I need your experiences. The Linux notebook that I use to control the mill is in the garage because the parallel port has to be on a short cable. Unfortunately, it seems to be beyond WiFi range from my office. About 120 feet, with washer, dryer, furnace and other metal objects in the way. (When these are not line of sight, still no WiFi, so distance probably the issue.) There are WiFi range extenders made that might be the solution. Put the extender in the laundry room immediately adjacent to the garage.
TP-LINK Av500 Powerline Wi-Fi Range Extender on order. I have lots of outlets available through workshop and house.
From what I've read, range extenders effectively cut your bandwidth in half. You have to decide if that's an issue for you. You can also look into powerline networking.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this page http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/networking/, the articles on "the best wifi extender" and "the best powerline networking kit".
If I underst how it works correctly, if you can run a network cable closer to the garage and put a second router on that that can reach the garage, that's better than using an extender. The article at the linked URL goes into this in a decent amount of detail.
(the TL;DR is they call the Netgear ex6200 the best extender.)
extenders are junk in my experience.
ReplyDeleterun a cable as close as you can get to the target area, put a dedicated access point (not router/access point combo) on the end of it, with directional antennas. add directional antennas at the other end.
(also, consider just biting the bullet and running the cable the whole way. much less misery and suffering in the long run. ...get it? "long run"? hah.)
Does your wifi router have a cable plug for wired conections? Usually there is 4 minimum, of the ones I've seen. Run a Cat5(minimum) cable out to the garage. Use the flexible (braided) wire, not the solid wire type. (I've had really bad experiences with the solid type failing.) As long as it doesn't exceed 100 meters in length.( I think that was the limit for Cat5+ cables)
ReplyDeleteCheck the cost of the components to make your own, before buying a ready made cable.
A wired solution would be best or as close as you can put a router.
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed things about power line adapters. You can use coaxial cable for networking using a MoCA adapters.
Running CAT5 to the garage is obviously the best solution, but a bit more work than I wanted to do. I have CAT5 running to a room next to the garage. What's the best way to use that cable? Can I plug it into a range extender's hatd wired Ethernet port? Or do I need to put a wireless router configured as a bridge at the end of it?
ReplyDeleteI've had good luck with a powerline network http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087O6AQE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01). Our Roku streams Netflix, etc. from it without any problems.
ReplyDeleteMy incoming DSL/wireless router is in my shop, in the barn. It's about 150' to the house, and the signal is pretty iffy except in the bedroom nearest the barn. I have a Netgear WN2000RPTv2 (number from the manual) sitting in the b/r window, where it's almost line of sight to the router in the barn, also in the window. My main use in the house is for TiVo to pick up its programming, and it works well for that. On rare occasion, the repeater will go stupid, as TiVo won't be able to connect to the Mother Ship; cycling the power on the device gets it BIS (back in service).
ReplyDeleteThe gadget has 4 Ethernet ports, so you could presumably feed it with your existing cable. A refurb sells for less than $20.00 and has Prime shipping: http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-WN2000RPT-Universal-Range-Extender/dp/B00741F05I/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1451499353&sr=1-11&keywords=netgear+range+extender
I would do powerline ethernet to the garage. My experience is running about 300' to a metal outbuilding and it worked. You can find them pretty cheap ($50 or less for a pair at Amazon or Newegg), and they're simplicity itself: plug an ethernet cable to your router and plug the box into the wall, then plug the other in at the location you need. If you do 300' like I do you'll need a good pair, but in general I use them around the house at 100+ feet with cheaper ones.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.costco.com/TP-LINK-AV500-Powerline-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-Kit.product.100221128.html
ReplyDeleteIf you have cable almost out to the garage already, I think what you want is a wireless access point (or a second router in bridge mode), not an extender.
ReplyDelete