I have a Belkin broadband ADSL2 wireless router, how can I extend its range to the end of the garden?

Question

The router can be either positioned in the house or about 30 metres away in the garden house. Currently the router is in the garden house, and the signal just about reaches to the front of the main house on the second floor, though signal strength is shaky. But it doesn't reach the third floor. We need to extend the signal so that the whole 4 floors of the house and ground floor of the garden house are covered. Would a couple of wireless access points, one linked to the router placed in the house, the other in the garden house work?

Answer 1

One router will not cover 4 floors of your house AND reach your garden's end... period. You could put the router on the second floor, reduce your broadcast power so your broadcast area reaches just outside the house; that should allow you to access the network from any floor in the house. The second option is to put the router on the first floor of your house, raise your broadcast power so your area reaches the garden, but you won't get a decent signal on any other floors.

The third option is to get a repeater or another router for the garden house. That's the bottom line.


P.S. DO NOT use a Pringle's can over your antenna, it will seriously mess up your router's power managment and change your antenna's power requirements drastically; not to mention it's against the law and the FCC could fine you if they catch you.

P.S.S. I use a Belkin Wireless router, and it works like a champ for me, I never have any problems with it. I bought it to replace a Linksys Dual A/G router that constantly dropped my net connection every day. I trust Belkin.

Answer 2

Four semi answers:

(1) Experiment, with just one other router - but make sure you know how to configure a router to find another router - I think it's more of a repeater than a router, probably a different box in fact; the extra one doesn't want to be ADSL.

(2) Some wireless routers can operate in repeater mode, like the Buffalo ones; don't know if they will play nice with Belkin in this respect.

(3) Pringles tub! on the antenna. Gives it directionality and thus a boost in that direction. Of this I am reliably informed by someone whose opinion I trust, though I've never tried it. Might screw signal strength in other directions.

(4) Mount stuff high up.

Answer 3

i use belkin also but i keep losing the signal

Answer 4

repeater