RiG Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Thinking about setting up a wireless network to link together my own PC with my folks' home computer. Just wondering if anyone else has a similar kind of setup? The home PC is the one connected to the internet and I would use my one for UNi work and browsing online while my the other one is being used by other family members. What kind of kit do you need? I know you need a router or something like that and also a wireless card on my pc. I did see an advert for a router and a free USB receiver from PC World for ~£70. Would you need anything else aside form that? Any other suggestions reommendations? Cheers B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Div Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Get a wireless router to use as your internet "hub". This will effectively "beam" your wireless broadband service around your house. Any computers you want to connect to this will need a wireless card to do so. These can be either internal or external and most new computers will come with these as standard. Wireless networks come in a variety of standards and speeds. I'd recommend a 54Mb 802.11g as the most cost effective standard which will also deliver good speed between your two computers if you wanted to copy a file between them for example. They all come with set-up wizards these days and are dead easy to set-up, just make sure you use both MAC address restrictions (ie: only your two computers are allowed to connect) and the strongest form of WEP encryption that your new wireless router supports. This will prevent your neighbours and passers by from also enjoying your internet service ! All of this will be included in your router set-up instructions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 Cheers Div. So basically all we need is the two computers, a router and a card in my machine? Take it the router just plugs into the INternet connected computer? If so - how is this achieved? Finally, we came across this wee thing in Computer Buyer Kcorp 108Mbps 802.11g+ Wireless Gateway Router Gold Series  [Computer Buyer] COMPANY: KCorp PRICE: £67£79   RATING:  ISSUE: 158 DATE: Jul 04 At only seventy-nine quid, Kcorp's Gold router is one of the cheapest in this round-up. We put it through its paces to see if cheap meant cheerful, or nasty. We ran our standard short and long-range tests. In our short-range test, the Kcorp Gold transferred our 100MB file in 51 seconds. The long-range test took just 55 seconds. Both of these times are far lower than any of the Kcorp's competitors. This router, however, has been built using the new 'Super G' Wi-Fi chip, made by a company called Atheros. If all the devices in your network use these chips, claims Atheros, they'll be able to communicate at a theoretical maximum of 108Mbit/s. Super G does this by combining wireless channels to increase the amount of data that can be sent in one go. We tested this claim by building a simple network using the Kcorp router to talk to a computer using a Kcorp PCI card, which is also built using the Atheros chip. In this test, our 100MB file took just 33 seconds to transfer at short range and an incredibly quick 34 seconds in our long-range test. This is incredible performance! It's enough for you to be able to share even the fastest broadband connection, and still have plenty of bandwidth spare to do things like stream music or video over your network. As well as providing lots of bandwidth, this router also has an impressive range. As an additional test, we took our laptop to the bottom of the garden - about 160ft from the routers being tested: only Kcorp's Gold Standard router managed to broadcast this far. This is great if you want to laze around in the garden to surf the Web. For those who don't want their network broadcast right down the street for their neighbours to receive, Kcorp sensibly include settings to reduce signal strength. The other thing to watch out for is that the wireless signal is so powerful that it can interfere with the performance of any other wireless networks nearby. We were also impressed by the documentation, which is helpful and well put together. Configuring the router to work with your broadband connection is also simple, thanks to the wizard that appears when you access the configuration page. All you have to do is enter your username and password and you should be able to connect to your ISP. Security is also excellent. The Kcorp router supports the new WPA encryption standard. It also has a built-in hardware firewall and a variety of Internet filters to protect your privacy. The only thing you don't get with this product is any kind of broadband modem. This means you can use it with any sort of connection, cable or ADSL. You'll have to buy your own modem to connect with, though, or use the one that your ISP gave you. This is a really tremendous product at a fantastic price. Yes, if you want to share an ADSL connection you'll have to go to the extra hassle of connecting an external modem to the router, but if you make the effort it will be worth it. A definite Best Buy. By Nick Ross Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Div Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 You can get an integrated DSL router and modem which means you only have one box. I use a Netgear box and it has been spendid What do you currently have on the end of your DSL line, is it a simple DSL modem ? If so, and you wanted to buy the device you mentioned, then the modem would plug into the wireless router. Each PC that you want to connect to this wireless router would need a wireless card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 Basically the current line up is Parents PC connected to the internet via a USB DSL modem. My computer is not connected to the