Wireless question for the IT geeks.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Current set up:

Router based upstairs in spare room wired to PC base unit by cat5 network lead.

Laptop used around the house wireless (WPA protected).

PS3 in dining room also connected wireless.

All these work fine. But I've decided to put the PS3 out in the conservatory now the warmer weather is upon us. Tried it tonight and it won't connect because of a poor wireless signal.

If I move the router to the living room it would be half way between the conservatory and the upstairs bedroom. Is wireless as fast a connection (mainly for the upstairs PC) as it being wired? Or is being wired to a router much quicker than wireless?:confused:

A.

[Gismo]

Theoretically the service provider is the bottle neck, in reality it's more of a gamble than anything else.
Wireless will occasionally drop out whereas the cable shouldn't.
Best bet is to try it

[Burple]

Also depends on the capability of your LAN connection in the PC for wired connection. If it's a relatively new PC the card should be at least 100Mbps, or even up to 1Gbps.. Wireless speed will typically be 54 or 108 Mbps..

You could buy a wireless repeater to strengthen the signal downstairs - or even a stronger antenna..
As long as your network is secure you shouldn't have any bother with it.

As Alan says, there's definitely more chance of the wireless signal dropping out occasionally, where there's no reason at all for the cable to be temperamental..

[euan]

What model of the router is it?

It's possible to add a more powerful aerial to some which could give you the range you need.

[rocker4500]

The further away your device is from the wireless router the less powerful the signal will be. Wireless is much slower than wired however unless uare downloading you shouldnt really notice.

It is however a well known fact that the PS3 wireless is p*ss poor!!!! To the stage that if someone walks in front of it the signal will die!

As has been said, you could get a signal booster or a repeater

[Mike_T]

If your upstairs room overlooks the conservatory, try sitting the router on the window cill.

If you've got broadband the speed will be anything up to 24Mbps so if it's a standard 54Mbps wireless connection it's still twice as fast as your internet.

You'd only notice a difference if you're transferring files within your network but if you've only got one wired connection (the PC upstairs) then any transfer you're doing will be over wireless anyway so it won't make a difference.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Many thanks for the input from everyone.:thumbs up:

The router sits at the front of the house on the first floor. The Conservatory is at the back of the house, ground floor, so MikeT's idea, whilst easiest, won't work. Thanks anyway.

The stronger antenna for the router idea would be ok for the transmissions from the router, but surely no good for signals being sent from my PS3??

The repeater idea is maybe best. Sitting that in the living room, half-way between the router and the PS3 could do the job.

It's a Netgear router I'm using and tbh, it's really good quality. Seldom drops out when using the laptop, or the PS3. Although there is a bit of lag when playing online - but then, I really need to do something to help The Gismo Man knife me when he's playing COD4. Without the lag, he'd have nae chance.

Cheapest option is to stick the router in the living room and see what happens - just like Gismo said.

Cheers for all the advice.

A.

[The Bull]

Why not try Home Plugs? More reliable than wireless I find.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=53M5&CategorySelectedId=11177&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11177,49980000

[AndyP & Lenore]

Why not try Home Plugs? More reliable than wireless I find.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=53M5&CategorySelectedId=11177&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11177,49980000

Now that looks interesting. Will look into that a little more. Cheers.

A.

[Colin]

Netgear do a similar thing Link (http://www.netgear.co.uk/wallplugged_adapterkit_hdxb101.php)

I have tried and tested these in an industrial environment at work and was very impressed with them. :thumbs up:

[euan]

The stronger antenna for the router idea would be ok for the transmissions from the router, but surely no good for signals being sent from my PS3??


Andy, a stronger antenna will amplify the coverage, so improve the quality of signals both from and too devices, regardless what they are. A weak signal being received on a standard aerial would be better on a more powerful antenna.

Example - at work, we use fairly standard Netgear wireless routers for our drop in area, but they have bigger antenna on them to extend the range. If we didn't have them, we'd need to have more wireless routers.

This is the kind of thing I had in mind:LINK (http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3N31&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=wireless+antenna&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0)

[AndyP & Lenore]

See these plug in network adapters that use the mains network... can they be protected with WPA encryption like wireless can be?

I've heard that although your electrical circuit is isolated to your own building, there have been stories of baby monitors being heard in the next house if two sets of parents use the same brand of monitor. No babies involved here, but I don't want my network exposed in any way.

A.

[Colin]

See these plug in network adapters that use the mains network... can they be protected with WPA encryption like wireless can be?

I've heard that although your electrical circuit is isolated to your own building, there have been stories of baby monitors being heard in the next house if two sets of parents use the same brand of monitor. No babies involved here, but I don't want my network exposed in any way.

A.

They support 128-bit AES encryption, so it stops someone with a similar adapter snooping on your network.

[AndyP & Lenore]

Why not try Home Plugs? More reliable than wireless I find.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=53M5&CategorySelectedId=11177&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11177,49980000


Netgear do a similar thing Link (http://www.netgear.co.uk/wallplugged_adapterkit_hdxb101.php)

I have tried and tested these in an industrial environment at work and was very impressed with them. :thumbs up:

Many thanks for the advice from The Bull and CCM. Got a pair of Netgear plug in adapter thingies today and they work great with the PS3 in the conservatory.:D

Cheers again.:clap:

A.:D