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      02-17-2008, 04:23 AM   #1
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Question Wireless Router recommendations

Can anyone recommend a reasonable Wireless Router for home use ? Nothing fancy, easy setup, Wireless G (don't need B). What's Wireless N? Budget £50-£60 Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
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      02-17-2008, 04:36 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DervFan View Post
Can anyone recommend a reasonable Wireless Router for home use ? Nothing fancy, easy setup, Wireless G (don't need B). What's Wireless N? Budget £50-£60 Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
The first thing to decide is which kind:

1. One for BT with a build in ADSL modem or
2. One for cable which will be different

If you use BT then I tend to use Belkins, they are easy to set up and work well. I have had 3 failures in 3Com ADSL modems.

If you want to be a nerd and spend a lot of cash, get a Draytek Vigor; they are the best, but probably not what you use.

Try ebuyer.co.uk - they are cheap
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      02-17-2008, 04:52 AM   #3
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I hate Belkin, my boss decided just the other day we should have a wireless AP in the office so he could play with his iPhone and pops off to PC World and comes back with a Belkin... never seen such an impossible to set up heap of junk - came with a configuration utility to set the IP address that could see the unit but couldn't set the address. After ages fiddling the only way I could make the utliity work was to move a PC into the same subnet the device was set to, then the utility was able to set the address (despite reporting that it had been 'unable to configure').

Total heap of junk.
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      02-17-2008, 05:33 AM   #4
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If you dont want to spend the cash, but you want a solid router, try this out:

http://lifehacker.com/344765/turn-yo...er-with-tomato

Follow the link, read the article, and then buy one of the routers that are supported. Best thing to do. BTW, most routers nowadays support a-b-g wireless, and quite a few are supporting n-draft as well. All they are are different wavelengths for the router to operate on (I think, cause that equals increased range).

The only thing you need to know is whether or not your laptop or PC can handle N-draft wireless (should say so proudly somewhere, its relatively new), otherwise dont bother spending money on a router that can output that signal.
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      02-17-2008, 06:04 AM   #5
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As tisme says, Dervy, it depends on your net connection- ADSL or cable & also the use of VOIP (using a 'phone' over a net connection).

Have a look here for an idea of the different types of wireless routers.

You won't go far wrong with a Netgear DG834G v4 (ADSL) or a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 (cable).

There a lot of others available at similar prices. Try a search for a group test comparison of wireless routers.

All the best.


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      02-17-2008, 07:54 AM   #6
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I've used Netgear quite a bit, nice routers although we've had a few failures (my home one included). So, now I have a linksys which is a cheap Cisco and I'm pretty happy with it.

But if I were in the market for one just now, well it would be this one. It beaks your budget, but looks great.
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      02-17-2008, 08:03 AM   #7
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I had a Netgear Wifi ADSL router (powerful & 104Mbps) which I really rated, until I got a free BT home hub with free BT Vision and for agreeing to say with them for 18 months at about only £15/month (a small discount for their 8Meg broadband service). I was initially worried that the homehub would be a budget bit of slow kit full of problems, but its been fine - reasonable range and speed is fine.

See if you can get a good deal on a free BT Homehub by looking at BT.com - then ring up and try and get an even better deal - they are usually willing to negotiate! The Homehub comes with VOIP phone connection, a number of ethernet connectors, normal phone line input, and Wifi which works fine with my laptop/PC/Wii (11g I think).

(BT Vision (with 80Gb harddrive, its like Sky+) is great - especially considering its totally free!).
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      02-17-2008, 09:04 AM   #8
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I know you said that you were not going for a type N router but if you are tempted be very careful there are type types of type N.

Netgear is Draft 1 and will only give more than 54M if used with one of its own adapers but they do work well as a pair.
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      02-17-2008, 10:19 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrimsonRedE93 View Post
I know you said that you were not going for a type N router but if you are tempted be very careful there are type types of type N.

