SM7004VWBR - Barricade Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router

I have seen this router advertized for a very good price. I know it's
obsolete, I have a G router, but was wondering what peoples opinion was
of my getting my sister and brother-in-law to get one of these to use as
a firewall? I would think it's better than nothing from that perspective.
It would also allow me to use my laptop wirelessly when I visit.
I realize it doesn't have WPA encryption but for just surfing the net,
would it be a good idea?

Tim <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I have seen this router advertized for a very good price. I know it's
> obsolete, I have a G router, but was wondering what peoples opinion was
> of my getting my sister and brother-in-law to get one of these to use as
> a firewall? I would think it's better than nothing from that perspective.
> It would also allow me to use my laptop wirelessly when I visit.
> I realize it doesn't have WPA encryption but for just surfing the net,
> would it be a good idea?

In terms of firewall, it is better than some. It has stateful packet
inspection, which is missing from the Linksys.
There are two versions. The early version would drop the Wireless after 24
hours or so. Some people say that is an overheat problem, and that making
sure it has good air circulation, or using a metal pan underneath as a
heatsink eliminates that problem.
The newer version hasn't caused as much noise in this newsgroup, so I
suppose that it works fine. I know that Fry's Electronics stopped selling
SMC products about the same time as they had pallets of the early units on
sale cheap. It was either a closeout or they became very annoyed at the
return rate.

A google search of this newsgroup would be overwhelming. Look at the more
recent articles, 'cause the early articles are all bad ;-)

< http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...=Google+Search >


--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5

I'd stay away from the SMC line of routers. I bought the 54g and it
locked up frequently and had really crappy range. Oh, and the SPI on
the router was the pits. If you tried to turn off parts of it, the
router would become unstable, and if you turned on the entire SPI, it
would cause some network traffic to be completely eaten by the router
(some online games I play were a no-go).
---
Rob

(E-Mail Removed) wrote in message news:<bmroan$a2t$(E-Mail Removed)>...
> Tim <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > I have seen this router advertized for a very good price. I know it's
> > obsolete, I have a G router, but was wondering what peoples opinion was
> > of my getting my sister and brother-in-law to get one of these to use as
> > a firewall? I would think it's better than nothing from that perspective.
> > It would also allow me to use my laptop wirelessly when I visit.
> > I realize it doesn't have WPA encryption but for just surfing the net,
> > would it be a good idea?
>
> In terms of firewall, it is better than some. It has stateful packet
> inspection, which is missing from the Linksys.
> There are two versions. The early version would drop the Wireless after 24
> hours or so. Some people say that is an overheat problem, and that making
> sure it has good air circulation, or using a metal pan underneath as a
> heatsink eliminates that problem.
> The newer version hasn't caused as much noise in this newsgroup, so I
> suppose that it works fine. I know that Fry's Electronics stopped selling
> SMC products about the same time as they had pallets of the early units on
> sale cheap. It was either a closeout or they became very annoyed at the
> return rate.
>
> A google search of this newsgroup would be overwhelming. Look at the more
> recent articles, 'cause the early articles are all bad ;-)
>
> < http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...=Google+Search >

You mean the one with "lifetime" warrantee? LOL!! I bought mine in April
2001, only to find out the mothballed the product about a year later,
which voided the warrantee with NOT notice to me (as a registered user).

I don't think I'll ever buy an SMC product again. At least, the other
companies are up front with their warrantees being limited in length.
--------------------------------------------

Tim wrote:
> I have seen this router advertized for a very good price. I know it's
> obsolete, I have a G router, but was wondering what peoples opinion was
> of my getting my sister and brother-in-law to get one of these to use as
> a firewall? I would think it's better than nothing from that perspective.
> It would also allow me to use my laptop wirelessly when I visit.
> I realize it doesn't have WPA encryption but for just surfing the net,
> would it be a good idea?
>

Robert Marshall <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> You mean the one with "lifetime" warrantee? LOL!! I bought mine in April
> 2001, only to find out the mothballed the product about a year later,
> which voided the warrantee with NOT notice to me (as a registered user).

The SMC7004VWBR is still being sold, so is certainly a current product, and
is listed as such on their warranty web page.

> I don't think I'll ever buy an SMC product again. At least, the other
> companies are up front with their warrantees being limited in length.
> --------------------------------------------

You'd rather have a 90 day warranty than one that lasts as long as the
product is being manufactured? It isn't clear how much advanced notice
is given, and the list is August 2002, so it might not even be something
that they do anymore.

I got an advanced replacement SMC7004WFW for my failed SMC7004VWBR.


--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5