[Tfug] Wifi range extender

[John Gruenenfelder]

Hello all,

I need to extend the range of my current wifi AP.  The model I purchased,
while having lots of nice features like 802.11n and a 5 GHz band, doesn't have
the range my previous b/g AP had.

I had dd-wrt installed on both, and I remember seeing some items in the config
related to configuring the device as an extender rather than a regular
AP... but I don't know if those options were simply there for completeness and
may not have actually applied to my router.

So, I have two questions:

1) Can I take an older wifi AP (a 2.4 GHz b/g router, in this case) and with
the appropriate software (dd-wrt) turn it into an extender?

2) Supposing I can do this, *should* I do this?  Obviously, I wouldn't be able
to extend the 5 GHz network nor any of the n or ac capabilities.  Or would it
be better (or possibly even necessary) to purchase a device designed
specifically for this purpose.  Such devices typically have antennas sticking
out all over the place.


My motivation for this is so that the network features available on my
family's TV, Blue-ray player, and DirecTV box are no longer of any use because
they cannot maintain a connection of sufficient bandwidth to get anything
useful done.  Due to where cable for the cable modem comes in and the
resulting layout of the network cables, I can't really move the AP any closer.

I'm hoping that with an extender these problems will be solved.  Ideally, I
can just place the device in the entertainment center and actually plug two or
three of those devices right into the extender/AP via physical cables.

Thanks in advance for any advice.



-- 
--John Gruenenfelder    Systems Manager, MKS Imaging Technology, LLC.
Try Weasel Reader for PalmOS  --  http://weaselreader.org
"This is the most fun I've had without being drenched in the blood
of my enemies!"
        --Sam of Sam & Max
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