Advice, please, for a Techo Numpty

Hi

I use a safecom modem/router which is excellent and is on permantly (i.e. I turn on my laptop and the bb service is instant; I leave my laptop on standby and the bb connection remains constant). I would like to get a wireless router and wonder if this type of constant connection is possible with one?

I live in a house with stone walls and have read that 'mimo' wireless routers might be best. If the wireless router is placed on my desk and I then take my laptop into my conservatory, which has glass doors connecting into the room with desk, or upstairs to a room just above the desk, does this mean that the wireless signal should have a good chance of working well (as it is not having to go through the stone walls)? or does the signal have to bounce off the walls anyway. Not sure if this question makes sense, I think I need to ask; does the wireless signal go in a straight line and if I line up the laptop from the desk through the glass doors, or through ceiling to the upstairs room, will this work.

Any ideas about which wireless router would be best? Having been with e7even through all the dramas of no broadband service and no customer service and now finally with an excellent ISP, I am wary of changing my reliable safecom router just in case it messes up my service, but would really like to be able to use wireless if it can be as reliable as the safecom router is.

Apologies if this question is difficult to understand; I don't really understand the technology so do not know quite what questions to ask.

Regards, Moneypennie

Edited by Moneypennie (Tue 31-Oct-06 23:36:40)

A wireless router will work the same way as your current router with regard to the always-on connection (as long as it's configured not to drop the line if idle - in most cases that's just a check box in the config )

With regard to the wireless range - it's rather pot-luck, to be honest, unless you have a site survey carried out.. You're right in that MIMO routers are reported to have the best range (I can't say personally, as I've not tried one)

Signal pattern - the signal can be considered to be torus shaped actually, coming out perpendicular to the aerial (so if the aerial is pointing straight up, the best range will be on a horizontal plane on the same floor as the router, but you will likely still get signal propogation up to the next floor).

The signal will pass through most objects to a greater or lesser extent - anything with significant metal content will block more of the signal than something with no metal content.

How well this will all work depends on how big your house is, really It could be 150 yards to your conservatory for all we know


Speedtouch have a decent rep - the 585 v6 seems to have excellent wireless range, however it's not a MIMO device..

I use, among other routers, a Safecom (badged as 'Guru') wireless router SWART2-54125 - which works very well.

A Safecom GWAMRU-54108G, which receives generally good user ratings, is available here.

get a wireless access point and plug it into your existing setup, you could even place it away from the current router on a bit of Cat5 if that helps the signal distribution. Broadbandbuyer.co.uk has a decent site for looking at what's available.

An access point is a "wired to wireless" bridge and is precisely the right thing to add wireless capability to a wired network.

You could go for a speedtouch 585 and if you find the wireless signal is not strong enough in parts of your home you could buy a speedtouch 180 to use it as a repeater to extend the range of your access point. The 180 may work with other makes of modem/routers also but I've only used it with speedtouch equipment.
Info on the 180 here: http://www.speedtouch.co.uk/downloads/180/User%27s%20Guide_en.pdf

Jimmy

Edited by Fixit (Wed 01-Nov-06 12:19:54)