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WIFI extenders and Repeaters ...


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There seems to be a bit of confusion on the net what is what... For my simple terms, externder (signal travels through the wiring), repeater (travels through the air).

The situation:

I have 4 wifi extenders (devolo) which work very well except in the unusual case when edf play with the wiring.. such as last week.

I would like to add to all this a wifi repeater, becuase;

1) If the wiring has problems I still have an extended wifi signal.

2) So that it can all work together, 4 extra different ssid's with the main router that has an extended wifi signal.

My questions are,

1) Can I have a mixture of extenders and repeaters

2) How does a repeater work.. does it attach with a long wire to the router or is it just plugged in with 50% wifi range and will extend the signal.

3) What one would you recmmend.

Thanks in advance

Osie

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The shortest possible answer is for you to look at Netgear WN2000RPT which I use and it works very well. It is a bit dated now (I think the EX6200 is the replacement now) and there are better versions available but as long as you follow the instructions I have found it works well. It needs to be able to get a WiFi signal from your existing WiFi and you need something to connect to it like a tablet or Smart Phone with a browser to do the initial setup. It then duplicates the network name but with (ext) added and the password is the same as your router WiFi. Cable wise there is none except for a power cable so you need a power socket.

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More expensive but works well where a hotspot is required for more than one property or large grounds, is the Ubiquiti Bullet. We have one with an aerial on the outside of our house and it penetrates at least three thick stone walls to the rear gardens of the gites, and over two hundred yards if in view.

Steve
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Hi, I've just bought and installed a Netgear 3000RP-200FRS range extender, bought very reasonably from Amazon.fr, and it has made such a difference. Even though our Orange Livebox is only a few metres away from our office, the wifi signal was really poor, no doubt due to the concrete floor between ground and first floors. A while ago I bought some Netgear CPL adaptors and hard-wired the office PC to one, but the signal was very variable, often dropping out completely for a few minutes each time. As soon as I booted up the new wifi extender, bingo, strong signal, no dropping out and decent download speeds. A great purchase if it keeps working!
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Quillan said "Its for point to point not WiFi."

Depends on the aerial.

Can I just repeat what I said in my post "where a hotspot is required for more than one property or large grounds"

CPL won't work reliably if the other buildings are on a separate supply and at the time I bought it repeaters were generally getting poor reviews, and there wasn't a good source signal where I needed it anyway.

I bought the Bullet, 30cm aerial, POE transformer and cable for 130ish euros, installed it, set it up, and haven't touched it since. And our guests instead of complaining about the wifi signal, now say how good it is.

http://s427.photobucket.com/user/relaxcheznous/media/IMG_1638.jpg.html

Steve

edit- pity about the picture

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[quote user="Quillan"]Its for point to point not WiFi.[/quote]WiFi is WiFi whether it's used for a point to point link or in the home but that was not my point, it was the claimed range.

With sufficient height to overcome the curvature of the earth and properly designed antenna systems at both ends it would be perfectly possible for  something as mundane as a Livebox to communicate with a laptop 50 or even 100km away but writing 50km in as part of the spec. for a device itself is both completely meaningless and downright misleading to those who don't really understand these things.

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[quote user="Quillan"]

[quote user="AnOther"][quote user="Quillan"]Its for point to point not WiFi.[/quote]WiFi is WiFi whether it's used for a point to point link or in the home [/quote]

Rubbish

[/quote]

I consider your wonderfully reasoned argument elegantly concise Sir, but I don't agree with it. Nor did my (French) suppliers, who sold it and configured it as "wifi exterieur"

I would have preferred to attach a more substantal conventional aerial to my Freebox, but it doesn't have a connection point.

I considered hanging the Freebox outside a window in a polythene bag but decided against it.

Steve

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The setup shown in the PDF file is using an omni directional antenna at both ends giving a point to point connection running as a bridge between two networks. The Bullet can also be used as a access point using a different type of antenna like a whip as a simple WiFi access point. My rubbish comment was aimed at the comments made about the picture(s) shown in the PDF. Running over a long distance using omni directonal antenna as a bridge will require the use of a different frequency which would not be recieved by a normal WiFi reciever. If your setup is exactly like the photo in the PDF and you are getting a non directional signal connection I would seriously query how good the product is because it would leave you open to unauthorised use. I have been responsible for several point to point connections in both the public and private sector using such technology. In a business environment one would normally chose Cisco and the type of device I would recommend as an outdoor access point would be something like THIS which works very well with a good range. The issue is obviously for small users the price starting at £300 going up to £800.
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[quote user="Quillan"]My rubbish comment was aimed at the comments made about the picture(s) shown in the PDF.[/quote]I'm glad you clarified that [:D]

I have used the Cisco kit offshore and it worked very well over a 10km sea path with a shrouded yagi at one end and a 13dB omni at the other which was a moving vessel.

