Internet Router for NWA

Mikie

Mikie

Admin/iMTB Hooligan
Okay, leaving tomorrow night to head to Northwest Arkansas to spend a couple of weeks at the new homestead.
I got to pick up a WiFi Router for the place and not sure what to get.
I'm willing to pay the price and cry once but I also want to have gas money to get home after the stay.

Any IT guys with suggestions?
As well, the does not appear to have a Cell Tower that nearby so signal is weak in that area. Anyone use or experience a solid Verizon Signal Booster that they have had good luck with? Heading to Best Buy after work today.
 
Mikie said:
Bof.
Do they come togeteher as well or as separate items. I hate All-In -Ones asthey always break.
Click to expand...

Ahhh... I PMed you about a router, but it sounds like you want a cell-thingamajiggy.

When we were in the OC we had lousy signal at the house with Sprint, and they gave us one of those signal extenders. It worked... Stick it next to a window and it will pick up a faint signal and amplify it for you and any neighbor on the same carrier.
 
It'd be kinda pointless to put the extender in the same box as the router. Defeats the purpose.

If you plan to have cable + internet your provider will provide the router.

I've had good luck with Netgear stuff. Not too expensive. The extender was about $80.
 
Faust29 said:
Ahhh... I PMed you about a router, but it sounds like you want a cell-thingamajiggy.

When we were in the OC we had lousy signal at the house with Sprint, and they gave us one of those signal extenders. It worked... Stick it next to a window and it will pick up a faint signal and amplify it for you and any neighbor on the same carrier.
Click to expand...
We had one in Lebec... wait a minute. i think i still have it boxed in the Cargo van... Okay, we may scratch the Verizon Cell Booster.
 
Easy E's ghost says this is the best option for NWA:

tin-can-telephone-19th-century-science-source.jpg
 
Lot of confusion in this thread, and I'm hearing three completely different products being tossed around:

(1) Signal amplifier/booster (for incoming wireless signal)
(2) Router / switch
(3) WiFi extender/ WiFi repeater / WiFi mirror (for outgoing WiFi network coverage)

Do you know who your Internet provider is going to be (Verizon wireless)? Confirming you will have fixed wireless versus cable Internet service? What sort of bandwidth and response time do you need (ie are you streaming 4K videos and playing intense multi-player PC games, or do you just surf the net and send/receive emails?)

A lot of people don't know this, but the main reason why routers don't simply provide enough signal strength to cover a large house is because the outgoing signal strength is limited by the FCC (depending upon the transmission band). So every router is going to have a max power limit on the amplifier, and maximum gain limit on the antenna(e). Unless you own the right router, and have the knowledge to hack the firmware to do a little "not covered by warranty" signal boosting, you are going to have to go with an aftermarket work-around (depending where you locate your router, and whether or not you want to stream NASCAR races to your BBQ way out in your back yard).

So like all tech answers, you have to start with (1) what do you want to accomplish and (2) what do you have to work with? In some cases, the answer might be as simple as a sheet of aluminum foil placed in the right location - though the aftermarket WiFi folks don't want people to know this.
 
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SnakeCharmer said:
This one ought to do the trick, yes?
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Interestingly... that is a router with an internal switch :) Most routers have internal switches, but not all... just like you can buy a switch that isn't a router :)

Networking is cool, and network security is super cool. I used to use routers without switches to run two different computers (one Windows, one Linux) on the same data stream so that I could snoop on encrypted network traffic that was being sent to my PC :)
 
floyd said:
Ubiquiti products are great. These 2 are a good setup. The access point can be powered over ethernet so you don't need to run power to wherever you mount it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016XYQ3WK/?tag=imtbtrails-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LV8YZLK/?tag=imtbtrails-20
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Thanks Floyd!!!




Okay... so here is what I did do...
  • I forgot that I have stored a Verizon Cell Signal Booster, so need there is solved.
  • I Went to Best Buy on my way home last night and purchased a NETGEAR Nighthawk R7000 AC1900 WiFi Router. Claims a 5,000 square foot range and looks to be able to handle solid streaming capabilities. However it does not chew up wood @SnakeCharmer ... :(
  • As well. I have a NETGEAR WiFi Signal Booster sitting next to cell booster in a box I also forgot about that will go in the Shop aka "Man Cavern".
So I think I'm set!
But would be interested to hear more about WiFi and Aluminum Foil @BonsaiNut ? :)


NETGEAR Nighthawk (Kinda looks a little like something built by Lockheed)
upload_2021-6-3_9-53-22.png
 
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Mikie said:
Okay, leaving tomorrow night to head to Northwest Arkansas to spend a couple of weeks at the new homestead.
I got to pick up a WiFi Router for the place and not sure what to get.
I'm willing to pay the price and cry once but I also want to have gas money to get home after the stay.

Any IT guys with suggestions?
As well, the does not appear to have a Cell Tower that nearby so signal is weak in that area. Anyone use or experience a solid Verizon Signal Booster that they have had good luck with? Heading to Best Buy after work today.
Click to expand...

