I was talking to Gilbert about recommendations for wireless N routers, as I'm in the market for one. I'm not particularly interested in running custom firmware (just need good, solid, secure and reliable wireless LAN and basic Internet support), so this post is perhaps slightly off-topic in this forum. But Gilbert did mention that there had been discussion at a recent meeting about Wireless N antenna strength, and some recommendations (mostly negative) about specific routers, though he couldn't recall specific brands mentioned.
Any good dual-band models in the $70 to $130 price range?
Thanks, Gilles
802.11N is heavily encumbered and barely supported outside Windows and Mac.
I have also personally have not witnessed N range or speed stably in any environment I've tried it in (very spotty and bursty, to use some technical terms).
I suggest sticking with 802.11G or running wires for performance critical uses.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/ has a really nice review chart of the N routers available.
All dual band APs are pretty terrible. Most implementations I've seen end up servicing the 'least common denominator' meaning if you have a G device on that AP then the best you'll get is G on that band.
It is best to stick with one range or another and doing so gives you more flexibility in the after market antenna options.
Be doubly sure to have any cordless devices using bands that don't overlap with G and N. N is particularly susceptible to noise given the wider bandwidth.
On 2010-08-26, at 2:22 PM, Gilles Detillieux wrote:
I was talking to Gilbert about recommendations for wireless N routers, as I'm in the market for one. I'm not particularly interested in running custom firmware (just need good, solid, secure and reliable wireless LAN and basic Internet support), so this post is perhaps slightly off-topic in this forum. But Gilbert did mention that there had been discussion at a recent meeting about Wireless N antenna strength, and some recommendations (mostly negative) about specific routers, though he couldn't recall specific brands mentioned.
Any good dual-band models in the $70 to $130 price range?
Thanks, Gilles
On 10-08-26 02:22 PM, Gilles Detillieux wrote:
I was talking to Gilbert about recommendations for wireless N routers, as I'm in the market for one. I'm not particularly interested in running custom firmware (just need good, solid, secure and reliable wireless LAN and basic Internet support), so this post is perhaps slightly off-topic in this forum. But Gilbert did mention that there had been discussion at a recent meeting about Wireless N antenna strength, and some recommendations (mostly negative) about specific routers, though he couldn't recall specific brands mentioned.
Any good dual-band models in the $70 to $130 price range?
Thanks, Gilles
I'm running a D-Link 655. It's OK. Reviews last year put it third from the top from what the reviewers were looking for. I have to agree with Sean. I can connect a USB NIC to my Mint box and it works well but if there is a choice between G and N the NIC will choose G. To be fair I haven't tried to force an N connection. This particular router has gigabit (wired) capabilities. As to reliability... It was running for a couple of months steady last winter.
As coincidence would have it, I am running it now with a test machine. If you'd like to try it out as is and you happen to be in Windsor Park just East of WPC it is there and open. No internet connection though. I've tried to make the SSID as obvious as possible. If you want to make arrangements to see what it is like if we force an N connection, let me know before Friday of next week when the machine goes back.
Later Mike
Thanks, Mike and Sean, for your replies last Thursday. I had been reasonably happy with my Linksys WRT54G until recently, but I find that lately it needs to be reset more than I'd like (once or twice a week). That and the wish for faster wireless data transfers (though no need yet for streaming, so bursty traffic is OK) and hopefully a bit more range prompted me to look into wireless N router options. I had been considering the D-Link 655, even though it's not dual-band (and after what Sean said, perhaps dual-band isn't worth the extra expense), so I appreciate the positive feedback on this model. I'm inclined to give it a shot.
Thanks, Gilles
On 08/26/2010 04:32 PM, Mike Pfaiffer wrote:
On 10-08-26 02:22 PM, Gilles Detillieux wrote:
I was talking to Gilbert about recommendations for wireless N routers, as I'm in the market for one. I'm not particularly interested in running custom firmware (just need good, solid, secure and reliable wireless LAN and basic Internet support), so this post is perhaps slightly off-topic in this forum. But Gilbert did mention that there had been discussion at a recent meeting about Wireless N antenna strength, and some recommendations (mostly negative) about specific routers, though he couldn't recall specific brands mentioned.