Netgear is Draft 1 and will only give more than 54M if used with one of its own adapers but they do work well as a pair.
I have a netgear DG834N and it works well though not quite as good a quality ADSL connection as my old DG834G. The G syncs with the exchange at 8150 kbps will the N can only achieve 8089 kbps. The N will however give goodish range and I have got upto 280mbps wireless connection speed
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      02-17-2008, 12:01 PM   #10
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Thanks for the feedback guys I'm with BT broadband, so will be looking at ADSL routers, not cable. I've had both Linksys and Netgear before, so will probably stick with one of theirs.
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      02-17-2008, 12:57 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DervFan View Post
Thanks for the feedback guys I'm with BT broadband, so will be looking at ADSL routers, not cable. I've had both Linksys and Netgear before, so will probably stick with one of theirs.
They are not difficult to configure especially the Netgear. You know where to ask if you hit a problem with the setup (Carlos will be a font of knowledge)
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      02-17-2008, 01:22 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveC View Post
I hate Belkin, my boss decided just the other day we should have a wireless AP in the office so he could play with his iPhone and pops off to PC World and comes back with a Belkin... never seen such an impossible to set up heap of junk - came with a configuration utility to set the IP address that could see the unit but couldn't set the address. After ages fiddling the only way I could make the utliity work was to move a PC into the same subnet the device was set to, then the utility was able to set the address (despite reporting that it had been 'unable to configure').

Total heap of junk.
Have to reply to that. I have never used the configuration utilities in routers. It is far easier to identify the router detault IP address and key that into your web browser. Always set up with a CAT5 cable first before trying wireless would be my advice.
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      02-17-2008, 02:15 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tisme View Post
Have to reply to that. I have never used the configuration utilities in routers. It is far easier to identify the router detault IP address and key that into your web browser. Always set up with a CAT5 cable first before trying wireless would be my advice.
Used to totally agree and adopt the same policy. Though now I dont bother with the cat 5 cable as the modern wireless seems stable enough. The default IP adress though is essential to get things properly configured though some of the Netgear kit a couple of years ago didn't like it if you tried to bypass their setup utility.
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      02-17-2008, 02:36 PM   #14
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      02-17-2008, 02:43 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve A View Post


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      02-17-2008, 03:18 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vivekk View Post


Viv
Right and thats how some of us feel about the threads on clay bars. At least the right ADSL modem is going to save you hassle etc

Lets be honest we all have our fetishes don't we Steve / Viv?
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      02-17-2008, 04:37 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwbmw View Post
Right and thats how some of us feel about the threads on clay bars. At least the right ADSL modem is going to save you hassle etc

Lets be honest we all have our fetishes don't we Steve / Viv?
Jason, I'm 'laughing', because it's usually I who gets the 'grief' from Steve, because of talking 'IT'!

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      02-17-2008, 06:16 PM   #18
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I have spent the last 6 months trying to sort out my BT DSL connection and have had more routers than I can shake a stick at.

The BT supplied 2Wire device was great but at 13 months old died and BT would not give me another.

So I bought a Zoom X6 from PC World (well it was Sunday morning and where else are you going to get a DSL router from) which was actually quite good but for some reason my mobile phone would not connect to it over wireless and would drop the DSL connection a couple of times a day (I am a long way from my exchange)

So I bought the Netgear DG834N which was reported as the dogs b@@@@cks with a price tag to match but it would drop the line a couple of times day like the Zoom but when it did it just locked up and needed a hard reset. It then started playing up on other things so I got it replaced and on the replacement, the wireless is faulty. I am now having to sue Dabs to get my money back.

I now have a Linksys WAG200G which I have had for 5 weeks and is 100% rock solid. No dropped DSL, solid wireless connections, OK speed.

Sometimes it is just nice to have something that "just works" and the Linksys does just that.
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      02-18-2008, 12:42 AM   #19
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If you have an idea as to what you want, and you don't feel like doing the DIY I suggested, then check out www.newegg.com.

Let's you input whatever requirements you want, and they are cheaper than most websites and all B&M stores. Best part is 99% of the people who leave feedback on products know what they are talking about, which makes picking an item a cinch.
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      02-18-2008, 03:32 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tisme View Post
Have to reply to that. I have never used the configuration utilities in routers. It is far easier to identify the router detault IP address and key that into your web browser. Always set up with a CAT5 cable first before trying wireless would be my advice.
It was cabled. The problem is (was) the device operates either as a wireless AP or a wireless extender - it was in extender mode and even wired up with correct subnet masking it wasn't responding on its IP address hence relying on the non functional utility to get it going.
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      02-18-2008, 03:47 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwbmw View Post
I have a netgear DG834N and it works well though not quite as good a quality ADSL connection as my old DG834G. The G syncs with the exchange at 8150 kbps will the N can only achieve 8089 kbps. The N will however give goodish range and I have got upto 280mbps wireless connection speed
I used to have the DG834G and changed to the DG834N worked well with my 511 laptop card at around 280mbps as you say, I was unaware of the draft N issue until my new laptop with integrated Intel N would only connect at G speeds Grrrrrrrr.
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