Check out Starlink and be a part of internet history from the ground floor. I had a chance to see the satellites in action last weekend from Catalina. It's a new World...

https://www.starlink.com/

 
Mikie said:
But would be interested to hear more about WiFi and Aluminum Foil @BonsaiNut ?
Click to expand...

netgear.jpg


Here's my Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000, which I'm very happy with. It is located in the kitchen pantry, which is the most central location I could find in the house that had easy access to the cable modem and where I could also run CAT6 cable through the wall to the PC's in the dining room/remote work office. It provides very strong coverage for a 4000 sq foot house - even 5GHz in the basement.

If you can't centrally locate your router, you can easily boost your WiFi signal strength by creating a DIY directional dish out of cardboard and aluminum foil. In a perfect world you would have a parabolic shape with the dish behind the router - pointing the signal out in the general direction of where you wanted the amplification. However I have gotten quite decent results with a simple piece of cardboard that I folded into a flat panel with two side wings, and covered with aluminum foil (no I'm not kidding). There are a lot of videos out there with people testing different configs, but even this guy with his crumpled aluminum foil saw about 20% gains. I saw 25% or better, depending how I set up my "dish" and where I tested. It made a big difference with a TiVo box that would regularly drop connection without the aluminum, but remained connected to the WiFi like a champ as long as I beamed in its direction - through two house walls and down a long hallway. Easy enough to test - just get a WiFi signal tester app on your phone and go nuts! BTW... needless to say you want a smooth surface on your dish, not crumpled like what this joker has :)

 
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BonsaiNut said:
View attachment 75546

Here's my Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000, which I'm very happy with. It is located in the kitchen pantry, which is the most central location I could find in the house that had easy access to the cable modem and where I could also run CAT6 cable through the wall to the PC's in the dining room/remote work office. It provides very strong coverage for a 4000 sq foot house - even 5GHz in the basement.

If you can't centrally locate your router, you can easily boost your WiFi signal strength by creating a DIY directional dish out of cardboard and aluminum foil. In a perfect world you would have a parabolic shape with the dish behind the router - pointing the signal out in the general direction of where you wanted the amplification. However I have gotten quite decent results with a simple piece of cardboard that I folded into a flat panel with two side wings, and covered with aluminum foil (no I'm not kidding). There are a lot of videos out there with people testing different configs, but even this guy with his crumpled aluminum foil saw about 20% gains. I saw 25% or better, depending how I set up my "dish" and where I tested. It made a big difference with a TiVo box that would regularly drop connection without the aluminum, but remained connected to the WiFi like a champ as long as I beamed in its direction - through two house walls. Easy enough to test - just get a WiFi signal tester app on your phone and go nuts! BTW... needless to say you want a smooth surface on your dish, not crumpled like what this joker has :)

Click to expand...
Whew! I thought we were talking another Aluminum Foil Hat! (Joking)
Good to know!
Thanks Greg!
 
RT-AC5300 ASUS. I asked around my network pals. they all came back with the same answer. had mine for about a year. they still sell it at Bust Bye. but buy now technology is moving on. I run CREO on it when my son is streaming vidiot games. no problems. all the while Verison is streaming too.
 
da big hills said:
RT-AC5300 ASUS. I asked around my network pals. they all came back with the same answer. had mine for about a year. they still sell it at Bust Bye. but buy now technology is moving on. I run CREO on it when my son is streaming vidiot games. no problems. all the while Verison is streaming too.
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I have one as well. It is actually my #1 router that I was using in my home when we moved from SoCal. Right now it is in a box waiting for a new life when we build our new home. I can use the ASUS as a primary router and the Netgear as a wireless repeater if I need to.
 
Mikie said:
  • I Went to Best Buy on my way home last night and purchased a NETGEAR Nighthawk R7000 AC1900 WiFi Router. Claims a 5,000 square foot range and looks to be able to handle solid streaming capabilities. However it does not chew up wood @SnakeCharmer ... :(
  • As well. I have a NETGEAR WiFi Signal Booster sitting next to cell booster in a box I also forgot about that will go in the Shop aka "Man Cavern".
Click to expand...

Are you only after good coverage in and around the house or are you trying to project the signal to outbuildings/etc? The mention of a WiFi extender(repeater) is why I ask.
 
I was doing lightning strikes to my engine. We were measuring inductance into the controller, valves and instruments via the harnesses. At first my work stations would drop out on each pulse. In ended up putting foil between me and the engine. Everything was fine after I grounded it. Got to keep the magic smoke in its place. (our foil is 3 foot wide)
 
Agent Orange said:
Are you only after good coverage in and around the house or are you trying to project the signal to outbuildings/etc? The mention of a WiFi extender(repeater) is why I ask.
Click to expand...
The focus was fast for streaming. We chose not to get anything like Dish or Direct TV, so streaming is our primary evening entertainer.
The Methear we purchased got hooked up yesterday and kills it. Great speed and coverage. The shop has a big screen in there as well. However I did not realize the previous owner wired directly to it so I’m good either way.
Thank you!
 
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