Configuring Wap To Act As Repeaters

[Tempesta]

I have a friend that has a Linksys 4-port wired router. That's working just fine. He has a Linksys WAP11 that is wired to the router to give him the freedom to get on his network with his laptop. That's working fine as well, but the problem is that his range sucks. The WAP11 uses the 802.11b standard. I told him that he needs to get another AP and configure it to act as a repeater. He thinks that's not possible, but I'm pretty sure there HAS to be a product out there that does this.

 

So I looked into getting him another Linksys WAP11, however it doesn't really say anything about operating in a 100% wireless "repeater" mode. It looks like you can only configure it as a AP, which means that it has to be wired at one point or another.

 

I checked D-Link's website and their DWL-900AP looks like it would fit the bill but they state all over their webiste and manuals that it's not guaranteed to work with other brands.

 

I looked on Netgear's website and their ME101 looks to also be what he needs. However I called their tech support and found that this, like the way the Linksys appears to be, can only operate in a wired AP mode. So the guy suggested that he get a ME103, which should operate in a stand-alone mode.

 

So my question is... can what I'm trying to do, be done? And if so, what the heck do I need??

[H2O]

If it's only the range that is a problem, try to look into an antenna booster. I have never used one, but they say that the signal gets boosted for better reach and performance.

[Tempesta]

He already tried that, unfortunately. He said that when he called Linksys, they sent him another WAP11 thinking it was defective. It wasn't. Then, they sent him a booster that piggypacks the WAP11, but he said it didn't help at all. That's why I was looking into the possibility of a repeater. There's GOT to be some way to do this...

[Some_Guy_]

Move the AP to a better location?

[andrusk]

I know that there are certain waps that you can make act as repeaters, but im not sure exactly which ones they are.

 

I do know that it can be done though, good luck finding the right wap.

[H2O]

There is a way to do it, but it will require some new hardware. I have the WAP54G and I am guessing the setup below might work with a WAP11 also.

 

Figure I in the picture below shows you a possible working scenario by setting up a Wireless Bridge between two WAP11 and a third WAP at the end to act as an Access Point for the laptop. The reason you need all these hardware is because when a WAP is setup as Bridge, the laptop can not tap into that brdiged network, so to remain wireless it requires an addition WAP to be the laptop's access point.

 

Figure II basically is outlying another method, that is get a longer ethernet cable and reposition the WAP such that it's more centrally located to provide better coverage.

 

There is also a Figure III, which I forgot to draw out. Get a new wireless router and that will replace the router to WAP connection in Figure I. Get a new WAP to use on the otherside of the wireless bridge, the setting of Figure I will then look like this:

 

Internet -> Wireless Router Wireless Bridge Network WAP11 -> WAP11

 

I hope I'm making myself clear!

 

This is just a guess of possible setups, since I've never tried either I don't how well it's going to work for your situation.

[Tempesta]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I found through a little more research that the Linksys WAP11 does indeed act as a repeater to "bounce" (as they put it) your existing wireless network further. So that's exactly what he needs, and each WAP11 is only $60-70, so he can really stagger a few of them around his house to give him coverage.

 

Thanks anyway! Now it's just a matter of getting over there and configuring it...