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Quillan said "The setup shown in the PDF file"

What file are you looking at please?

"If your setup is exactly like the photo in the PDF and you are getting a

non directional signal connection I would seriously query how good the

product is because it would leave you open to unauthorised use"

Please explain.

Another: I don't have a shrouded yagi.

Steve

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The other issue is that WiFi access points are referred to as "Licence Exempt Short range Devices" and are limited by EU law to 500mw output and work on a very specific frequency range so as not to interfere with other equipment and restrict their range. They have to comply with IR2030 part 8 which whilst for the UK if you read the whole document it is actually the same as EU compliancy. Therefore boosting WiFi signals about 500mw is against the law and braks all the regulations although I have no idea what the penalties are in France nor who would go round 'detecting' these sort of signals.

However when used as a point to point device it no longer becomes a Short range Device and different legislation is required. I am not up to date with the UK but when we had them installed for clients we needed permission and to show that the said devices complied with the regulations at that time. In practice what that meant is we had to show them an invoice for the equipment we had bought plus a copy of the technical specification and whilst they had the right to come to examine and test the installation nobody ever did even in central London. When it comes to range my practical experience shows that it is rarely what is 'on the tin' and is often shorter and sometimes much shorter. Most of these devices aimed at the general public use are made to be very simplistic which is why 'experts' who work with the general public choose them because basically an idiot can install them. Most of these 'experts' would not even be able to pass the CCNT (Cisco Certified Network Technician) let alone get up the professional level which is required when you work in commercial environments plus they couldn’t afford to do the course in most cases.

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[quote user="SC"]Quillan said "The setup shown in the PDF file"

What file are you looking at please?

"If your setup is exactly like the photo in the PDF and you are getting a non directional signal connection I would seriously query how good the product is because it would leave you open to unauthorised use"

Please explain.

Another: I don't have a shrouded yagi.

Steve


[/quote]

In the link on AnOthers post time stamp yesterday @ 17:06 which I assume is refering to your setup?

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Here's the link to what I bought, I guess there's different models of Bullet. http://www.antennes-wifi.com/point-d-acces-wifi-exterieur/point-d-acces-wifi-exterieur-avec-antenne-omnidirectionnelle-9-dbi.html

Delete it if you wish, but I have no link to them other than being a satisfied customer.

Networking is complex, our son found it to be the most difficult module in his computer science degree. His prof incidentally retired to south west France and told me he had been persuaded to lecture at Bordeaux University.

Steve
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I was hoping that you would comment on my setup in the link that I posted Quillan.

Others may like to know that Aldi have an exterior Wi-Fi extender in their offers this week at €50.

Steve

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[quote user="SC"]I was hoping that you would comment on my setup in the link that I posted Quillan. Others may like to know that Aldi have an exterior Wi-Fi extender in their offers this week at €50. Steve[/quote]

You mean other than what I said it would have to be and that as agreed with AnOther the setup shown in the pdf file was wrong if you wanted to use it as an access point then no not really. The thing is the 'Bullet' is a pretty standard bit of kit it's just what type of aerial you hang on the end but it does have the capability to go way beyond what you want. It's a bit like buying a Bugatti Veyron to go supermarket shopping in. Sure it does the job but you have spent a load of money you didn't need to spend. The Aldi WiFi extender is around the price you would expect to spend and you could have gone cheaper as well.

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Thanks for that. I bought it several years ago and there didn't seem to be much choice at the time. I bought the items unconfigured at about 140€ (when a Devolo starter kit was 70€) and already had cables, but the bullet they sent had been configured anyway.

Steve
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So.. in the end I went for a Netgear WN3000RP-200FRS.  It works perfectly fine and very easy set up.

My personal problem is that it will not reach from 1 building to another(20 metres of outside space in between), and in the building where it does work the original router signal is as strong(3 stories up).

So, for the moment I dont have a viable use for it but I am sure I will find one.

Btw: It can not only connect to the router wifi but also to any of my devolo cpl extenders. All the cpl extenders are large distances appart in different builiding and generally work really really well.

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