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For those who mock the WRT54g


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Correct, with the updated firmware.

Or a smart solution is to go with a router and a separate access point.

RV042 + Pakedge WAP-30

If you want excellent wifi then add a Luxul antenna on your ap. :) Leads to good times.

So you mention the Luxul antenna, I looked at these but it looks like they are components that must be integrated wth each other. My network guy hasn't been much help. Can you share your antenna configuration with me?

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  • 2 months later...

This is a great thread......you guys have real compassion about your sytem designs.

I have been thru the same washing machine of information in designing my layout and here is what worked for me.

1. I found that my WRT54G was not a recommended router for my system. It was called out specifically as a dud.

2. I researched viable and affordable options.

3. I talked to Luxul rep on the phone personally about wifi products and why their product was the one to fix my wifi issues.

4. I found Luxul item and installed them. 11db antenna, 1watt booster. All connected to my WRT54G.

5. All wifi issues are gone, my wifi coverage area doubled.

6. I added a 200mw PC Card to replaced the onboard factory one. (10.5 ver 1 TS). (ZCOM #330HP)

7. Blind spots here and there are gone. Speed is maxed, I smile a lot more......and I still have my WRT54G! (2,500 sq ft 1-story)

8. I am shopping for the 16 port G-speed switch, I should have one in my rack by the end of the week.........life is good.

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^^How good? Can you take the 10.5 to every corner of your house and see minimal latency? How about just ouside the house? Finally, did you coax from the Linksys to the antenna? if so, how far?

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I have a Linksys WRT54G Wifi Router configured as follows:

(1) 24" Coax (LMR400 grade) with N-Male Connector on one end, and RP-TNC connector on the other. RP-TNC screws onto the router where the omni-directional antenna was removed from. note: only some models of this router have removable omni-antennas.

(1)Luxul 1watt booster. N-Male on above listed coax is connected to this unit.

(1) 25 ft Coax (LMR400 grade) with N-Male connectors on both ends. One end will be connected to the booster listed above.

(1) Luxul 11dBi Flat Panel Directional Antenna. Of course the other end of your coax listed above will be connected to this item.

Place the antenna in a location a the end of your house, as I did. Mine is up in the attic pointing thru my one story home, 2500 sq ft.

The circular high-gain field will penetrate very well thru all building materials. If you have a laptop, it will love the extra juice. And will work for blocks away. FCC limits are 36 dBm on this type of layout, therefore please review the list below to see how I calculated my output to see if I was exceeding limits or not. There is some debate out there as to the "values" that should be used to calculate this, therefore you need to do your own homework to reach your own conclusion. I am not responsible for your interpretations.

(1)WRT54G = 0dBm, (1)1watt booster = 30dBm, (1)11dBi Antenna = 11dBm....So 30+11=41....minus 1dBm per connector(4dBm), ...minus .066dBm per ft of coax(1.78dBm)...and you now have an output rating of 35.22dBm.

I recommend "www.air802.com". Part numbers (CA400-NMNM-025F) and (CA400-NMRPT-002F). About $45 buck worth including ground freight.

Their price and quality is bar none the best, and the price cannot be touched anywhere on the internet.....period.

I hope this works for you.....Ronbo

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I forgot to answer your main question.....my Version 1 10.5 TS is good thruout my home and even out into parts of my yard. Results will vary of course from project to project. Centering a high-gain omi antenna in the center of the house was going to be my next step, but my results are more than I expected and I am sticking with what I have now. An omni will do very well, but it burns up a lot of power going in the 360 degree pattern. And it will not penetrate materials the way the circular band on the flat panel does. So trial and error is still the norm with these wifi issues.

Ronbo

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Also,

Do not try and test the layout with the components close to each other.....it will create an electromagnetic bubble that will negate its powerfull performance. (at least thats what i call it anyway!) and yes, I did learn that on my own. Even if it did take me a week to figure it out....

Ronbo

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The router sucked with stock firmware, extremely slow network after some time.

Using WRT54g with open source firmware definitely makes it a suitable AP for most C4 installations.

For larger ones I would use a pro hardware.

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  • 3 weeks later...
This is a great thread......you guys have real compassion about your sytem designs.

I have been thru the same washing machine of information in designing my layout and here is what worked for me.

