Recommendation?

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natenkiki2004
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Joined: 24 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 23:34    Post subject: Recommendation? Reply with quote
This may not be the best place for a configuration recommendation but I try and buy only DD-WRT capable routers and will buy one for this configuration that I'm trying to figure out.

Anyway, I have client with a wireless router at one end of a house, a cheapie Netgear (meh, it works). He wants WiFi in a garage that's on the outer edge of the Netgear's WiFi range. The problem is, the garage is made of concrete cinder blocks so any weak signal is blocked pretty easily. We did get lucky once and get a weak signal inside but it's not reliable enough to use all the time.

I'm thinking the best way to go would be some UV-resistant CAT6 out to the garage from the Netgear with a low-cost DD-WRT-based access point on the end so he can have a strong wireless signal in the garage.

My client doesn't really want a cable running out there but rather a 2nd router in the garage with an antenna running through the wall of the garage acting as a repeater. I'm wondering if this setup would work because since the antenna is outside the garage, wouldn't the signal still be weak having to penetrate the concrete cinder blocks?

What would be a good cheap way to go?

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buddee
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 0:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
How is signal on the outside of the garage though? Enough to connect and be usable? I ask this because if you put an external antenna outside of the garage, and if the signal is enough to be usable outside of the garage, around the same vicinity as he would put the antenna, then it should work.
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natenkiki2004
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Joined: 24 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
Going to the doorway at the garage, the signal is reported to be the lowest quality, but it does work. The first time I went inside the garage, the laptop couldn't connect, the second time it did but was very slow. I imagine the exterior of the garage would yield a low but stable quality signal.

But if the antenna on the garage router is outside, won't the signal still have to go through the cement wall? The roof is wood so if the antenna was placed high, it may not have as much problem but I think it would be less optimal than a hard line with an AP on the end.

Cost is also a problem. 100ft of UV resistant CAT6 and a cheap AP versus a good repeater router with a high-power antenna.

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buddee
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
Of course a wire would be most optimal, always is.

And in terms of you saying if the signal would still have to go through the cinder blocks would it not be optimal? Well if you used something like an Asus WL-520gU, it only has one external antenna and one internal, so if you ran the external one for the outside antenna (for the repeater link to the main AP) he could use the internal one for inside the garage, for client usage. Cost for an asus wl-520gU is around $35 US dollars. Or you could use a compatible linksys wrt54g from ebay (most times pretty cheap, around $20) and do the same as well, run one of the antennas outside, and leave one in. But if the signal is weak period, then his throughput is still going to be slow, so yes a wire would be much better.

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natenkiki2004
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Joined: 24 Mar 2009
Posts: 46

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 2:09    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hmmm, first off, thanks for the reply Smile

You bring up another question though, setting up a repeater, do I get to select the antenna used to "grab" the signal? Or does it just automatically use both antennas to "grab" and repeat?

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natenkiki2004
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Joined: 24 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:43    Post subject: Reply with quote
So, I'm looking at these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-WL-520gC-125M-4-Port-Broad-Range-Wireless-Router-802-11-b-g-2-4GHz-125HSM-/200727247831?pt=COMP_EN_Routers&hash=item2ebc46bbd7#ht_2712wt_1139

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Antenna-RP-SMA-Extension-Cable-Wi-Fi-WiFi-Router-NEW-/180437774131?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a02edef33#ht_500wt_1396

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-4GHz-3dBi-802-11n-Wi-Fi-Antenna-w-1-1-Meter-43-Inch-Cord-for-Card-or-Router-/330640128065?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfbaff841#ht_2448wt_1396

Any thoughts? This is actually cheaper than getting some CAT6 and a cheapie AP router.

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slobodan
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 16:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
Unless you need network speed of 10 Gbps, use Cat5e instead of Cat6. There is no practical difference between them for speeds up to 1 Gbps.
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