Need help extending my wireless network

[SirSkyRider]

Yup, I can buy ASUS devices.

EDIT: I just checked out the prices for my AirPort Device on eBay. Seems like it'll fetch about 50€.

[kitamesume]

you shouldn't need to sell it, these are your most possible choices.

1) antenna
2) 1 repeater on the 2nd floor (you don't need two, the laptop could connect fine so the repeater should be able to as well)
3) powerline networking
4) 2 repeaters
5) sell the unit for a better one but still needs one repeater on the 2nd floor, the console's transmit range is the problem, not the server.

2. More or less. It is a sort of router that receives the wireless signals and then is connected through the devices via an ethernet cable. It is like using a different device for a wireless antenna instead of using the built-in wireless antennae.

you could do this with your laptop, since it can connect fine it should be a plausible workaround, temporary or not.
edit: simply put, why purchase anything at all when theres free options around.

[Bob2004]

2. More or less. It is a sort of router that receives the wireless signals and then is connected through the devices via an ethernet cable. It is like using a different device for a wireless antenna instead of using the built-in wireless antennae.

you could do this with your laptop, since it can connect fine it should be a plausible workaround, temporary or not.
edit: simply put, why purchase anything at all when theres free options around.

What on earth are you talking about? You might want to go back and read what he said again, you've obviously misunderstood something. A laptop is in no way, shape, or form, a viable alternative to a wireless bridge.

Also, while we're here, I meant to comment on this when you first said it - radio waves go in a straight line and they bounce. They do not magically curve to go round corners, so there's no way his wifi will go out of the window, then bend round and go back in through the upstairs window. It will either go through the ceiling, or it will bounce off something outside, if something's there.

Also, using two repeaters obviously won't reduce bandwidth any further than using one. Since the reason they halve bandwidth is because they use half to receive a signal and the other half to forward it on, the bandwidth available will be whatever that results in (eg. a 150mb N AP in repeater mode would have 75mb of bandwidth available for a connection; if you used two in sequence, bandwidth would still be 75mb). Latency will be increased even further though, it's true.

[kitamesume]

o.o its simple, he'd plug the device via cable, use the laptop's wifi to connect, and bridge them together, voala?
if thats not it then theres a few guides as to how to turn your laptop into a repeater, i think i've linked some a while back?

i meant like this:

oh then what i've read about chaining repeaters was a myth, aside from introducing more latencies though.

[Tiffanys]

I'd just get it wired to be honest. It's not as expensive as you think and you don't have to worry about connections dropping and crap. I've tried range extenders and whatnot, they just honestly don't work very well.

At the very least, just go get a bunch of cable and run it along your wall inside your house out in the open if it has to be temporary. You can get 50 ft of cat5 ethernet cable for like $6. Ridiculously cheap.

[kitamesume]

^the problem is though his mom is soooo against cable-works.

[Bob2004]

o.o its simple, he'd plug the device via cable, use the laptop's wifi to connect, and bridge them together, voala?
if thats not it then theres a few guides as to how to turn your laptop into a repeater, i think i've linked some a while back?

i meant like this:

oh then what i've read about chaining repeaters was a myth, aside from introducing more latencies though.

Well, I suppose there probably is software somewhere to do it. But it's hardly practical, leaving your laptop on all the time when you want to be online with any of the other upstairs devices would be expensive, and it's definitely not something you want to base your network infrastructure on. Doing it properly is usually very cheap, and in practice probably no more work - and is infinitely more effective.

As for the cable, discreetly clipping it along the top of the skirting board is infinitely less destructive (and obtrusive) than glueing an antennae to the ceiling. And since it's so much cheaper (you could easily get 40M of cable and thousands of clips for under a tenner, I'm sure), even if you can't easily remove it again when you move out, it's not a problem to just buy more if needed.

[SirSkyRider]

Hmmm... I've been doing some extra research and I found out it might be possible to use my laptop (Apple MBP, yes, shame on me) in the way that kitamesume suggested. Though I believe some solutions can be a problem since my wireless access device is not the same device as my router.

(click to show/hide)

It goes like this: Router => built-in ethernet wires => wireless access device => my laptop/consoles/father's iPad

So I think it'll boil down to using either a directional antenna (in which case I'd have to buy a new access device anyway) OR cables running through the house if the bridging method does not work. I was just checking out the cable route and came up with two ideas:

1. I combine the powerline ethernet system with the wiring. This would require me to experiment a bit if I can get an ethernet connection from the plug in my room to the plug next to the stairs but it may save me from placing cables in the hallway. I'd then run the cable up the stairs to the second floor to a plug outside the room and install a wireless device there (I would need another one anyway since it's more comfortable and I wouldn't need to buy a ethernet adapter for my Wii).

2. I run a cable from the ethernet plug to my desk and install the switch there. From there, I'll have another cable run to my door with one of these at the end. From here, I take a short cable and let it run through the door to my room and the door next to it if necessary. Then I lay out yet another longer cable with two connectors and have it run to the next door. Use another removable cable to go through the door. Have the final (and probably longest cable) run up to the plug up there and connect it to a wireless access device. In that case, I may not even need to buy a second one.