Best wireless router?

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cjsuh · #1 Post by **cjsuh** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 3:37 pm

Hi,

I just ordered my very first IBM ThinkPad (T42 14") and am very excited about it! However, I'm also new to the whole wireless game, so I was hoping one of you could advise me on which wireless router I should get. The things that are important to me are:

1) Ease of installation and maintenance.
2) Signal quality.
3) Price.

I only need a b/g router, and I've seen a few products from Linksys, D-Link, Microsoft, and NetGear. But I have no idea what makes one router better than the other. Could someone please enlighten me?

Thanks!

Leon · #2 Post by **Leon** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 3:41 pm

nothing scientific, but I've had several models. my favorite (in particular for greatest range and penetration (don't read this lilly) is D-Link.

#3 Post by **K. Eng** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 3:44 pm

I just installed a Netgear WGT624 (802.11g with Super-G support) router last week. It works great with my IBM a/b/g card, though I expect no less since both products use chipsets from Atheros

Haven't had a single connection drop yet. I haven't tested the range though.

RaysMD · #4 Post by **RaysMD** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 5:27 pm

Go for the Linksys WRT54. There third party firmware out that allows many more things. i.e., WPA-AES ecryption aka 802.11i which works perfectly with the IBM a/b/g and you can increase the transmitter output to 3x original.

WilsonF · #5 Post by **WilsonF** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 5:52 pm

I have a D-Link DWL 7100 access ponit / DWL 707P router combo and it works very well with my a/b/g IBM mini-PCIs. I never get dropped connections with the G band, but occasionally get them on the A band. I haven't had such good luck with netgear G access points at work but there I have 802.1x connections with radius authentication to a network and get occasional dropped connections with all of the TPs in house (we're about to switch to Cisco). Wilson

Greg Gebhardt · #6 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 5:57 pm

I installed the Cisco Aironet 1200. Bought it for 1/2 price on eBay, brand new with warranty. Best I have ever used. Works very well with the Thinkpads.

jl209 · #7 Post by **jl209** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 6:11 pm

I purchased a NetGear WG624... The first thing the setup software prompted me to do was upgrade the firmware. I followed the instructions, the installation failed and it rendered the router inoperable. I could no longer connect to the internet or ping the router. Tech support took a week to get back to my email, and when they did, they didn't answer the question I wrote them. Eventually, I just returned it to Amazon. Anyone had similar experiences?

devilsrejection · #8 Post by **devilsrejection** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 6:12 pm

RaysMD wrote:Go for the Linksys WRT54. There third party firmware out that allows many more things. i.e., WPA-AES ecryption aka 802.11i which works perfectly with the IBM a/b/g and you can increase the transmitter output to 3x original.

yep im waiting on it myself, love this routerm it will never be out dated.

faa-der · #9 Post by **faa-der** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:13 pm

My Dlink DI-624 tends to be finicky (sp?) I often get kicked off (T42). My wife's T40 also gets kicked off. Actually, it seems to lose the DSL connection, and knock off all the systems at the same time.

I don't really know if it is the router or the phone company, but I'd tend to blame it on the router, since I never had a problem with DSL before I bought that piece of hardware.

RaysMD · #10 Post by **RaysMD** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:16 pm

If you're getting kicked off too often, then it's your router. Many wireless routers have had firmware issues. Do a search on dslreports.com and you'll find other in the same situation.

oh more time,
Linksys WRT54 or WRT54GS.

texref · #11 Post by **texref** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:27 pm

RaysMD wrote: oh more time,
Linksys WRT54 or WRT54GS.

Ray, linksys are good (I have an 8 port wired router, an older 4 port router and a 4 port hub), but I would like to know a few things. I'm thinking about getting a 2373-9XU and getting a Linksys router to go with it (wireless print server from linksys to come later) and I'd like to know if the model you have (I assume that you have one of the afore mentioned above) has 4 ports in the back in addition to having a wireless option. Oh, the IBM that I'm thinking about getting has the Atheros chip so hopefully it won't have the issues that the intel based one has.

RaysMD · #12 Post by **RaysMD** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:38 pm

Both Linksys models have 4 ports in the back in addition to the wireless capability. Ever since Cisco bought out Linksys, they have made modifying the firmware much easier.

The things that I like about it are.
1. I can change the wireless channel to 12, 13, or 14. This is illegeal in the USA. Why did I do it? because my 2.4GHz cordless phone interferes with WiFi. However, once it's on the extended channels listed above, there's no interference whatsoever. That's because no one in the states uses 12, 13, or 14.

2. Increasing the transmission power to 3x normal. i.e., more distance.

3. Other cools stuff that sveasoft.com has come up with. Check them out.

regarding the difference between the WRT54 and WRT54GS. The GS model is the speedbooster model. It won't make a difference for non Linksys WiFi cards. The GS model comes with double the memory. so maybe future firmware will take advantage of this. Given the price difference get the GS model for more memory.

Oh, think twice about getting the Linksys router if you have the Atheros chipset, i.e., IBM a/b/g WiFi. If you get the DLink or Netgear models with SuperG, then you can connect at 108MBs, theoretically. I decided against this because there are so many features to the hacked firmware that outweighed the theoretical speed increase. Read point #1 and #2

Mofongo · #13 Post by **Mofongo** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:40 pm

faa-der wrote:My Dlink DI-624 tends to be finicky (sp?) I often get kicked off (T42). My wife's T40 also gets kicked off. Actually, it seems to lose the DSL connection, and knock off all the systems at the same time.

I don't really know if it is the router or the phone company, but I'd tend to blame it on the router, since I never had a problem with DSL before I bought that piece of hardware.

