Netgear RangeMax DG834PN Wireless Modem Router Query

Hello,

I'm thinking about replacing my (wired) Netgear DG834 router with a Netgear
(RangeMax)
DG834PN Wireless Modem Router.

I've read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk
Some say they've had problems with it including dropped connections while
others say that
it's a great piece of kit and they've had no problems at all. So I'm still
none the wiser!

Has anyone got this model? What are it's good and bad points? Is it easy to
set up and
configure?

Thanks for all replies.

On Tue, 20 May 2008 20:04:03 +0100, Paul Maskell wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm thinking about replacing my (wired) Netgear DG834 router with a
> Netgear (RangeMax)
> DG834PN Wireless Modem Router.
>
> I've read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk Some say they've had problems with
> it including dropped connections while others say that
> it's a great piece of kit and they've had no problems at all. So I'm
> still none the wiser!
>
> Has anyone got this model? What are it's good and bad points? Is it easy
> to set up and
> configure?
>
> Thanks for all replies.

I have this model. It is quite reliable. It doesn't need any regular
reboots or anything. Mine runs on firmware version 1.03.35 which handles
VPN etc. just fine. I have tried other firmware versions which
_possibly_ caused dropped connections and IIRC also rendered VPN
inoperative.

However, I had the previous version (non-rangemax) and bought this model
for the extended wireless range. The improvement which had been
advertised as an extra 50% coverage was relatively disappointing. I
ended up extending my network with homeplugs. Having said that, the
wireless is also reliable and problem free. It has up to wpa2 security.
I also employ the MAC filtering.

The setup is very easy. There is a wizard to take you through it. I
wouldn't expect anyone to have any problems getting connected. There is
a reasonable range of settings. DHCP, port forwarding etc. All are
useful and easy to set up. The defaults seem sensible too for those who
don't want to meddle.

JohnK

Paul Maskell wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm thinking about replacing my (wired) Netgear DG834 router with a
> Netgear (RangeMax)
> DG834PN Wireless Modem Router.
>
> I've read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk
> Some say they've had problems with it including dropped connections
> while others say that
> it's a great piece of kit and they've had no problems at all. So I'm
> still none the wiser!
>
> Has anyone got this model? What are it's good and bad points? Is it easy
> to set up and
> configure?
>
> Thanks for all replies.

I've got both a DG834 and a DG834N. The DG834N uses the same broadcom
chipset as the DG834PN and DG834GT, so ADSL functionality should be
similar. In terms of connection speed/connection stability there is very
little to choose between the DG834 and a DG834N.

I still often use the DG834 because it offers VPN endpoint software and
the DG834N doesn't. The web management interface is nearly identical.
The DG834N additionally offers the ADSLCTL program, via telnet, which
offers extra features, most notably it allows me to set the target SNR.

I do still have a problem with p2p where if the DG834 is left on for
days with p2p running it can cause a VOIP signal to break up. I'm
currently testing to see if this is the case with the DG834N.

If I were you I would save your money.

"Paul Maskell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I'm thinking about replacing my (wired) Netgear DG834 router with a Netgear
>(RangeMax)
>DG834PN Wireless Modem Router.
>
>I've read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk
>Some say they've had problems with it including dropped connections while
>others say that
>it's a great piece of kit and they've had no problems at all. So I'm still
>none the wiser!
>
>Has anyone got this model? What are it's good and bad points? Is it easy to
>set up and
>configure?
>
>Thanks for all replies.

If your on a poor line forget it go for the DG834GT instead. AFAIK "N" is only
Beta and will probably never be finalized. The SKY version of theDG834GT
can be bought for under £30 New on ebay. Easily flashed back to the netgear
firmware or the better still hacked firmwares.

On my line DG834PN is totally unusable drops the connection every
few seconds.

