Wireless Modems

Hi Everyone,

I'm thinking of upgrading my dial-up connection and entering the 21st
century via broadband however my PC is located upstairs from where my
telephone point is and I remember reading somewhere that cable extensions
aren't always very good for broadband and anyway I'm reluctant to start
installing another 20m of cabling on top of the normal telephone cable.

A friend has suggested using a wireless modem, is this a viable option?
I've only one PC which should simply matters but would it noticeably affect
the speed of the connection and how straight forward are they to install
(i.e. are they plug and play)? Also am I likely to get a decent signal
downstairs to upstairs?

If it's relevant, it's quite an old PC running W98SE.

Thanks

> A friend has suggested using a wireless modem, is this a viable option?

It may depend on local interference whether you can get a reliable
connection or not. I keep getting called back to my wifes' friends' to
see if I can sort theirs out - their neighbour has a DECT phone, and it
screws the connection up perhaps 50% of the time.

Other factors (which I recently read) may be things like how new your
property is - i.e. if it has plasterboard walls, they may be foil-backed
which again can block the signal.

I'm running via a hardwired phone extension and it hasn't given me any
problems at all - and given the additional security risks* with
wireless, I tend to steer people towards wired wherever possible.

*if you don't secure it, there's nothing stopping the local paedo
sitting outside yours with a laptop getting his "fill" - when the police
come knocking he's long gone, leaving you to explain why your connection
was being used to look at kids in compromising positions.

If you want to hardwire an extension, just connect pins 2,3 and 5 to the
faceplate at either end, with the same colour to each.

> If it's relevant, it's quite an old PC running W98SE.

Quite possibly - you'll need to make sure any wireless adaptor you buy
supports 98SE

"Colin Wilson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) t...
> > A friend has suggested using a wireless modem, is this a viable option?
>
> It may depend on local interference whether you can get a reliable
> connection or not. I keep getting called back to my wifes' friends' to
> see if I can sort theirs out - their neighbour has a DECT phone, and it
> screws the connection up perhaps 50% of the time.
>
> Other factors (which I recently read) may be things like how new your
> property is - i.e. if it has plasterboard walls, they may be foil-backed
> which again can block the signal.
>
> I'm running via a hardwired phone extension and it hasn't given me any
> problems at all - and given the additional security risks* with
> wireless, I tend to steer people towards wired wherever possible.
>
> *if you don't secure it, there's nothing stopping the local paedo
> sitting outside yours with a laptop getting his "fill" - when the police
> come knocking he's long gone, leaving you to explain why your connection
> was being used to look at kids in compromising positions.
>
> If you want to hardwire an extension, just connect pins 2,3 and 5 to the
> faceplate at either end, with the same colour to each.
>
> > If it's relevant, it's quite an old PC running W98SE.
>
> Quite possibly - you'll need to make sure any wireless adaptor you buy
> supports 98SE

Thanks, bear with me as I slowly join the dots.......

My PC at the moment is currently connected to the main box by a (long)
hardwired standard telephone cable extension. Do I understand you correctly
to say that this would be sufficient to run the broadband up to where my PC
is? Equally this junction box also runs a second phone, would this be
precluded by such a broadband set-up?

Thanks for your patience!

Colin Wilson wrote:
>> A friend has suggested using a wireless modem, is this a viable
>> option?
>
> It may depend on local interference whether you can get a reliable
> connection or not. I keep getting called back to my wifes' friends'
> to
> see if I can sort theirs out - their neighbour has a DECT phone, and
> it screws the connection up perhaps 50% of the time.
>
> Other factors (which I recently read) may be things like how new
> your
> property is - i.e. if it has plasterboard walls, they may be
> foil-backed which again can block the signal.
>
> I'm running via a hardwired phone extension and it hasn't given me
> any
> problems at all - and given the additional security risks* with
> wireless, I tend to steer people towards wired wherever possible.
>
> *if you don't secure it, there's nothing stopping the local paedo
> sitting outside yours with a laptop getting his "fill" - when the
> police come knocking he's long gone, leaving you to explain why your
> connection was being used to look at kids in compromising positions.
>
> If you want to hardwire an extension, just connect pins 2,3 and 5 to
> the faceplate at either end, with the same colour to each.
>
>> If it's relevant, it's quite an old PC running W98SE.
>
> Quite possibly - you'll need to make sure any wireless adaptor you
> buy
> supports 98SE

Ever thought of networking via the mains.......I kid you not

Endulini wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I'm thinking of upgrading my dial-up connection and entering the 21st
> century via broadband however my PC is located upstairs from where my
> telephone point is and I remember reading somewhere that cable extensions
> aren't always very good for broadband and anyway I'm reluctant to start
> installing another 20m of cabling on top of the normal telephone cable.

