(I thought I might find something suitable here already given the similarities with empeg syncing and small size requirements. My searching didn't bring up much though)

So I'm likely to travel a bit in the next few months. One thing that often bugs me with hotel internet access is that it's wired ethernet and the cable is only 1 or 2m long making it impossible to use anywhere other than the desk they provide. Carrying my own 5m (or more) ethernet cable starts getting a little bulky.

So I was looking for a small ethernet to wireless router I could take with me and then just use the laptop Wifi in the room and maybe a few rooms either side if a colleague is with me.

I found the Dlink DWL-G730AP
http://www.dlink.com.au/Products.aspx?Sec=1&Sub1=2&Sub2=5&PID=215

and the Asus WL330
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=12&l2=41&l3=0&model=58&modelmenu=1

They are both a little old and I thought I might be able to find something newer, better, smaller. But I haven't yet.

e.g. the Dlink doesn't even have WPA. However, given the transient nature of what I'm trying to do, I'm not overly fussed about that. I will be in one hotel room for 3-4 weeks at a time though. It might be a problem if I want to re-use it back home on my WPA2 network. (edit: it does appear to support WPA in the manual, the features page only mentions WEP though).

Has anyone come across a better/smaller one in their travels? The Dlink at least would be a good solution for in car syncing of an empeg.

The Dlink is also good because it can be powered by USB. This would mean a separate USB power pack charger (since when it's actually needed, the laptop won't be nearby), but that's not so bad since it would give the possibility of charging a cell phone etc as well without having to keep the laptop on overnight.

And happy holidays to all!

I have a Linksys Travel Router which works well.

Regards

Mark

Maybe an Apple AirPort Express? It can do double-duty as an AirTunes target on your home network as well.

The Dlink has "WPA-1" -- no AES, but everything else is there.

I have one of those here, sitting mostly unused these days, now that we've added more cat5 around the place. Last use was to connect a kitchen iMac to the net, a couple of years ago. Worked fine with a mixed WPA 1/2 router.


Killer feature, that one!

If you want a slightly used DWL-G730AP for less than retail, I'll happily consider an offer and mail it down to ya! Or can you get these things cheap enough down under now?

Cheers

That's a great product. Too bad they discontinued it and replaced it with a device that has an external power supply. I might have to find one used.

Why "maybe"? That's exactly what he's looking for. Just because it has an additional feature doesn't make it the wrong thing.

In addition, it seems like all of the other currently available travel routers have external bricks, which are a gigantic pain to travel with.

I'd second the Apple Airport Express. It's likely to be a little more expensive then the others, but it's also probably going to be useful to you around the house as well.

Beyond AirTunes, it can be used as a wireless range extender, printer sharing, or even as an ethernet to wireless bridge for connecting a non wireless computer to your network. I've found mine well worth the investment, especially when paired with speakers that can draw power over USB. This has allowed me to just plug in the Airport express somewhere, and have music anywhere within range of my network. And the convenient thing is that it allows for several profiles to be stored on it, so you can easily switch between all these configurations without having to set everything up again.

The current (and older express units) all support WPA2, so encryption shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, the airport express is the best thing I know of on the market currently. Anything with a brick of any size shouldn't be considered a travel router.

I travel with my Linksys travel router, and it's always coming in handy. For travel, it's much better than an airport express. It weighs about a quarter what the airport express weighs, can be configured through a web browser, and has a killer ap client/ap mode where it can connect to an unencrypted network for it's wan connection and share it over it's own wireless connection. Made my week in San Antonio much more pleasant, as the metro wifi reached the balcony but not the room.

See I knew I'd get a good answer here

Thanks for the offer Mark. The DWL-G730AP runs about A$80 at the moment.

I like the look of the Linksys WRT54GS although it would seem a US only design by the power supply pins (although it is 100-240VAC). Would be fine in China (where I am right now) since most power points will take any sort of plug. Otherwise requires a power adapter (would be nice if they could have included that :)) Ebay has a couple - after shipping I'm looking around A$100. Still might be the one I go for. The dual wireless ("repeater") option sounds neat.

Airport Express also runs easily A$100+ delivered on ebay. My experience with Apple stuff is that what it does it does well, but sometimes is a bit limited in features. Will read the manual.

I agree, any sort of external "brick" is pain. I'm glad I finally got a cell phone that can actually charge from USB (not just for data exchange).

Thanks guys - now to have a look around China and see if I can find anything (although I did bring a 5m cable with me this time)

The only caveat with it is that it can only connect to an unencrypted network. It's basically a footnote in the manual, but can be frustrating when that's what you want to do.

Plug adapters are a pain. I believe the airport express takes standard apple AC plugs, so you can but the international set, but it's not cheap.

If you pull the "duckhead" off the airport express, you can plug in a generic "figure 8" AC cable into the box. I do this all the time with Apple PSUs when I come back to visit the UK and forget to bring the right plugs

Hugo

*finds discarded US bit of power supply*

*folds down pins*

*chuckles quietly*

Peter