extending my wireless network

According to apple from www.apple.com/airportexpress, you'll see the following note when they talk about using the airport express as a network bridge:

"AirPort Express can extend the range only of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express wireless network."

Seeing as Apple says this, it might be prudent to avoid it as your bridge...but what Apple says doesn't always prove to be true...however, I'd wait until you hear from someone who has actually done this successfully before buying it and trying it yourself.

 

as i have stated twice before.

Is the microwave on when you loose your connection?

That is what kills my connection when the router is right below me one floor down

 

The microwave can/will hurt your wireless signal. But...If its destroying a otherwise strong signal, you may want to get your microwave checked out. It could have a leak.

 

Do you have cordless phones operating on the 2.4GHz bandwidth in your home?

 

Assuming you mean the WRT54G, check out sveasoft.. They have 3rd party firmware that can boost wireless power by up to 900%. It costs $20, or you can find free versions at other sites.

 

Just go up to your local computer store and buy a high-gain wifi antennae to extend your range.

 

a question from me

i currently have an Airport Express
can I link it up with this wireless gateway so that the wireless network range can be extended?

can I wirelessly bridge these 2 together to create a single network or must I only use RJ45 cable to link them up?

 

Airport express only works with apple branded and buffalo network equipment regarding WDS (Wireless Distribution System) support.

 

Thats what they say, but is that really true or do they not want to have phone support for it? If it follows the standards, it should work with any router (assuming the other router follows all standards too).

 

Yes, you can.

You can use the WRT54G with Airport Express. I've seen posts on here about that. You will need to use a third-party firmware to enable WDS, I'm afraid I can't help you find that as I dont know where to look!

If you dont need wireless printing/Air Tunes, Linksys sell the WRE54G which is a wireless expander for the Linksys router. I just bought one of these off eBay for £37, which is less than half the price of an Airport Express, and doesnt need third-party firmware to run it.

I'd be wary of the firmware which can increase the gain of the router, as it probably wears out the components in the router much quicker. Similar to the stress you put on a computer when you overclock.

 

Exactly. The firmware from sveasoft or any other vendor might make your wireless connection stronger, but it is definitely at the cost of the life of your wireless router. The components would just get fried faster. There's a good enough reason why the manufacturer has limited the output power of the signal. Moreover, it's not good for one's health to have very strong wireless signals going through the house (in some cases it's unavoidable, but it's better to avoid it as much as possible).

I would suggest changing the wireless channel setting on the router to see if it makes any difference - you might have interference from your microwave, cordless phones and probably other wireless devices in your house or the houses around yours. Although it might take some time to figure out which channel is best, I think it's worth the effort. Also try changing the location of the physical wireless router - "line of sight" with the receiver is best, preferably several feet away from the microwave, cordless etc.

If all these do not help, get an extender. Or get a different router (like the SRX series from Linksys).