Wireless Network Improvement

[Alix]

Do I need to buy another modem or is my 2wire already compatible with ADSL2+? Model no. 2071-A

According to the modem database over at Whirlpool your 2Wire 2071-A is ADSL2+ compatible, so at a minimum you won't need to get any new equipment at all.

If you are thinking of upgrading your modem you'll need to consider the chipset inside (affects attainable speed, and stability). And the same manufacturer won't use the same internals across their entire range, so you can't make comparisons at the brand level. While you're over at Whirlpool, poke about in the hardware database and forums to see what people are saying about their models. Some are duds, others have a better reputation.

Me? I run a Draytek. Pricey, but I think worth it. Billion also has some well-regarded stuff. In my experience D-Link is pretty ordinary gear, Linksys has some better stuff, and Belkin is generally OK. My experience is limited to one of each of those brands though.

I can barely get a decent connection on my PS3. Any tips for improving?

#1 suggestion would be to run a cable.

More practically though, have a think about repositioning your gear to improve signal strength. If there's something like a phone basestation or microwave in the way that could be causing interference. Big stuff, like fridges or brick walls could cause signal strength to drop over distance too. Maybe you could reposition stuff to give your gear a straighter signal path. You could also try putting your wireless gear (both ends of the connection) up higher. Fiddle about with the aerial positions too, to see if one way or another makes a difference.

Another thing to try would be to see if your Linksys router has a setting to allow you to lock it into G mode, instead of N. It's possible that there's some instability/disproportional speed loss in the auto-training implementation.

Your TPG connection may also improve things by itself too, if the problem was with you maxing out the available bandwidth, especially if you had PC traffic running over the connection at the same time, especially uploads, as that will be the slowest element of your connection. You seed a lot of torrents, for example? ADSL2+ has a faster upload, so there'll be a bit more room to move.

TPG also told me I could buy a wireless modem that simply connects to my phone line, no PC required. I haven't heard of this before, can anyone elaborate?

I'm not really sure what you mean here. It could be that the TPG sales droid is suggesting you buy a modem with built-in wireless capability. The PC reference throws me though - why would you want internet only to your PS3?

Could it be that they said that you could get "a wireless modem that simply connects to my PC, no phone line required"? If so, they're probably talking about some sort of mobile broadband plan - 3G, NextG or similar. If so, the speeds will be slower, the latencies higher, the connection more prone to dropouts/congestion, the data limits lower and the prices higher. Not recommended as an "upgrade" to what you have now.

[Alix]

Gear I'm running:

In PC room:

• 2wire modem (with ethernet connection to PC)
• Linksys N router

In living room (10 metres down the hallway):

• Belkin repeater (I think it's G)
• MacBook Pro (with built-in wireless modem)
• PS3 (with built-in wireless modem)

Just a few more thoughts on this.

Is it possible that your PS3 is connecting to your Linksys rather than your Belkin? Is there some config screen on the PS3 that you can check, maybe compare gateway IPs or something?

One way to test I guess would be to turn off the Belkin while using the PS3 online and see what happens. If the link drops you were connected...

Alternatively, is there a way to connect the PS3 to the repeater by cable? Having the connection like this: modem -> cable to wireless (Linksys) -> wireless to repeater (Belkin) -> wireless to PS3 is just a recipe for trouble.

I can't see the need for a repeater if the base station is only 10m away.

[Alix]

And in one of those weird coincidences, I came across this via a news aggregator-type site I visited tonight: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-tips-...reless-router/

[alts]

Yeah a repeater for 10m away sounds a bit of a waste of money. Im 3 floors up and get a constant 54mpbs from where my router is.
Get a better antenna for the router/modem and a decent PCI card and you shouldn't have too many troubles. Wireless is your frieend

Do not buy a D-Link, worst pieces of sh*t. Netgear or Linksys work great.

It didn't work for you.. but my friend, its the best router we've had. :S