Hi All,

I know this thread is similar to Walkies wireless internet thread, but I didnt want to nick his original thread topic from him.

Anyways, I have BT broadband with the phone socket in one room connected to the ADSL modem in my study via a very long cable. This is annoying. I also have a laptop and as such when SWMBO wants to use the net I have to unplug the USB modem connection to allow her to use it.

Now I want to go wireless but am unsure of the exact kit / setting up. I have my eye on the 3com wireless 11g ADSL Router (#: 3CRWE754G72). This is a firewall/router/modem thingy and also comes with a pcmcia wireless card. My PC also has a PCI WiFi card capable of supporting 802.11g.

My questions is this: Can the system be totally wireless i.e. can I have the router in the other room by the phone with both my PC and laptop connecting wirelessly?

When I look at the 3com setup guide it states you should connect your main pc to the router via Ethernet connection and then have the laptops wirelessly. But I want both my PC and laptop wireless. Is this possible?

Also, anyone have experience of the 3com part or can recommend another decent wireless router/modem?

Cheers,

But I want both my PC and laptop wireless. Is this possible?

Yes - there's no technical reason for needing a computer connected to the router by cable. The only reason you'd need it would be for adminstering the Wireless security and access - so you'd hook it by cable to your machine when you get it, apply the settings to it, check you can access it wirelessly, then unplug it and stick in it's final location. You can then use it wirelessly, and future admin (should you need it) can be done wirelessly.

Also, anyone have experience of the 3com part or can recommend another decent wireless router/modem?

3com is a reputable brand - would certainly try it. Tend to use NetGear myself, but I doubt there's much in it...

Rob.

I can highly recommend Zyxel Used to have SMC Barricade but had some issues with it - I seem to be in the minority though.........

Chris

There shouldn't be any problems going total wire-free. As Rob said, you'd still need to sometimes connect via cable for admin tasks - a notable example being netgear, who say you should NOT attempt firmware upgrades with a wireless connection, but use a network lead...

I use the 3com router you have mentioned , it speeded up my connection and is easy to configure. I'm unsure about setting up totally wireless though, I bought off ebuyer a couple of months ago at about

Ok, thanks all for your replies. And thank you to Robmawer for the techie reply - you've cleared the mist as regards needing the PC connected to the router other than for intial setup.

Cheers all - I'm sure I will post again if I have problems (and an Internet connection!!)

Surely like all wireless data transmission I have come across this comes at a price of greatly reduced speed, data drop outs etc? Reason I ask is SWMBO is getting a notebook PC, I have one and also the Desktop. AT minute just using the cheap USB ADSL modem that Tesco provided, but would like to have a setup to allow all 3 PC to use the Broad band. I am however wary of wireless after having been far from impressed with bluetooth, infra red connections and using mobile phones as modems.

Surely like all wireless data transmission I have come across this comes at a price of greatly reduced speed, data drop outs etc? Reason I ask is SWMBO is getting a notebook PC, I have one and also the Desktop. AT minute just using the cheap USB ADSL modem that Tesco provided, but would like to have a setup to allow all 3 PC to use the Broad band. I am however wary of wireless after having been far from impressed with bluetooth, infra red connections and using mobile phones as modems.

I can vouch that my wireless laptop is no slower than the 2 desktop PC's I run with the wireless router/modem.

If you use the wirelessness of it purely for internet access, your internet connection will always be the bottleneck.

Depending on the wireless mode used (802.11a 802.11b or 802.11g), speeds vary between 11Mbps and 55Mbps whereas your internet connection is probably 0.5, 1 or 2Mbps

If only I could have a multiple E3 line into my house like I had at uni on SuperJANET 5

Sorry I use a 802.11g PMCIA card on a 512kbps connection. I have had all 3 on line and the router seems to handle it well.

Surely like all wireless data transmission I have come across this comes at a price of greatly reduced speed, data drop outs etc? Reason I ask is SWMBO is getting a notebook PC, I have one and also the Desktop. AT minute just using the cheap USB ADSL modem that Tesco provided, but would like to have a setup to allow all 3 PC to use the Broad band. I am however wary of wireless after having been far from impressed with bluetooth, infra red connections and using mobile phones as modems.

This is true, however, if you're just using it for surfing, etc it will be fine and with a decent wireless card and router it should rarely drop out. The main disadvantage of wireless is if you move large files between machines on the local network, eg copying cd images, as this is likely to run at about 1/10th the speed of a wired LAN.....

Chris

Ok......it looks like you have everything to go wireless on both your pc and laptop.

You need to enable wireless on the ADSL Router (modem/router).

ENable ESSID and set it to something you'll remember.

Also enable encrpytion...WEP is good enough and choose a Keycode. Just one will do...I think you'll have an option of 3 in total.

You then have to check whether the wireless LAN adapters in your pc and laptop can pick up the ESSID you set. You'll probably have to enter the keycode you set to enable the connection. I think you only have to do this the first time of enabling the connection, though.

That's about it.

SWMBO's laptop has a 802.11b wireless LAN adapter and seems to be ok.....will be trying a 802.11g card over the weekend to see if there's any real World difference.......11mbs vs. 54Mbs there should be a noticeable difference I guess.

11mbs vs. 54Mbs there should be a noticeable difference I guess.

Or if you're using Netgear stuff, you can get that up to 108Mbps...

Only really useful for LAN stuff though, as previously pointed out, t'interweb is still the bottleneck.

William - Bluetooth and IR really aren't comparable to wireless networking. Well, Bluetooth is probably closest, but the range and bandwidth on that are not really comparable.

And ditch that USB modem from Tesco, it will be rubbish (that's what you get through going with the cheapest supplier... :P ) - get a decent wireless router with integrated ADSL modem...

Rob.

The modem works well enough, but I am aware that it is only for a simple single PC connection. Tesco could have supplied at a cost an ethernet linked jobby for linking more than one PC, but I would prefer to choose and buy my own.

That modem will have been supplied at a cost...would've been better if they hadn't bothered at all, then you wouldn't have had to pay for it just to discard it for a better product...

Rob.

I got the standard Alcatel/Thompson 330 USB modem with Tesco BB. Basically used it to check out the connection then ditched it for a wireless ADSL Router (SMC7804 Barricade).

Would have gone for a Buffalo WMR-G54 but it was almost