Any good dual-band models in the $70 to $130 price range?
Thanks, Gilles
I'm running a D-Link 655. It's OK. Reviews last year put it third from the top from what the reviewers were looking for. I have to agree with Sean. I can connect a USB NIC to my Mint box and it works well but if there is a choice between G and N the NIC will choose G. To be fair I haven't tried to force an N connection. This particular router has gigabit (wired) capabilities. As to reliability... It was running for a couple of months steady last winter.
As coincidence would have it, I am running it now with a test machine. If you'd like to try it out as is and you happen to be in Windsor Park just East of WPC it is there and open. No internet connection though. I've tried to make the SSID as obvious as possible. If you want to make arrangements to see what it is like if we force an N connection, let me know before Friday of next week when the machine goes back.
Later Mike
[This isn't specifically about 'N' routers, but...]
I've used the Buffalo Technology (www.buffalotech.com) routers a fair bit, and have been consistently impressed by them. They also tend to get excellent reviews.
Their "high-power" models give consistently better range than stock WRT54Gs (for example) *without* burning out the radio. I found you can get the same range out of a WRT54G simply by turning up the transmit power and adding a slightly better antenna, but then the WRT54G burns out within a year.
The Buffalo units (I think) keep the standard Broadcom reference design that everyone uses, but they add a separate RF amp on the RF output to boost power and sensitivity. (Yes, that boosts noise as well, but it doesn't seem to be a problem.)
The unit I've used is the WHR-HP-G54, which among other features can run modified firmware (DD-WRT, for example) but for simpler cases also has a physical SWITCH on the back to turn it into an AP. The single antenna provided was always good enough for my use cases.
Read all about it at http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless/routers-and-access-points/airst....
I don't know of any retail stores carrying it, but it's widely available online in Canada: http://www.pricebat.ca/search.php?q=WHR-HP-G54, starting at around $55.
Their 'N' models also (with one exception) can run custom firmware (again, using DD-WRT as my reference, see http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database for details) but I don't have any personal experience with those (yet). Following Consumer Reports' methodology, "reliability is predicted to be better than average based on this brand's repair history".
-Adam
Thanks, Adam, for both your recommendations - Buffalo Tech and pricebat.ca (which I hadn't heard about before). The WHR-HP-G300N is the one I'm interested in now.
BestDirect seems to have the best price on it. Anyone have any experience with them, good or bad?
On 09/03/2010 10:31 AM, Adam Thompson wrote:
[This isn't specifically about 'N' routers, but...]
I've used the Buffalo Technology (www.buffalotech.com) routers a fair bit, and have been consistently impressed by them. They also tend to get excellent reviews.
Their "high-power" models give consistently better range than stock WRT54Gs (for example) *without* burning out the radio. I found you can get the same range out of a WRT54G simply by turning up the transmit power and adding a slightly better antenna, but then the WRT54G burns out within a year.
The Buffalo units (I think) keep the standard Broadcom reference design that everyone uses, but they add a separate RF amp on the RF output to boost power and sensitivity. (Yes, that boosts noise as well, but it doesn't seem to be a problem.)
The unit I've used is the WHR-HP-G54, which among other features can run modified firmware (DD-WRT, for example) but for simpler cases also has a physical SWITCH on the back to turn it into an AP. The single antenna provided was always good enough for my use cases.
Read all about it at http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless/routers-and-access-points/airst....
I don't know of any retail stores carrying it, but it's widely available online in Canada: http://www.pricebat.ca/search.php?q=WHR-HP-G54, starting at around $55.
Their 'N' models also (with one exception) can run custom firmware (again, using DD-WRT as my reference, see http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database for details) but I don't have any personal experience with those (yet). Following Consumer Reports' methodology, "reliability is predicted to be better than average based on this brand's repair history".
-Adam
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Adam Thompson -
Gilles Detillieux -
Mike Pfaiffer -
Sean Cody