Extending Wireless Range

[Haly]

Due to some misguided planning, the household cable modem and router are located in my bedroom which is on one side of quite a long house. Throw in some thick walls (quarry stone at that!) and it means the living room at the front of the house can't pick up a wireless signal from the router.
It can very nearly pick up a signal at one end of the room but it's very faint and pretty unreliable all round.

My Mum's being given my laptop once my new one arrives next week and would like to be able to use the internet while sitting on the sofa which is at the furthest point of the room.

That's all filler anyway really :p But what are my options for getting it to work? :D I'm really out of the loop with these things :o

The router is a Linksys WRT54GL. There isn't really anywhere I can physically move the router and/or modem to simply due to the logistics of where everything is. So that's out of the question.

Would something like this help at all? http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?moduleno=221399 Rather expensive for what it is but I assume I could track down an alternative easily enough :D

[leowyatt]

well you could just extend the cable for the modem and put it in the middle of the house :) I bought one off ebay and moved our V+ box from the back bedroom to the front one :)

[Haly]

Bit awkward again though due to the logistics of finding somewhere safe to put it with somewhere to plug it in etc though. :(
Also I wouldn't trust myself to have a clue with extending the cable!

[leowyatt]

extending is fine Jen all you'll do is buy a cable off ebay with a male connector on one end (this goes into the modem) and a female on the other (it goes on the end of the original cable)

If there is a plug on your landing I suppose that would work. Would be cheaper than the extender, less than a tenner I'd say.

[Haly]

There aren't any plugs on the landing unfortunately! So that's out of the question.

Any other ideas or is it time to find a cheap extender? :)

[Feek]

A large power drill, a drum of network cable and some cable clips. That's how I did it. Twice.

I have two lengths of CAT5 tacked around the house from my shack, one goes all the way to the back and the other goes down to the front room, behind the telly.

Plugged into one of the extensions is a router that extends my existing wireless network. Result: Strong wi-fi signals throughout the entire house.

[Haly]

Doesn't that still require either an extender or another router though?

We've got CAT5 strewn through some of the walls and loft anyway as my Dad set it up a few years ago.

[Psymonkee]

Extend the cables :D

Rent a drill and start making holes :D

[Aboobie]

What about one of those electric socket network thingies like the devolo homeplugs?

[Daz]

Never got on with homeplugs, always run too warm for my likeness :/

A large power drill, a drum of network cable and some cable clips.
Win!

I have a cat 5 going from the PC in the spare room, under the carpet to the stairs, drilled through the stairs into the cupboard under the stairs, drilled through that wall into the garage, where the server and a switch is. There's a cable from the bookshelf behind the living room door drilled through the wall under the stairs which follows the same route. Then there's a cable from the switch in the garage, through the wall out into the garden, then through the living room wall to behind the TV, into a switch for the 360/whatever else. Wireless is fine everywhere though, cheap new house materials and all :D Router is in the front room, get signal everywhere.

If moving the router is out of the question then yeah, a second one with the same ssid/key (on a different channel) would be where I'd be looking. If you have cat5 terminated anywhere near where you're trying to get signal then that's a goer if you can plumb the routers together :) You can get a wireless cable router on ebuyer for £12 at the mo: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169923

[Haly]

£12? :shocked: I had no idea they were so cheap now! I thought they were more £35-40 making it about the same as just getting the extender instead. Guess that shows how much out of the loop I am these days ;D

That seems a much better bet then :)

Cheers for all the advice all though! In future houses I'll be going for something a bit more DIY ish with drills and sorts but for now it's all a tad awkward so I'd rather leave that side of things for now.

[Mark]

Daz wins! That's quite a result.

Agreed on the Homeplugs. I got a set, one died, replaced that, fine for a year, and then another died. I think heat was involved in all cases.

When the last one died, I strung a long Cat5 around door frames and across the ceiling (held on in several placed with parcel tape). I don't do no drilling, foo'. The replacement Homeplugs arrived. They're still in their box, and the Cat5 is still taped to the ceiling. ;D

My plan (eventually) is to find a man (or woman) capable of wielding a big drill and a crimp tool and let them have at it with some permanent Cat5 runs.

[Haly]

Router's ordered and should be with me for Wednesday :) Laptop arrives Monday so not bad timing there.