Does you T42 have the IBM a/b/g card? That's really strange then because both your T42 and the router use Atheros chips...one would think this would be the least troublesome combination.

In any case, I was going to recommend the D-Link DI-624 (make sure it's revision C) because it has Atheros chips in it. An alternative is the Netgear WGT624 which has the same chip.

Mofongo

DrGrafix · #14 Post by **DrGrafix** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:47 pm

Nothing scientific from me. I've been using LinkSys for maybe 8-9 years (the cable/dsl router & separate switch), and I just got the T30 a few weeks ago... so I wanted to switch over. Bought a 54G on eBay and although I had some hiccups on the install... specifically seeing all four (4) desktops in my house on the wired side, the wireless part was so transparent I couldn't believe it.

Flashing the firmware tonight solved all the problems and although I had v2.02 and it was only moving up to v.2.07 I guess it worked. Incidentally, flashing LinkSys was easy enough that a child could do it.

I have yet to bring in my iPaq to see what happens when it senses the wireless waves in the house, although it's bluetooth, so I don't know where that fits.

But frankly, I don't see how you could go wrong with LinkSys as a choice for a router... wireless or wired. They were the first "popularly-priced" routers around back in the mid/late-90's and now with Cisco behind them, they'd be hard to top from my perspective.

Mike

taphil · #15 Post by **taphil** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 12:33 am

Another vote for Linksys.

kkapoor · #16 Post by **kkapoor** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 12:40 am

RaysMD wrote:Both Linksys models have 4 ports in the back in addition to the wireless capability. Ever since Cisco bought out Linksys, they have made modifying the firmware much easier.

The things that I like about it are.
1. I can change the wireless channel to 12, 13, or 14. This is illegeal in the USA. Why did I do it? because my 2.4GHz cordless phone interferes with WiFi. However, once it's on the extended channels listed above, there's no interference whatsoever. That's because no one in the states uses 12, 13, or 14.

2. Increasing the transmission power to 3x normal. i.e., more distance.

3. Other cools stuff that sveasoft.com has come up with. Check them out.

regarding the difference between the WRT54 and WRT54GS. The GS model is the speedbooster model. It won't make a difference for non Linksys WiFi cards. The GS model comes with double the memory. so maybe future firmware will take advantage of this. Given the price difference get the GS model for more memory.

Oh, think twice about getting the Linksys router if you have the Atheros chipset, i.e., IBM a/b/g WiFi. If you get the DLink or Netgear models with SuperG, then you can connect at 108MBs, theoretically. I decided against this because there are so many features to the hacked firmware that outweighed the theoretical speed increase. Read point #1 and #2

Could you tell me where to get this alternative firmware for the WRT54G. Also is it possible to go back to the original firmware.

Thanks

RaysMD · #17 Post by **RaysMD** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 6:27 am

yes, visit sveasoft.com it's in their downloads section. They have a public version and a paid subscription version. I'm on the public right now and it works just great. Maybe I subscribe in the near future.

faa-der · #18 Post by **faa-der** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 7:58 am

Mofongo wrote:Does you T42 have the IBM a/b/g card? That's really strange then because both your T42 and the router use Atheros chips...one would think this would be the least troublesome combination.
In any case, I was going to recommend the D-Link DI-624 (make sure it's revision C) because it has Atheros chips in it. An alternative is the Netgear WGT624 which has the same chip.
Mofongo

Mine is a revision A DI-624. I have the 2200BG card (2378-DXU). My wife has a B card (don't know which one) in her T40.

I truly think it is the router. Not getting kicked off enough to buy a new router though. I would go with the Linksys since I have had great luck in past years with their equipment.

nikemen · #19 Post by **nikemen** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:33 am

K. Eng wrote:I just installed a Netgear WGT624 (802.11g with Super-G support) router last week. It works great with my IBM a/b/g card, though I expect no less since both products use chipsets from Atheros

Haven't had a single connection drop yet. I haven't tested the range though.

I have a linksys, a DLINK a 3com and this new NETGEAR, and I like this one the best. I also find the admin interface and panel better than the Linksys. I only use the linksys now as open and available for visitors, the NETGEAR is now the office router.

Linksys have had some security problems lately, cannot remember what they were, but there were some holes found.

As for the gentleman who had the update problem. I have done three updates, two on mine and one on a friend and didin't have any problems. After reboot, everything was fine. I simply followed the instructions on the update.

As for the CS, I hear it is poor and previous poster seemed to have had that experience. Most reviews, for most of these products will tell you "great product, PRAY it doesn't break"

I don't think it is necessarilly vendor specific.

jomar · #20 Post by **jomar** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 5:16 pm

CNET has some reviews and you can search specific criteria.

I have the D-Link AirPlus Extreme G and have had no problems with it.

Leeper · #21 Post by **Leeper** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 11:24 am

If you hurry you might be able to get one of the Microsoft wireless G routers. I have used just about everything out there and the MSFT one really does shine when it comes to quality and easy of use. I am still scratching my head as to why they killed the product as it might have been the best hardware they have made since the first MSFT mouse.

The most recent firmware does WPA and 802.1x plus UPnP.

ian · #22 Post by **ian** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 3:44 pm

For what it's worth I use a D-Link 614+ at home and a D-Link 2000AP at work and aside from the fact that I never seem to be able to connect when I've forgotten the b****y WEP key, I've never had a problem...

Obviously the first thing I did two days ago when I got this beast was let Access Connections get me onto both networks, which it did (once I'd remembered that I'd changed the key !) and I've been 'on' ever since.

I must admit though, I rather like the colour of the Linksys gear...

EDIT: I must however point out that the hassle free connection was AFTER my factory restore saga - I'm still convinced that there's different software on the CDs...

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I would also vote for this NETGEAR WGT624

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