Dr Hu

Hi Chaps,

Could be one for Jack Clark here

I have a boggo Netgear DG834 wifi ADSL router, and plugged into that via Cat5 is a Apple 3Tb Time Capsule, also with its own wi-fi - both devices broadcast a different SSID.
(I know i could prob turn off wifi on the Netgear)

I need to massively extend my Wi-Fi range throughout the (large) building....
Am I right in thinking that I can buy multiple Airport express modules, plug them into spare wall sockets and extend the range of my wi-fi easily?

Obviously I'm thinking of extending the TimeCapsule SSID here.....
How many Airports can I have is there a maximum?
Can I extend a TC network or does it have to be a proper Airport basestation to begin with?

Is this what they are designed for? I wont be connecting them to a Hi-Fi really, but I like the fact that just a small white plugtop in a wall socket is a very neat way to range extend.

Thanks in Advance!

JackClark

It will work with the Time Capsule, but bear in mind that extending halves the bandwidth. I don't know of a limit to the number you can use.

Dr Hu

Thx Jack! - I didn't know that extending halved the bandwidth....how come?

Presumably it doesnt halve or even qarter everytime you add another airport?

JackClark

Half the signal is for your browsing, half is for the link to the Time Capsule.

It doesn't get worse the more you add.

Dr Hu

OK Thanks for the help - I have just ordered 4 Airport Express units - I'll see how I get on with them.

Cheers

JackClark

You can also plug PC's into the ethernet port on the Airport, that way I think you get full speed.

BuRR

Couldn't you have just used Homeplugs?

JackClark

With Airports plugged in?

Markus

Are you sure it cuts the bandwidth / speed in half? I found the following in an Apple support doc about WDS (Wireless Distribution System):

When you use WDS, part of each Wi-Fi base station's capacity is used as overhead for maintaining the network. This means that if you were to measure the maximum throughput speed of your network, it would be less than it would be when using one base station by itself.

It could be Apple's somewhat normal ambiguity, or might be it's not actually nailing half of the bandwidth / speed / signal / whatever.

BuRR raises what I was thinking, just / why not use homeplugs? Obviously if you need / want a wireless connection then they won't overly help, but you could use homeplugs in conjunction with a wireless access point, not necessarily an airport express, perhaps a cheaper access point. Perhaps overkill?

I did mess around with such a setup, had my base station in the basement providing DHCP, plus wireless was enabled, so my machines nearby could, if they wanted, use wireless. Also had it hooked up to a switch via LAN and WAN ports, so the DHCP could be used by wired clients as well. A homeplug was put into the mix, so I had a wired connection to device elsewhere in the house. I took one of the homeplugs and stuck my airport express in the front of it, wired that to the home plug and setup a new wireless network. Seemed pretty happy and perhaps it was just the placebo effect, but I seemed to get a better connection than when I was just using a pure WDS setup (could be the overhead Jack mentions causing that though).

What would be really nice is a homeplug that also has wireless in it. That would be very handy. Hmm, perhaps an email to a Mr Cook to suggest a new Airport Homeplug solution?

JackClark

http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Airport Express will be a whole lot easier to set up, you could do it from your iPhone.

BuRR

I disagree. Homeplugs are plug-in and forget and they just work (as long as you're on the same mains supply)

I have 3 x Airport Express units and I really like them, but at the end of the day the still suffer from occasional lock-ups and/or drop-outs. Also, when you're in an area where there are loads of other wireless networks (like me), the signal quality drops drastically as they all fight for dominance.....

Airplay speakers are pretty cool though.

Also - why need 4 Airport Expresses to extend 200 metres (for example) when you can just stick a homeplug in at each end (and put an Express at the end if you *really* need one?)

JackClark

For the money I would have paid a Polish bloke to put in a cable.

BuRR

Fair point.