Sean

Sean B wrote:
> "Paul Maskell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm thinking about replacing my (wired) Netgear DG834 router with a
>> Netgear (RangeMax)
>> DG834PN Wireless Modem Router.
>>
>> I've read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk
>> Some say they've had problems with it including dropped connections
>> while others say that
>> it's a great piece of kit and they've had no problems at all. So I'm
>> still none the wiser!
>>
>> Has anyone got this model? What are it's good and bad points? Is it
>> easy to set up and
>> configure?
>>
>> Thanks for all replies.
>
> If your on a poor line forget it go for the DG834GT instead. AFAIK
> "N" is only Beta and will probably never be finalized. The SKY
> version of theDG834GT
> can be bought for under £30 New on ebay. Easily flashed back to the
> netgear firmware or the better still hacked firmwares.
>
> On my line DG834PN is totally unusable drops the connection every
> few seconds.
>
> Sean

When you say that the "N" is beta, fair enough, I understand that. However,
the "N" refers to wireless, ie, on the LAN side, and so has nothing to do
with the telephone-line-facing, or WAN side of things, so why do you think
it's unsuitable for poor lines?

John

"John" <replyingroup@notemail> wrote in message
news:8ZudnVxoovG2-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Sean B wrote:
>> "Paul Maskell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I'm thinking about replacing my (wired) Netgear DG834 router with a
>>> Netgear (RangeMax)
>>> DG834PN Wireless Modem Router.
>>>
>>> I've read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk
>>> Some say they've had problems with it including dropped connections
>>> while others say that
>>> it's a great piece of kit and they've had no problems at all. So I'm
>>> still none the wiser!
>>>
>>> Has anyone got this model? What are it's good and bad points? Is it
>>> easy to set up and
>>> configure?
>>>
>>> Thanks for all replies.
>>
>> If your on a poor line forget it go for the DG834GT instead. AFAIK
>> "N" is only Beta and will probably never be finalized. The SKY
>> version of theDG834GT
>> can be bought for under £30 New on ebay. Easily flashed back to the
>> netgear firmware or the better still hacked firmwares.
>>
>> On my line DG834PN is totally unusable drops the connection every
>> few seconds.
>>
>> Sean
>
> When you say that the "N" is beta, fair enough, I understand that.
> However, the "N" refers to wireless, ie, on the LAN side, and so has
> nothing to do with the telephone-line-facing, or WAN side of things, so
> why do you think it's unsuitable for poor lines?

Yes I was puzzled by the relationship between those two statements.

I've had problems with the DG834N (as opposed to PN) not talking to certain
non-Netgear wireless cards - Belkin, particularly. The symptom is that the
card gets an IP address and can communicate to the internet perfectly, but
cannot ping or be pinged by any other PC on the network and therefore
file/printer does not work. Changing to a different card (or using a
different router such as the PN with the Belkin card) works fine.

Evidently the Wireless G capabilities of the N router leave something to be
desired.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, JohnK
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>I have this model. It is quite reliable. It doesn't need any regular
>reboots or anything. Mine runs on firmware version 1.03.35 which
>handles VPN etc. just fine. I have tried other firmware versions which
>_possibly_ caused dropped connections and IIRC also rendered VPN
>inoperative.
>
>However, I had the previous version (non-rangemax) and bought this
>model for the extended wireless range. The improvement which had been
>advertised as an extra 50% coverage was relatively disappointing. I
>ended up extending my network with homeplugs. Having said that, the
>wireless is also reliable and problem free. It has up to wpa2
>security. I also employ the MAC filtering.
>
>The setup is very easy. There is a wizard to take you through it. I
>wouldn't expect anyone to have any problems getting connected. There
>is a reasonable range of settings. DHCP, port forwarding etc. All are
>useful and easy to set up. The defaults seem sensible too for those
>who don't want to meddle.
>
I have just ordered this model so your comments are useful, however some
other's comment are more disturbing.

On the point of increased range I was advised that to get the MIMO
facility you need to have special MIMO wireless adapters for your
PCs/laptops.
--
Peter Pratten
Please reply in group only