[trellick]

Hi - I have Netvigator at home and use the supplied netvigator modem router which provides WIFI for both our internet access and NOW TV.

My problem is the signal range. we are in a 1600 ft apartment but can't get a signal other than in the main living area where the modem is.

We have a Mac laptop and PC laptop. I bought an airport express today originally to replace the modem we have but realise now that this won't work because i need at least one other LAN port for the TV WIFI. Now i'm thinking I can just use the aiport express to act as a signal booster but i'm not sure this will work either. I don't want to get it out of its box and am thinking maybe I should have gone for the Airport Extreme or something altogether different!! Help. I'm not at all technical and I don;t want to start playing with the whole set-up and end up in a pickle!

Any help in easy speak much appreciated.

[FilipH]

hey,


before you get the airport express out of the box, maybe you can try the following.

Lifehacker Top 10: Top 10 Wi-Fi Boosts, Tweaks and Apps

and

Boost Your Wireless Signal With a Homemade Wifi Extender | Lifehacker Australia

Sounds a bit do it yourself ish, but the right tweaks can seriously improve your signal. might be usefull for you... good luck

(and if you are not tech savy, you could simply get the airport extreme and use the airport express as an extender. With your mac, this should be fairly easy to setup.)

[MovingIn07]

We plug our netvigator modem into a wireless router which has a good (300m) range. We deliberately purchased a powerful router because our last place in NZ was pretty large and sprawling and we wanted to get wifi in the garden. Works fine here. Note the range is not really 300m, more like 100m with walls etc. But still fine.

[Skyhook]

I agree with moving07, we did the same. I can receive our wireless connection all around our apartment, even upstairs on the roof top garden.

Spend around $500hkd on a Buffalo HIGH POWER wireless router and you'll be pretty happy, we certainly are...

BTW: One thing we learnt early on with wireless routers, is they perform considerably better if you position them at the highest possible location in a room. In our case the router sits on top of a glazed display cabinet, via the dining room, which is a pretty central part of the apartment..

Having them located at floor level, just weakens the signal exponentially, as you have more things for the sound waves to be impeded by.

[hk.com]

I would not recommend anyone to use an high powered wifi AP in their apartment particularly if you have children.

We don't yet know that wifi signals are unsafe, but that does not necesarily make them safe.

Increasiing the power can't be a good thing particularly if you are exposed to it constantly.

Consider testing where is the most efficient place to put the Access point.

I guess that getting higher gain or directional antennas equate to having a high power AP.

[FilipH]

considering the fact that he has an airport express and a apple computer ... then i would suggest trying to optimize the location as HK.com points out. The right place will improve your signal dramatically.

==> If it really doesn't solve the problem, get an airport extreme as well and use your airport express as an extender.

With your apple laptop, you can set it up in your "airport utility" which is pretty much dummy proof. It really is easy to setup. Plug and play ...

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by hk.com

I would not recommend anyone to use an high powered wifi AP in their apartment particularly if you have children.

Eh? Even a high power access point has a range of a few hundred feet. Your mobile phone has a range of several kilometres. Do you switch yours off at home? And how do you protect your children from all the mobile phones when they are out in the street?

[hk.com]

Mobiles run a 900Mhz/1.8Ghz which is still in the radio band. They are not 2.4Ghz which is microwave and cooks you or may do anything else to your cells.

Even at 100mW vendors like Cisco issue some pretty thorough health hazard notices. Most studies saying that wifi is OK has been on the 100mW power. Who knows what these high power wifi units are actually doing or using.

Let me buy you a high power wifi unit AP with a narrow angle antena for this Xmas PDLM. You can have a nice slow roast. I know this manufacturer in China that supplies as illegal rated (10/20W) WiFi AP's. As a plus you will be able to access your home from a 5km range too!

[MovingIn07]

Oh please. You'll be stopping your kids from crossing the road next - a MUCH more dangerous yet convenient activity!

[PDLM]

hk.com,

You might want to do some more reading on this...

- "Microwave" is anything from 1mm to 1m in wavelength (300MHz to 300GHz)
- 3G phones currently run at frequencies up to 2.1GHz and power outputs up to 2W
- the typical leakage from a microwave oven is of the order of 1W