I will presume you are referring to ADSL.

Wireless ADSL routers are fantastic and can really free up your internet,
however, a few things to remember:

i) Generally wireless routers are tricky to install for people who are not
at least a little bit confident with networking, a few notable exceptions
exist to this, especially with routers supplied by mainstream ISPs, such as
BT and Orange, which are much easier to configure, and will probably work
out of the box.
ii) Generally wireless routers are unreliable, with some of the market
leaders having 20% to 50% failure rates within 12 months. Failures are very
very very common, personally, the only low/mid range routers I have found
that are reliable are Netgear and 3com. With Belkin been the worst, really
super bad, with linksys and buffalo getting a mention for pure instability.


Advice for you, either get a wireless router with your ISP, who can then
provide support, or get a local reputable computer engineer to acquire and
install the router with you, and when it goes tits up you can ring him up to
talk you through fixing it.

Win98se is not a problem, you might find some of the ISPs might not support
win98se, but you should be fine.

Gaz

I've used a pair of these when wireless wasn't robust enough. LAN card in PC
and ethernet plug on ADSL/modem
http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-pl-85pe.htm

> My PC at the moment is currently connected to the main box by a (long)
> hardwired standard telephone cable extension. Do I understand you correctly
> to say that this would be sufficient to run the broadband up to where my PC
> is? Equally this junction box also runs a second phone, would this be
> precluded by such a broadband set-up?

It`ll probably be fine on the end of an extension - lets face it, an
extension isn`t that different from the miles of cable BT used to get it
to you in the first place.

One thing to bear in mind is the use of filters for every phone outlet
that has a phone plugged into it (including things like Sky boxes) -
without them the broadband connection may be prone to dropping if
someone picks up a phone.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)> ,
(E-Mail Removed) (Colin Wilson) wrote:

> when the police
> come knocking he's long gone, leaving you to explain why your
> connection was being used to look at kids in compromising
> positions.

Not true - they have to prove it was you doing it. That's a basic
tenet of law.

--
Paul Cummins

**FREE** mobile phones, with FREE line rental
http://www.gstgroup.co.uk/

Paul Cummins wrote:
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)> ,
> (E-Mail Removed) (Colin Wilson) wrote:
>
>> when the police
>> come knocking he's long gone, leaving you to explain why your
>> connection was being used to look at kids in compromising
>> positions.
>
> Not true - they have to prove it was you doing it. That's a basic
> tenet of law.

They can track it your connection just by looking at the packets as
each & every one would have the IP of your connection on it, simple if
you just think about it.

Colin Wilson wrote:
>> My PC at the moment is currently connected to the main box by a
>> (long) hardwired standard telephone cable extension. Do I
>> understand
>> you correctly to say that this would be sufficient to run the
>> broadband up to where my PC is? Equally this junction box also runs
>> a second phone, would this be precluded by such a broadband set-up?
>
> It`ll probably be fine on the end of an extension - lets face it, an
> extension isn`t that different from the miles of cable BT used to
> get
> it to you in the first place.

You don't know how wrong you could be, I've come up against
installations where the extensions have doubled the loop loss of the
line for a start. Also the bell wire can act as a long wire aeriel
picking up enough RF to effectively make your ADSL signal useless.

So there's 2 reasons why an extension can make a serious dent in your
service, thought up in less than 60 seconds.
>
> One thing to bear in mind is the use of filters for every phone
> outlet
> that has a phone plugged into it (including things like Sky boxes) -
> without them the broadband connection may be prone to dropping if
> someone picks up a phone.

How that I can't fault you on...