internet. Also obtaining help on this subject on Digital Spy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rbs Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 You have the option of using dongles or PCI cards - we tried dongles, but then opted for the cards. We have one PC hardwired, and the other two use PCI cards. The downside is speed. Our broadband connection is 1Gps - which works fine on the PC that is hardwired - but the WLAN runs at 54Mps. The other good thing about the WLAN is that I can use my PDA, and we can also use a wireless enabled laptop! We bought ours at Infiniti (prices at www.infiniti.co.uk) - good guys to deal with! Div has heightened my concerns about security. Div, how do I make sure that the network is secure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rbs Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 They all come with set-up wizards these days and are dead easy to set-up, just make sure you use both MAC address restrictions (ie: only your two computers are allowed to connect) and the strongest form of WEP encryption that your new wireless router supports. How do I check this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FPB Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 I've got a 54Mb 802.11G ADSL Belkin Wireless Router. It sits above the PC downstairs and is connected to the PC using a network cable. My Laptop has a wireless belkin 802.11G 54mb card and my wee sisters PC has a Belkin Wireless Access port connected to the Network card I installed in to the machine. It's a 2048kbps broadband service we have here, so between the 3 computers, its no problem at all! I work for iomart, so I'll probably just get our new Netintelligence Home software which is excellent for networks. We use the business edition in the office and its shithot. Excellent for security... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Ive got a Belkin router/modem downstairs with 4 Lan ports (one with the Xbox plugged in) The gf has a wirless card on her laptop, Ive got a PCI wireless card in the PC upstairs. It works a treat At the moment we've only got the basic 512 ADSL, but have no speed issues even with both of us online. (upgrading to 2MB as we speak ) I dont bother with the security, but then if you'd met my neighbours you'd know why One tip if you go for a combined modem/router ... write all your user names and passwords down. Our router has crashed a couple of times and needed reset, if I'd written all the settings down it'd saved a couple of calls to the ISP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 Cheers for all the info folks. Folks are looking into it now. Fingers crossed! One final query though - whats it like for games over the network? eg Unreal Tournament etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FPB Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 One tip if you go for a combined modem/router ... write all your user names and passwords down. Our router has crashed a couple of times and needed reset, if I'd written all the settings down it'd saved a couple of calls to the ISP 444597[/snapback] Already learned that one... Belkins router program is pish. do you access it via 192.168.2.1? Find that fuckin pish and unreliable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Cheers for all the info folks. Folks are looking into it now. Fingers crossed!One final query though - whats it like for games over the network? eg Unreal Tournament etc. 444641[/snapback] Fine for games. Remember, your router will be working at 54MBps, 2Mb broadband is 2MBps so you're network will always be faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 The downside is speed. Our broadband connection is 1Gps - which works fine on the PC that is hardwired - but the WLAN runs at 54Mps. 444457[/snapback] How the hell do you get a connection that fast??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Already learned that one... Belkins router program is pish. do you access it via 192.168.2.1? Find that fuckin pish and unreliable 444698[/snapback] Yes ... I concur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 Fine for games. Remember, your router will be working at 54MBps, 2Mb broadband is 2MBps so you're network will always be faster. 444773[/snapback] Soopah! Cheers B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rbs Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Yes ... I concur 444782[/snapback] Sorry, I confused myself there. Our connection speed is 100Mbps!!! 54Mbps means that the WLAN runs at just over half the connection speed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 Sorry, I confused myself there. Our connection speed is 100Mbps!!! 54Mbps means that the WLAN runs at just over half the connection speed! 445036[/snapback] I take it your at work then!! And heres me getting all excited about a 2MB connection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Div Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 There is nobody in the UK with a 100Mb internet feed to their house The 100Mb speed reported by a router connected via eithernet is actually the speed of the connection from the router to the host machine and not the actual speed of the internet service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 You do get those speeds in Japan though I think..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Div Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 You do get those speeds in Japan though I think..... 445629[/snapback] You can get them in the UK too, but it would cost you tens of thousands of ££££ ! Paisley exchange where I am is now unbundled with 8Mb on offer which is the best consumer product I have heard of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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