Going wireless - basic questions

Hallo

I have few very basic questions
I've got a notebook which connects to the internet through a cable modem
which I've got from my cable TV company. I want to make the connecion
wireless. What I have found out so far is that I need to get a network
adapter and a wireless router.
And now the questions:
1. Are the two devices all that I need to get?
2. Which standars shall I choose? 802.11g or 802.11b? And why this one?
3. How good is the strength of the signal? What if there is a wall on the
way?
4. Does the quality of the connection differ from the basic wire connection?

Thanks

Go with 11g. It is newer, backwards compatible with 11b, faster, and should
cost much more if any. The most inexpensive way to go is to get a wireless
router. The other option is to buy a router and access point. This will
cost you more than double the wireless router, but adds some flexibility. I
always choose to separate components, but if you are looking for something
simple, the wireless router is the way to go. You also need to get a
wireless adapter for your PC. Since you are using a notebook, you can
either USB or PCMCIA.

Signal strength depends upon many things. You should be able to go through
several walls and maybe a couple of floors. For instance, I had an access
point in the basement which worked on the second floor. I since added a
second access point on the second floor so that I have very good coverage
throughout the entire house. For my laptop, I use my wireless connection
most of the time. The only time I use a wired connection is if I am backing
up or restoring files to my local server. In that case, the wired
connection is much faster.

Jeff


"Miffy" <nospam.@no.spam> wrote in message news:cj8qk2$c2h$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hallo
>
> I have few very basic questions
> I've got a notebook which connects to the internet through a cable modem
> which I've got from my cable TV company. I want to make the connecion
> wireless. What I have found out so far is that I need to get a network
> adapter and a wireless router.
> And now the questions:
> 1. Are the two devices all that I need to get?
> 2. Which standars shall I choose? 802.11g or 802.11b? And why this one?
> 3. How good is the strength of the signal? What if there is a wall on the
> way?
> 4. Does the quality of the connection differ from the basic wire
> connection?
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

> 3. How good is the strength of the signal? What if there is a wall on the
> way?
I've found out the hard way that if you have a refrigerator in the way of
your path you will get a low signal strength I had to move my router
out of the way. So far I found that was the only interference with my
802.11b wireless connection I don't know about 802.11g. I haven't noticed
interference with microwave ovens, but 802.11b has a 100 ft. radius. You
might be able to get by cheaper with 802.11b since it's been around awhile,
and actually it's all the bps you need since cable is only 2-5 mbps and
802.11b is 11 mbps.




"Miffy" <nospam.@no.spam> wrote in message news:cj8qk2$c2h$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hallo
>
> I have few very basic questions
> I've got a notebook which connects to the internet through a cable modem
> which I've got from my cable TV company. I want to make the connecion
> wireless. What I have found out so far is that I need to get a network
> adapter and a wireless router.
> And now the questions:
> 1. Are the two devices all that I need to get?
> 2. Which standars shall I choose? 802.11g or 802.11b? And why this one?
> 3. How good is the strength of the signal? What if there is a wall on the
> way?
> 4. Does the quality of the connection differ from the basic wire
> connection?
>
> Thanks
>
>
>

Thanks for response
By the network adapter of course I meant the wireless adapter, just had the
wrong name in my head at the moment
Now I only wonder about the flexibility which I would get with an access
point and router and wouldn't get with a wireless router. I am not sure if I
need it and because the money difference is pretty big, I have doubts.
So what are the adventages of having AP and router?

If your access point and router are going to be colocated, then there is no
advantage. In my case, I wired my house for CAT5. Because I have wiring
everywhere, I can place the access point anywhere in the house so that I
have good coverage. The router is next to my cable modem which is in a
fixed location.

I would think that in your situation, you would get by with a wireless
router as you are probably going wireless so that you do not have to run
CAT5 everywhere. My situation is different in that I wanted our PCs to be
wired, but my laptop to be wireless.

Jeff


"Miffy" <nospam.@no.spam> wrote in message news:cj97in$qmm$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> Thanks for response
> By the network adapter of course I meant the wireless adapter, just had
> the wrong name in my head at the moment
> Now I only wonder about the flexibility which I would get with an access
> point and router and wouldn't get with a wireless router. I am not sure if
> I need it and because the money difference is pretty big, I have doubts.
> So what are the adventages of having AP and router?
>
>

Generally speaking, the advantage of g is a faster transfer of data between
networked computers. I doubt that it would make any difference on Internet
downloads.
So, if you only plan on 1 computer, b is fine. But the cost of g is so
little more, it would prepare you for the 2nd computer on the LAN.


"Jerry Benge" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:CaU5d.125536$D%.120257@attbi_s51...
>> 3. How good is the strength of the signal? What if there is a wall on the
>> way?
> I've found out the hard way that if you have a refrigerator in the way of
> your path you will get a low signal strength I had to move my router
> out of the way. So far I found that was the only interference with my
> 802.11b wireless connection I don't know about 802.11g. I haven't noticed
> interference with microwave ovens, but 802.11b has a 100 ft. radius. You
> might be able to get by cheaper with 802.11b since it's been around
> awhile, and actually it's all the bps you need since cable is only 2-5
> mbps and 802.11b is 11 mbps.
>
>
>
>
> "Miffy" <nospam.@no.spam> wrote in message
> news:cj8qk2$c2h$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hallo
>>
>> I have few very basic questions
>> I've got a notebook which connects to the internet through a cable modem
>> which I've got from my cable TV company. I want to make the connecion
>> wireless. What I have found out so far is that I need to get a network
>> adapter and a wireless router.
>> And now the questions:
>> 1. Are the two devices all that I need to get?
>> 2. Which standars shall I choose? 802.11g or 802.11b? And why this one?
>> 3. How good is the strength of the signal? What if there is a wall on the
>> way?
>> 4. Does the quality of the connection differ from the basic wire
>> connection?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>>
>
>

Thanks for reactions :]
I've decided I will go g after all because one computer is in the house is
only a temporary thing.
I think all is clear now. Thank you one more time