802.11b question

is there a way to extend the area for a wireless? my friend gave me his wep code so I can piggyback his connection (he lives across the street), but it only has range in one section of my house. so I can place my laptop there, but that still leaves me without access for my desktop.
I guess what I want is something like a 'repeater' for the signal. but I think I want it to be a router as well so I can transfer files between my two computers.

is this a simple thing to set up, or do I need a number of different parts?

I really want to keep this cheap because I plan to move in a few months and will just get my own account once I do.

any ideas?

thanks much
-dan

If you get a Linksys WRT54G and apply a third party firmware like Sveasoft's, you can turn the router into an access point. That should send the signal out to the rest of your place.

I've tried LInksys's repeater. It has terrible instructions, makes no sense when you're setting it up, and will drive you mad trying to get it to work. I got it to work, even though the lights on the unit claimed it wasn't working, and I have no idea what I did. Fortunately, this was for someone else who I did not particularly want to speak with again, so it all worked out

The best thing about the WRT54G plan is that when you move and get your own service, you can turn the thing back into a router and use it normally.

[The WRT54GS will also work, just in case you search for the normal one and find that nobody carries it anymore]

first of all... thank you.

does 'access point' mean the same thing as 'repeater'?
I thought an access point would need to be wired to a lan, but I really don't know what I'm talking about. but hey, I'm learning.

how does one get their hands on the upgrade you mentioned?

edit: scratch that last question... google is my friend

Nope, you want a bridge or a repeater. They seem to require that the other end be configured properly. (WDS is the acronym you're looking for) Your other option is to buy a AP Client and a plain access point and connect them.

Matthew

"Poor Man's WiFi"?

(several other 'on-the-cheap' antenna options exist- google is your friend!)

Also, there are some new units out there that have an extended range. A friend of mine is doing the exact same thing (providing service to his neighbor) and got significantly better range with the new equipment, even with the same clients as usual.

And if you know where his AP is, you could just get a better antenna at your end - the typical 6 inchers are just 3dB, but you can get directional Huber Suhners for about £50 with 6dB but very directional, so they are wayyyy better!

Quote:
I guess what I want is something like a 'repeater' for the signal.

The Apple Airport Express will do it. Plug it in somewhere where it can get the signal, run the wizard thing and it will repeat the signal around the rest of your house. Its not cheap. But it can be a router, print server, and can be an iTunes audio output as well so it can be useful if you would also want it to do any of those things.

(edit) You will probably want to read this and see whether you can find out if your friends AP supports WDS before you go and buy anything thats not a bigger antenna!