Going Wireless

[2002 Trans Am]

Wow it seems every post I read starts out with "Hey I am a newbie to this, I need some help" then it is continued by a long long long paragraph without any commas, periods, and so on.

Well here I go, but i'll try to keep it short and sweet! It'll be difficult though.

Newbie here, I would like to go to a wireless setup.

Here is what I have;
Compaq Presario 5140 400mhz ~350ram, 8 gig hard drive, WinXP
Dell Inspiron 5100 2.6ghz, 512ram, 40gig, WinXP
Dell desktop 2.6ghz, 256ram, 40gig, WinXP
Playstation 2 online
Maybe another laptop joining the family
DSL internet connection currently, contemplating a switch to cable

Here is the setup I would like;
Compaq presario to be the main area where everything is hooked up.
Both Dells to be on the wireless setup, along with any other additional computer or laptop we add.
Playstation 2 needs to be hooked up via an ethernet cable

In short I believe I need a wireless router that can support 6 connections (Compaq, Dell, Dell, PS2, +1, +1) 2 via ethernet (Compaq, PS2) and 4 via wireless (Dell, Dell, +1, +1)

Is there a setup out there that will be able to support these applications, without sacrificing internet connection speed too much?

Which brands do you recommend, and exactly which parts do I need?

Lastly, am I dreaming or is it possible that a wireless setup would be able to work throughout the property of my house, the land is 50x100. I would imagine the furthest portions from the base like corners and so on would not receive a connection. What is the realistic coverage area in a home(3 floors)?

Thank you, I tried to keep it short, but I just couldn't

[Zachery]

ok, well the quicker solution would be to buy two routers, one with wireless and one regular, i can persnoally suggest linksys as they have built in abilite to network with/work with their own routers there even deisnged for stacking. i wouldnt suggest going with the G modle as its not a standard (at least not that ive heard) why you get more speed your not likly to see that speed over your internet, just locally, and moving files at 11mbps is fine anway :D windows cant actually handle file bursts much bigger than 40mbps even directly connected (via ethernet cable pc-pc)

i would suggest siwthcing to cable if you can handle it

i think releasitc coverage is about 75-100 feet, and thats in a bubble like fassion i have a small house and i even get decent reception from outside for abit.
also depends on insulation and whats in the way.

setup would be two linksys routers stacked ontop of each other with the wirless as the main. a wireless should be able to handle quite a few computers (10~)(also more than this and P2P over lan slows down anyway)
you then connect the regular router to the main router via a crossover cable, this will give you an aditional 3-4 slots depending on the make.

[2002 Trans Am]

I was looking at the Linksys systems.

Their wireless G broadband router, but I guess I can go with a B.

But these wireless routers are supposed to have 4 port ethernet switches, so I thought I can hook up the compaq and PS2 via ethernet and any other computer via wireless, but your saying to go with 2 routers, I don't understand why exactly.

Also according to the Linksys web site, they say that G is new and new technology, if I went with a B, I wouldn't be out of date in a few months would I?
Thanks
Sorry I am newb

[Zachery]

G's been out for a while, however its not a standard, oh i missread your post ^^'' no youd only need one, for some reason i got 6 via ethernet and 2 via wireless

the reason to go with standards are they ARE standarized, theres no mixing and matching, B is currently the only wireless standard that im aware of.

you really dont NEED that extra 40mbps as youd never really see it. however if its cheeper to go with G i wouldnt pass it up :)

[2002 Trans Am]

So Linksys is one of the better companies out there right.

Cause they all seem to be about the same price except some are offering rebates that seem too good to pass up like Microsoft.

But I think i'll go with the Linksys, do you know of any good internet companies that are good to order from.

Thanks

[Zachery]

eh, personally this might be a good chance to go to the store if possibble :D

[phlipant]

i have the linksys wireless-g router. it is in fact a b/g router and will support both b and g cards ( it also has four wired ports).

when i got my pcmcia cards (being the basic suspenders and belt type) i got a proxim orinoco gold a/b/g card. as i result i run the g standard at home and b at work. i should point out, the name is deceptive. the card does not use the lucent orinoco chip set, it uses the atheros 5212 chip set. they send you a microsoft support cd, but for linux you need to load and configure mad-wifi.

the strange thing is, the microsoft support hangs once every couple of weeks, while mad-wifi runs forever.

[Big Max]

Hi,

I've got the Lynksys B and it works perfectly. Of course, I use the Linksys PC Card for my laptop. I'm not sure if there are problems with other manufacturer's cards but I've used both DLink and Lynksys routers with Linksys PC Cards and USB connectors and everything worked fine.