Wireless router potential problem!!?

Question

Hi all!!

I am *hopefully* going to get a wireless internet thing going but i want my son to be able to surf the net (obviously safely) on his computer in his bedroom. My problem is that his computer an my computer are very far away from each other (mine's on the ground floor and his is on the second floor). Will this be detrimental?? Can this be done?? If so, please explain how (but in plain english as i'm a bit thick when it comes to computers!!)

Many thanks

Sal x

Answer 1

if your son is over 18 that should be fine, otherwise use the parental block software that comes with home suite software, its not on commercial office software for a reason most are over 21?
If the router is on the second floor or first floor try pointing the antenna in the direction of the other computer. dont put the router waist high, about 5 feet on a shelf or desk is fine. Open the doors or windows in between.
Dont touch the antenna when in use, just like cell phones, or commercial microwave dishes pointed up in one direction. If the local radio station points the antenna up to space or a mountain wall. instead of uni-directional about 10 stories high its a comedy radio station.

Answer 2

This isnt a problem at all. I am on the second floor typing this and my wireless router is 2 stories down in the basement.

I am going to assume here that you connect to the internet via a cable modem.
====What to buy
So basically what you need to buy is a wireless router, and a wireless card for your computer. There are many out there, and they will all basically do the same thing so just get the cheapest. (Linksys, DLink, Belkin, ...).

* There are different technologies out there, Wireless b, g, and n being the biggest at the moment. Avoid 'n' it is still under developement. 'b' should be fine for your purposes. 'g' will potentially offer more speed (The problem here is that the internet speed coming into your house probably isnt fast enough to utilize the extra benifits of 'g').
===Installation
- The router is simple enough to install, just follow the instructions, and post here if you have any problems.
- For you card for your computer, you can get an internal card or a usb card. An internal card is better, but you will have to open up your computer to install it.
===== Security
The only security problem with doing this, is that others can steal your signal and possibly read your traffic. To avoid this you will need to encrypt your signal. All routers provide this, just simply follow your instructions.
=====Performance
Other performance considerations. The wireless internet runs at the same frequency as many other appliances (2.4ghz). So if you use a cordless phone for example, you may lose your signal if someone calls. (Not cell phones though, their different). Also if you get poor signal quality position the antennas on your computer and router to be parallel (the best you can). This will give a better signal.

Answer 3

The way this works is very simple. The internet will come into your house either via DSL or cable (or whatever your service is). It will end at a router.

From the router, you have the ability to connect computers with cables (as traditional) or broadcast the signal to wireless receivers. If you want to use wireless internet, you'll have to install wireless receiver cards in your computers. The company you're getting your wireless router from can recommend (or maybe even install) the right model of wireless card.

If the distance is very great, you may need to have either a booster antenna on the router to strengthen the signal, or a relay station somewhere else in the house. Again, your installer should be able to test the reception in various areas of your house and help you out with that.

Answer 4

Sal,
This is a very VERY easy fix. You can go to your local electronics/computer store. The one I recommend is Best Buy. What you will need to do is to purchase a wireless router (netgear is less expensive, and works rather well), a wireless card for whatever style computers you will have on the wireless connection (i.e. Desktop or laptop) and I would suggest purchase the G+ connection(just means it's a little faster). Just because you are on different levels of your house won't affect the connection. There won't be any problems as far as that's concerned. The only issue that you may have is having nearby neighbors logging on to your wireless. And there's also an easy fix to that. Just secure your settings on your connection. If you buy your router equipment from Best Buy, they also have unlimited assistance to help walk you through installation of the wireless cards and how to secure your connections at your home. I hope you find this help full! I don't work for this company, nor do I have any financial attachment or agreement with them. It's just my personal experience.

Answer 5

I can't foresee any real problems by keeping the router one story below the computer in question. Well, other than the obvious problems of bandwidth. Unless you've got 3 foot thick concrete walls/ceilings in between the router and computer, any bandwidth lost will be minimal.

When looking for wireless routers go with D-Link, NetGear, Belkin, or LinkSys. From personal experience, I prefer D-Link and LinkSys, but I have heard good things about Belkin and NetGear.

Heres a site you might find helpful:

http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessrouters/tp/80211ghome.htm

Answer 6

Unless your apartment/house is made with thick concrete walls he should be able to get a signal. If the signal quality is low then you may wish to purchase a larger antenna to plug into the router.

Most wireless routers are simple and require little setup to use. Make certain that you purchase one that have actual ports on it. Those are the slots to fit the ethernet cables in, that way you can still connect your personal computer to it. Simply plug the cable that normally goes into your computer from your broadband modem into the "uplink" port on the router. This should be marked. Then, take another ethernet cable and run it from one of the other ports to your personal computer as normal. The wireless router should let your computer work as normal.

Now the wireless router is setup "default", which means it's "name" is probrably set to the name of the router itself, and there is no password protection on it. This means that -anyone- can connect to it, which can lead to your neighbourhood sharing your bandwidth. I would suggest setting up a "WEP key", this is basically a simple password protection. You can do this by browsing to the wireless router itself, from your personal computer (once plugged in and having an internet connection) by putting 192.168.1.1 into the "address bar" on your web browser. This is the address of the router itself and will let you configure it. Most routers have a default username/password of Administrator / Password, but check your documentation to be certain.

Then, once inside, you should change the name (SSID) of the router to something unique so that you know it's yours, and enable "WEP KEY" encryption and set a password.

Then, on your son's laptop, double click on the "wireless connection" and find the name you gave to your router, and input the wep key that you chose. His laptop should now be connected and able to surf the internet.

Answer 7

Just follow your providers instructions or the instructions on the loading disc. Your sons computer will need its own dongle or similar ( basically the receiver). It is possible you will get problems, but mine were put right by putting the router in association mode whilst loading the extra computer.. This becomes clearer as you try to load it. This comes from experience as my computer is on the ground floor and my husbands is on the first. Good luck.

Answer 8

i have a wireless router myself, and the way iv got it set up is

i have a pc in livingroom, connected to router by a cable, this computer is used for downloads, and a laptop with a wireless reciever, which i can use anywhere around the house, even in the garden

in your case, you can do the same as me with the main pc, and get a wireless reciever for your sons pc, which looks like a small flash drive and you put it in the usb port on his pc, his connection will be restricted in speed, and as for child security, you just change the security levels in internet options in your internet explorer, or get some sort of child security program to prevent him from accessing pages you dont want him to see

Answer 9

It should be OK, my computer is on top floor with the router on the middle of the 3 floors, this works fine for me, you will need something called a "dongle" use the short wire as well it will improve the signal.

Answer 10

this shoudn't be a problem, my wireless router can connect up to 100 yards away.