what wireless is best

[Box Master 247]

im getting wireless for the xbox live because it will be 3 stories above the pc, what will work best, i dont have much money, and it needs to go up 3 stories, as i said

[Chris W]

dont know which to recommend, but if you cut the end off a pringles tube and put it over the ariel, and it will boost the wireless signal really well

:pp

[erol]

Hmm. You will probably have problems with wifi over 3 floors, depending on the structure of the house.

There are some wifi products that have higher power outputs than the normal 15mw of most cards / APs. You can also boost distance with the use of aerials but you need to ensure the total emitted power (eirp) output of card + aerial does not exceed 100mw or you will be outside UK regulations for wifi use.

There are some 'long range' wifi products here
http://adsltech.com/origo/LRW/index.htm

If you need help in determining your total EIRP with different aerials drops us a message and I'll try and give you some help.

HTH

[Box Master 247]

ok, i dont understand, but ive checked that site, and they seem pretty expensive for a 12 year old boy like me. what exactly will i need, and can u recomend any cheapish ones?

[Matt D]

Here's an alternative to WiFi, which uses the electrical wiring of your house - turning a plug socket into a network socket.

It isn't really any cheaper than normal wireless, but I assume it would not have as much of a distance problem.

http://www.rivercomputing.com/shop/p...rtnr=DAB-1682U

I've not used it myself, or heard much about it, but here's the thread where I got the link:

"Powerline Network" thread at BXB

[erol]

Originally Posted by Box Master 247

ok, i dont understand, but ive checked that site, and they seem pretty expensive for a 12 year old boy like me. what exactly will i need, and can u recomend any cheapish ones?

Is there no way you can run an ethernet cable? That would be the best and cheapest option.

If not then Tezcatlipoca is prob a better bet than wifi.

If you must go the wifi route then you need to do some tests. If you can get hold of two wifi enable laptops for a few hours you could use them to see what kind of signal strenght you get from each floor to each other floor. It's not impossible that standard wifi kit will work over the range you want, just unlikely and I would not buy any wifi kit until you are sure you can get a signal from where you want to where you want.

As to what kit on the link I sent you might be required it depends on your setup. In rought terms and assuming that the BB modem is 3 floor away from the xbox you would need a router /ap at the BB modem end and an ethernet / wifi bridge at the xbox end. A router/AP such as this one
http://adsltech.com/origo/LRW/W%20I%...1SR%20Plus.htm
has a power output of 20mw vs the usual 15mw found in most 'normal' router /AP boxes. More power means more distance. If this did not provide enough power you could also at an attena which has the effect of 'boosting' the signal strength. However it is impossible to say what kit you need exactly,without a 'site survey' and some tests.

I would really look to see if there is any way that you can run ethernet. Even if you can not run it all the way from modem to xbox, just reducing the distance the wifi has to reach increases the chance that 'standard' (ie cheaper) wifi kit will meet your needs.

[grindkid25]

he can but he says it trips people up because its going up the stairs, can't see how if it's right on the floor

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by monkeybreath

dont know which to recommend, but if you cut the end off a pringles tube and put it over the ariel, and it will boost the wireless signal really well

:pp

You need to do a little more than that

http://www.netscum.com/~clapp/wireless.html

You can actually buy them pre-made too

http://www.cantenna.com/

[Box Master 247]

well, i guess i could put a long cable down, if i clip it to the walls. but i would need a LONG cable, and a lot of time to plan/lay the wire

[erol]

Originally Posted by Box Master 247

well, i guess i could put a long cable down, if i clip it to the walls. but i would need a LONG cable, and a lot of time to plan/lay the wire

that would definately bee the cheapest and most relaible way.

You are fine with ehternet cable lenghts of upto 100m (300 feet)

[Box Master 247]

ok, ill do that, dont wory, it isnt that long lol

[Nor]

Isn't there any cupboards you can run the cabling up through ? My cables run up inside the cupboards on each floor into the loft and back down into each room.

ps I've found www.cableuniverse.co.uk reasonably priced for good cabling. Personally I'd buy pre-made cables as its easy to fluff the connections and end up with a cable giving you packet loss, especially important when its gaming you are wanting it for. The downside with pre-made cables is obviously that you need bigger holes to pull the cables through, but if they are in cupboards or the like you can get away with it.