I bought my wife a new Dell a while back, orderd the Dell wireless at the same time. We have Comcast high speed..I put the base unit on my computer and the signal is sent to her's (about 40 feet). I can not detect any difference in speed between the two as far as the web goes.
I will say that at first I had a big problem, every time someone used our cordless phone..it knocked her off line. I called Dell (seems that some cordless phones use the same channel as the base unit to transmit) once we changed the channel on the base unit the problem went away.
If you have more than one cordless phone in your home Albert, you may want to inquire about this first.
Dave |
Albert,
I have a network set up at home, both wired and wireless. 802.11 (WiFi) is a reliable interface but... and here's the but. The further away you are from the base station the lower the connection speed, and, the more users sharing that signal the slower the connection rate as well. Essentially you're splitting the airborne DSL/Cable feed so you're bound to have a drop off in signal integrity. You can still surf and do email but it is slower. I suggest you buy a multiport hub that has both wired (RJ45 10/100 Ethernet) and wireless capability. Run CAT5 cable from the hub to most of the computers and use the wireless WiFi feature only as required. One more thing to consider, they sell remote amplifiers that can pick up the 802.11x signal and amplify the signal, making it practical to use wireless at a relatively long distance from the base station. A bit of planning goes a long way, and bear in mind walls/ceiling/floors make no difference in WiFi. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more info or have questions. Best, Jeff |
I have 3 computers on a 802-11b wireless network sharing a DSL connection. Each machine is in a different room than the audio system. This does not seem to effect sound quality of 2 channel.
The wireless network is very easy to set up and get going. I would suggest you use name brand components (Linksys is quite good).
Sincerely,
KF |
Mr. Porter, Albert: are you as incredibly discerning when buying computer equipment as when buying audio equipment? Good day. |
At my place we ran a wireless and had problems with it slowing down as Jeff said things got real slow(we had three machines here at that time)- between me and you I think it was all the porn my father was downloading! We went wired and it was cheap, easy and no more problems at all with speed. As for interference with the audio system I didn't notice any difference at all with either LAN. The other problem with amplifing the signal on a wireless network is that it can be pirated and in my area there were a lot of problems with people cloning your ID and using it for less then honorable uses(just like the early days of cell phones). With a wired network that isn't near as big of a problem, if a problem at all. |
Mr. Porter,
My listening room also serves as my home office. I have DSL, feeding a Linksys A + G wireless router which is located in my dual purpose listening room. I do not even have any dedicated lines or tweaks. I have two computers a printer , and a fax on almost ll day everyday except late night when I want to relax.
During the day, the sound is ok mostly. At night, the system is usually dead quiet. I am sure there could be improvements made. But I do not hear any ill effects from having all that equipment in my room. |
If you can run CAT 5 cable rather than use wi-fi, you should have more consistent speed and certainly better security. Further, it strikes me that the fewer wireless signals that are generated in close proximity to anything (including the people in the house), the better off one is. There may or may not be interference (or health effect) from using wi-fi but there certainly isn't one if you don't.
Having said that, I have a 802.11b system as it was the only way to get hi-speed access my son's computer without doing things that would upset my wife aesthetically. Hmmm, WAF exisits with computers too. |
I will only add that the first thing that someone should do when running any type of wireless link would be to change the password or access code. Many people leave the password at the factory default, making it VERY easy for others to hack into your system. I know this for a fact as i have customers that have purchased high gain directional antennas for this very purpose. Sitting in my shop and using one of their antennas and laptops, I've seen a customer log into a nearby business that is over a mile away with consistent results. This is with the antenna INSIDE my shop, which is loaded with tons of metal and typically provides horrible reception for most cell phones and high frequency receivers. As such, a hacker with such an antenna mounted outside of their house or on their vehicle could literally pick up a strong signal for multiple miles. Some of these folks literally drive around in their cars looking for open wi-fi's, logging the addresses and hacking into the systems. This is called "war driving" amongst computer geeks.
Needless to say, once someone found that entrance into your computer network, they could do anything that they wanted to if they were skilled at hacking. Given the fact that only a "skilled hacker" would be going this far to get into someone's computer, you better do what you can to maintain security. I can tell you a few stories ( funny to listen to, horrible if you were the recipient ) of jokes they've played on people with passwords in the default position. This is not to mention the illegal activities that they could do ( if they wanted to ) using your computer as the source. BE CAREFUL !!! Sean
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PS... One would think that these would be big antennas, but due to the very high frequency that they operate on, the antennas are quite small. A 13 element yagi with tremendous gain is less than two foot long and fits into a small diameter section of PVC tubing. As such, they don't even look like an antenna in the least. |
For anyone considering Wi-Fi I would recommend that they go with 802.11g instead of 802.11b. You get 54Mbs vs. 11Mbs. This may be why some were reporting slowdowns as people were added to the network. Pay attention to security and lock your unit down as recommended above. This can't be stressed enough. Make sure your base station has an integrated switch vs. a hub - better perfomance. A few extra dollars spent on a good name brand is usually payed back with fewer frustrations.
As for interference with your hi-fi, remember the inverse square law and keep your base station some distance from your audio gear. Also you would probably be best not to plug the base station to the same circuit as you audio gear. |
Running WIFI in the living room where my stereo and home-office is as well. My stereo experience no degredations at all.
WIFI's cool. It allows me to get on the web while sick in bed. |
I placed a call to a guy that does CAT 5 runs. He helped me when I upgraded my two alarm systems. Definitely talented at getting small wires into tight places.
I know the possibility of interference will be minimized with a hard wire system, but as with most residences, access is near impossible in some areas.
My new Apple Powerbook 17 is the only computer with built in Wi Fi, and its 802-11g compatible.
The two custom built Win machines run Microsoft XP Pro, but theres also three desktop Mac towers running OS 9 / Jaguar 10.
The Apple Airport extreme will run the powerbook at either 802-11b or 802-11g (54 mbps). Coupled with a Linksys router, this should allow the Mac and Win machines access to high speed without problems (or so promised).
The company offering us high speed is Comcast cable. I believe their modem requires a single stationary IP address. If so, all the computers will need a sub address to share access. Anyone have experience with keeping these animals friendly and on speaking terms?
|
albert,
i run a modest 2-computer airport extreme network at home ("premium dsl"- close to a ghz dwn/up) and have had no audio interference problems whatsoever. i have also used the asante' friendlynet wifi cardbus adapter in my "older" powerbook w/o audible effect.
-kelly |
Albert, I have a linksys 802.11b wireless router in my house. When I istalled a a DSL line. I did hear some noise on the AC line, they installed a filter on the phone box outside. Worked like a champ. It was a high pitched squeel. Anyway it's gone.
How about you pack up the Walker, and the phono stage, bring it over for a test. Of course, I'll need at least 30 days (likely more) for it to settle down and go through my rigorous test regimen.... |
One more option to consider: using the phone line (after the fact).
I have a high-speed cable feed entering a router that then goes into a nearby phone jack which can be accessed through any other phone jack in the house. |
