when I'm not using the laptop? It makes sense to only transmit when I'm using the receiver. If the Linksys doesn't do this are there others that do?
Also I noticed another two wireless networks (four in total now) receivable on my laptop in my house - all secure. If the router finds a spare frequency to transmit on initial set up but it happens to coincide with another frequency that was dormant, but is subsequently switched on, would this cause a problem or will the router just select another frequency?
I'm sure there are a few experts on here!
Answers:
Run it, and it will tell you the channels the other wireless networks are operating on. This will help you set your channel up so it doesn't get inteference.
Ideally though you should set your network to auto-select a free channel (the only reason that much wireless equipment allows you to choose a channel is to assist in manually getting round problems of RF interference etc). If you set it to auto-select a channel as any good wireless neighbour should do, then your network will kind of negotiate with the other networks out there to ensure you don't collide with someone else.
If someone else sets their channel to the same as you and doesn't have the knowledge to understand what/why this is happening, you'll both get nothing but problems
HTH
Answers:
The laptop show there are already two wireless networks available.
I do not want to be paranoid, but my wife's Inspiron 1300 show two wireless connections available every time she starts up. Coincidence or what?
Answers:
You may want to read this before you plump for a Linksys
It could be an isolated incident, and I'm sure there are many happy owners out there (so please don't flame me!), but there seem to be an above average number of people on this forum who report range problems with this Linksys model.. (iwanttosave swapped it for a netgear in the end).
Interference may be a problem, if you can it is best to choose a channel 5 channels away from the nearest users (this may be difficult in your situation), as you can still get interference even though you are using a different frequency, or buy a mimo router.
e.g.
You can find what channels the neighbours are using with this:
Answers:
there seem to be an above average number of people on this forum who report range problems with this Linksys model.. (iwanttosave swapped it for a netgear in the end).
Which netgear model?
Answers:
It was either a DG834G ot DG834GT, not 100% sure because the links to it on pcworld website changed from one week to the next..
one week it pointed to a GT, the following week it pointed to a DG.. Either it was a mistake, or they were trying to con people, or I am cracking up!
Either will do the job (the GT is faster for PC to PC transfers, but they both exceed your broadband speed by far, so the GT will be no better than the G for most people).