Wireless Home Network Advice

jamieh

Hey all,

I got broadband at home today. I want to set up a wireless network in my house.

Could someone tell me what I need to buy? I have a desktop pc and 2 laptops.

Roughly how much will all the hardware cost??

Cheers!

Mad Mike

First question: What type of broadband did you get and does it have a USB connection or an ethernet connection. If your modem only has USB then you will need to designate one computer as an internet gateway and leave it turned on always. If your modem has an ethernet connection I recommend buying a dedicated wireless access point/router to act as the internet gateway instead. This means you don't need to leave your PC on all the time and it will give you a stronger signal around the house.

Assuming that you have an ethernet capable modem the harware you need is as follows:

A wireless router to plug into the modem and to act as an access point for the computers.

A length of CAT 5 ethernet cable to connect the desktop machine to the wireless router. One PC needs to be wired to the router for setup purposes.

Wireless adapters for each of the laptops. There is a good chance the laptops already have wireless adapters built in so check before you buy new ones.

There are a few flavours of wireless depending on speed. The current price/performance sweetspot is called 802.11g and offers a healthy 54Mb/s so this is the one to get.

I reccommend getting your stuff from Marx: http://www.marxcomputers.ie/ who is based in Fariview in Dublin although he sells online. His prices are good and his service is excellent - much safer than buying from a faceless internet giant if you aren't entirely sure what you are doing.

Here's the shopping list (with prices from Marx)

54MB/s Wireless access point/router €69
5m Cat 5 etherenet cable €4
54MB/s wireelss USB2 adapters 2 for €50 for the laptops

If you prefer you can get PCMCIA versions of the wireless adapters for the same price but check first because you may not need them if your laptops already have built in wireless.

If you don't have an ethernet capable modem then you don't need the access point/router but you will need to buy an extra wireless adapter for the desktop. However this is an inferior solution because the desktop machine will need to be turned on always and the signal is likely to be weaker.

jamieh

Hey,

Thanks a mill for your help!

Ya, the modem has an ethernet connection.

One of the laptops has wifi enabled all ready, so i'll just need one adapter!!

Thanks again!

jamieh

Hey,

Quick question.....Will any wireless router work as an ATA so that I can use my normal phones with blueface?

Cheers

Mad Mike

I haven't used VOIP myself so I don't know. I do know that the wireless router I recommended has a 4 way Ethernet router built in as well so you would probably plug the ATA into one of those. In fact looking up Analog terminal adapters (ATA) on Komplett: http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=316207&view=detailed
Thats how they seem to work so I guess it should be fine. Porbably safest to check with Bluefacce themselves.