Boosting wifi signal to garage?

[Deleted User]

RumRat wrote: »

PLA's have been 100% reliable here, never had the slightest hiccup.

I am a shortwave listener and I hate them with a passion because of the interferences they create. Why make thing more complicate when a £5 cat5 can do the job? It's the routers/IT manufacturing industry pushing newbies into using wifi and what not. CAT 5 nowadays can give up to 1GB of bandwidth at very little cost.

RumRat

ciaccino wrote: »

I am a shortwave listener and I hate them with a passion because of the interferences they create. Why make thing more complicate when a £5 cat5 can do the job? It's the routers/IT manufacturing industry pushing newbies into using wifi and what not. CAT 5 nowadays can give up to 1GB of bandwidth at very little cost.

Your dislike doesn't make them unreliable, which was the point. Anyway, it's not always convenient to run cable. Much easier to use wiring that has already been laid.
How many complaints have been recieved from shortwave listeners at Ofcom/BBC regarding PLA's, in comparison to the number of units sold?

onomatopoeia99

Running proper ethernet cable is always the correct answer. Wifi and powerline / homeplugs are unreliable bodges to avoid doing the job properly. I have plenty of experience of the unreliability of both in the workplace, to the extent that I am wiring the whole house with cat5e outlets and only have wifi at home so my friend can connet her iThing to it when she visits.

RumRat

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

Running proper ethernet cable is always the correct answer. Wifi and powerline / homeplugs are unreliable bodges to avoid doing the job properly. I have plenty of experience of the unreliability of both in the workplace, to the extent that I am wiring the whole house with cat5e outlets and only have wifi at home so my friend can connet her iThing to it when she visits.

We have 4 PLA's working, one at the end of the garden. None of them have ever failed, speeds are the same as over wired. So my experience is that they are very reliable.
I guess it may depend on the quality of the units, but, I don't find them a 'bodge' as you put it, but, a solution to a problem that works perfectly well.
Of course, if someone wants to go to the trouble of wiring up, that's fine, each to their own..

simon.griggs

Dear Baker Boy,


There really is no substitute if you want to network your computers in your office properly, for a length of Cat 5 Cable.


I second Ciaccino's comment about these Power Line Adaptors creating hash and noise over large chunks of the HF Radio Spectrum. As a Full Licensed Amateur Radio Operator of twenty years standing, I am now off to sit outside Rum Rat's house so I can run my legally licensed Amateur Station at High Power. When he appears complaining of interference to his TV, I will remind him that since there are very few other complainants in the area to Ofcom, he should let sleeping dogs lie!


On a serious note folks, Cat5 is the cheaper option and the highest performance. WiFi if it is weak is a fudge, and these Powerline Adaptors, while working, have caused us Amateurs no end of problems, over the years.


Let the floodgates now open.......


Simon G

RumRat

simon.griggs wrote: »

Dear Baker Boy,


There really is no substitute if you want to network your computers in your office properly, for a length of Cat 5 Cable.


I second Ciaccino's comment about these Power Line Adaptors creating hash and noise over large chunks of the HF Radio Spectrum. As a Full Licensed Amateur Radio Operator of twenty years standing, I am now off to sit outside Rum Rat's house so I can run my legally licensed Amateur Station at High Power. When he appears complaining of interference to his TV, I will remind him that since there are very few other complainants in the area to Ofcom, he should let sleeping dogs lie!


On a serious note folks, Cat5 is the cheaper option and the highest performance. WiFi if it is weak is a fudge, and these Powerline Adaptors, while working, have caused us Amateurs no end of problems, over the years.


Let the floodgates now open.......


Simon G

You are welcome to flash up nearby, however according to yourself you won't be able to use your gear much because of my PLA's...:eek:
If you wish to upset my wife, carry on (brave man:D), as it is she who watches TV. My entertainment comes from another medium.

I don't think it's fair to tell someone they shouldn't use modern tech just incase there's a Radio Ham nearby. PLA's ain't going away, so you'd better hope the notching gets better....:cool:

That said, if my PLA's were interfering with a Ham next door, I'm sure we would sort it amicably. However, the chances of one moving in are so remote as to not be worth considering when setting up my network...;)

Gloomendoom

BakerBoy wrote: »

Hello all,
I've gone through a search and 20 pages of the Techie Stuff forum and haven't found an existing thread, so apologies if this has been covered before.

I'm building an office in my garage and have taken my laptop out there to see if the wifi will stretch. From my BT Home Hub it seems that emails are OK but for web browsing it is a struggle.

Can anyone recommend some low-cost options for extending the signal?

Many thanks in advance.

Have you considered a high gain wifi adapter?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-WN722N-150Mbps-Wireless-Adapter/dp/B002SZEOLG

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00416Q5KI/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=569136327&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002SZEOLG&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=06V5XXSEC2Y10SN5A7F4

BakerBoy

Thank you all for your advice, comments and spirited discussion. I have been reading over the weekend and have ordered one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NIUHAG6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Will see how it goes. FYI the garage is detached, only a few meters from the house and I will be using a laptop, tablet and wireless printer in there.