Wireless Access Point needed...

T

Tempest

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
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Need recommendation for a decent wireless access point. I don't require a wireless router...already have a router. I already have a wireless Linksys pci card for my pc....i'm pretty sure it's the 54g version. Looking to spend between $50 and $100 for the AP. It doesn't have to be Linksys, unless there is some kind of proprietary software that would make it work better with my existing wireless card.

Any suggestions appreciated!
 
RoBo said:
PM a mod to move this to Networking & Security, buy a router and flash it with DD-WRT.
Click to expand...

Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't DD-WRT a linux os that routers use? Either way, i'm looking for recommendations on specific make/models of access points. Does a router running DD-WRT have any advantages over a access point? I'm assuming that DD-WRT cannot be used for access points?

thx
 
DD-WRT is a 3rd party firmware for routers, it gives many more options than factory.

Try the DIR-655.
 
The DIR-655 looks nice for gigabit wireless....any recommendations for wireless g?
 
That router is draft-n meaning that is is "better" than wireless "G" but is also backward compatable. Gigabit is the speed of the switch and has nothing to do with wireless.

Someone else might be able to reccomend a access point though.
 
somebody explain to me please why there is such a price variance with some of these access points? i see some for $50 and it goes on up $500+ What makes them better? are the $50 even worth a can of beans?

See the same situation with the wireless routers. And yes i know some are N, some are G, and some have built in switches....i'm referring to the ones that seem to have the same protocol and available ports.
 
it all depends on what you are using it for.
Like at work we have some cisco AP's that run about $650 each with the lowest antenna's.
But those can handle up to 16 different wireless lans, and they are centrally managed with a wlan controller.

but then there are the lower end $50 ap's that have just a minimum of options available.

i would get one capable of handling ddwrt and use that. ddwrt has shitloads of options available for just about any situation you can think of.
 
It's going to be for home use. Basically if i bought a router instead of an AP, i would disable the router portion of it. So i guess if you can recommend one of the routers that the ddwrt will work with is all i need. Will it work with the DIR-655?? And where would one obtain the ddwrt?
 
Just curious why you want a AP without router? Do you already have a router in place that just doesn't have wireless?

If that's the case, which I'm assuming it is, what purpose will this AP serve, and what do you need from it? I.E. will it be just serving a house, will it be outdoors, what sort of range do you want, do you need the highest speed available?

FYI, 802.11G is not "10/100", it is 54mbit at its highest signal strength, all the way down to 1mbit at the edge of its range.
N is not gigabit, it is up to 108Mbit* at ITS highest signal strength, all the way down to.. you get the picture.

* EDIT: Actually that's not true. Current "Draft-N" devices can go up to 300 something mbit I think, and eventually the final spec might increase that to ~500mbit. Which just goes to prove that a pre-spec device is a gamble, you don't know for sure what's going to work with what.
 
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