WIRELESS ACCESS POINT... ADVICE !

[brianthesnail]

Hi guys
heres the deal.... i need to a device that can
1) pick up a wireless (wpa2) connection from 20m away from the router
2) then connect via ethernet to a desktop pc
ive asked numerous questions ( many on yahoo answers ) but i cant get a answer im happy with .... ive seen this access point
TP-Link Wireless N 150Mbps Access Point [TL-WA701ND]


this has a 10/100/1000 Auto-Sensing RJ45 Port .. so would this pick up the wireless signal and then forward it via the ethernet cable to a desktop pc...... if this cant do this then is there another device that can.....
and if it can is it hard to configure ?
many thanks

[Alexceptional]

From what I've read then yes, that TP link should do the trick. It can do both ethernet -> wireless and wireless -> ethernet.

Can I just ask, why do you want to do this rather than simply buy a wireless adapter for the desktop PC?

[IanS]

According to the spec "Supports AP Client, Bridge, Repeater and AP operation modes", therefore yes it can do what you want.

[brianthesnail]

you have a point.. however all the wireless adapters ive used have weak signals ,so whats the best wireless "pci" adapter ( can also use pci-express x1 but prefer pci ) with the best range ..... the pc will be around 30m from the wireless router ( O2 wireless box II ) and theres 3 walls inbetween ........ however by using the access point i can take one of these walls out of the equation ..... any idea,s

[Alexceptional]

you have a point.. however all the wireless adapters ive used have weak signals ,so whats the best wireless "pci" adapter ( can also use pci-express x1 but prefer pci ) with the best range ..... the pc will be around 30m from the wireless router ( O2 wireless box II ) and theres 3 walls inbetween ........ however by using the access point i can take one of these walls out of the equation ..... any idea,s

Hmm. Wireless signal can be a pain sometimes, and there's often not one definitive answer.

As you say, taking one wall out of the equation will improve things. Another option is to have a wireless repeater (range booster) directly between your PC and the router; this is the solution I opted for and it works quite nicely. Homeplugs are yet another option as these eliminate wireless altogether.

[IanS]

Homeplugs will give by far the best results, unless you have really old wiring or the PC room is on a separate fuse box.

[brianthesnail]

thanks alex ..... can you recommend a good wireless repeater .... or is the access point the same thing ?

[michaelkenward]

20 metres is stretching it, especially if there are walls in the way.

I have to use a string of devices Netgear DGN3500, wireless modem router (good), feeding an Edimax EW-7416APn access point running as a universal repeater (rubbish but all that Aria had on offer)and then a Netgear WN2000RPT range extender (also good) at the far end.

I can just about detect the first two devices from afar, but not well enough to stream over the internet.

In theory, many of these devices can operate in various modes, but in reality they can be a pig to set up. To make it easier on this front, I'd try to get hardware from the same supplier.

[IanS]

Agree with Michael, setting up repeaters is a pain, they don't add that much to the range (maybe 1/3 - 1/2 again) and there is a lot of bandwidth used on the overheads.
Unless it will only be used for general internet browsing, I would definitely go with homeplugs. They are more expensive, but the connection is reliable, fast and there is no setting up to do; just plug them in.