1. I found that my WRT54G was not a recommended router for my system. It was called out specifically as a dud.

2. I researched viable and affordable options.

3. I talked to Luxul rep on the phone personally about wifi products and why their product was the one to fix my wifi issues.

4. I found Luxul item and installed them. 11db antenna, 1watt booster. All connected to my WRT54G.

5. All wifi issues are gone, my wifi coverage area doubled.

6. I added a 200mw PC Card to replaced the onboard factory one. (10.5 ver 1 TS). (ZCOM #330HP)

7. Blind spots here and there are gone. Speed is maxed, I smile a lot more......and I still have my WRT54G! (2,500 sq ft 1-story)

8. I am shopping for the 16 port G-speed switch, I should have one in my rack by the end of the week.........life is good.

I second this post. Nothing beats a luxul-boosted WAP for coverage, speed, and signal quality. After screwing around with countless Wi-Fi configurations, including the supposed latest and greatest 802.11n stuff, I finally called Luxul. Ronnie over there is very helpful and informative. Apparently most consumer grade WAP's and routers only pack about 70mW of output power. When coupled with their cheapy dipole antennas, you have a very weak signal that is being bled off in all directions, which means, unless you're in the exact middle of the home, you're wasting some signal. So you take a G WAP, rip off the stock antenna, and hook up the Luxul.

The luxul cranks you up to 1000mW of output power and 15dB of receive gain. There are high-powered AP's on the market now that have a lot of output power, but they do not have the receive gain that the Luxul system has--the luxul rep would not shut up about this. Receive gain is how sensitive a WAP is to incoming client signals, which, in the case of the 7" touchpanel in particular, are very weak and need to be amplified somehow. This is essential to good overall connectivity.

The Luxul kit has a wide-beam, directional antenna to shoot throughout the home or whatever area you need covered. It's not a sniper rifle, but you do need to make sure that you mount the unit an extremity of the home--i.e., attic, basement, or side wall. I have one in my house and I love it. I can walk three blocks away and still get three bars on my laptop. I bought my luxul kit from ADI at first but then the Luxul rep told me about www.blackwiredesigns.com. Kevin at blackwire has a Wi-Fi combo: a D-link 2100 AP + Luxul kit, configured and ready to go out the box. The combo, is the way to go--it takes the guesswork out of Wi-Fi. You can cover a whole 10k sq. foot house with five bars no problem.

Google PWK1-24-1WFP7, that's the part number for the luxul range extender kit. Make sure the WAP you're using is 802.11G with a removable antenna (Luxul kits connect to the antenna port, not the LAN port) One more thing: when configuring the Luxul product, to get the highest data rates, turn the output power on the AP/Router down to the "low" setting. This will give the Luxul amplifier the cleanest signal possible. I asked the Luxul rep if there were any dangers associated with too much output power, and he said even though the power is very high, its still within legal limits.

If you haven't tried out a luxul kit yet you are missing out.

Respect,

Patrus

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Here is a very short blurb (attached) on the concern over 2.4 gig and higher freqs. Most here are probably not licensed hams but we hams went through the safety aspects of 1.2 gig amatuer when it came out back in the 80s.

You are using 1000 mW of power and concentraing it through the 15dBi gain antenna. Do you really want to subject yourself and family to this 24/7? We don't know what the impact of this and other device emissions is going to be but why take this approach until then?

When Luxul told you 1000 mW is legal, is this enough information to decide what is safe or otherwise? For your information, and unless you are a licensed ham radio operator, you could be in possession of illegal transmission station. Part 15.247 is the reference.

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The prowave standard kits use 7dBi ant., not 15dBi.

The luxul 1watt kit is right at the edge of FCC regualtions (36 EIRP is allowed), though they allow higher outputs for non omni directional ant. - like you could use the luxul 14dBi ant instead of the 6/7dBi standard version - though coverage is not as good and you would have to lower power 3dBm

Power at antenna (dBm/watts) Max Antenna Gain (dBi) EIRP (dBm) EIRP (watts)

30 dBm (1 W) 6 36 4

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My dealer kept telling me I had networking issues as well as a bad a/v receiver, projector, and video switch. Although i did decide to use my 54g as a paperweight, I got my router, ap and luxul myself from Blackwire and it works great. FYI I'm attending dealer training in SLC later in the month.

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