Engenius Wl Acs Eoc-3220 EXT Outdoor 400Mw 54Mbps Extreme 5Dbi Omni Wall Pole Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great unit at a reasonable price. The competition is much more expensive.
The down side is that setup is a PITA if you are not a network administrator. Once setup though, the units work great. There is very little latency added (ping time round trip).
EnGenius ships with quite nice mounting hardware and POE adapter. You will also need some electricians tape to seal the RJ45 connection (unless you can attach your own RJ45 connector; the supplied gasket ASM isn't large enough to let the RJ45 through) and possibly a null modem DB9 cable assembly if you do like I did, and set the EnGenius in a mode where it won't talk to you anymore. EnGenius is running Linux under the covers, with the null modem cable you can reset to default using a 2nd PC.
My application is an interbuilding wireless link, LOS 350M (about 1100'), where it was not practical to run a wire for broadband access. The first units installed were the internal antenna 3220, which are still in production use working reliably in all weather conditions-- rain, snow, fog. Downtime is not an option as the broadband is work related.
EnGenius could help themselves a lot by having three or four "standard" setups shown on their web site (BTW, I recommend reading the EnGenius website FAQ). I ended up using the one configuration they listed although that is not ideal for my application-- mostly because I ran out of time to try to get the ideal setup working. In the setup used, the bridge end can't work with a router, only a switch, which is acceptable and certainly better than only 1 PC at the far end [the setup is DSL router, NetGear local AP/router, EnGenius 3220 set up as AP+WDS, EnGenius 3220 set up as bridge, NetGear FS105 switch. The ideal setup would have a router not a switch at the far end to support the 4 PCs there.].
The 3220 is pretty darn sensitive too. I can weakly detect (9DBi antenna) several unprotected APs in the distance through substantial tree interference-- I'm sure the AP owners "think" they are invisible because their laptops can't connect to their AP, well that is not the case and they should use WEP or WPA with SSID suppressed. The 3220 can also detect the head end AP buried inside a house (the NetGear AP/router feeding the 3220 at the head end). In some applications you may not need two 3220s to operate, just one, if the source low cost consumer AP can be placed in a window or other spot that provides a decent signal-- the weaker signal though translates to a higher error rate and slower overall communications (the communications is slower due to retrying when a packet is lost or mangled), there isn't any free lunch!
There isn't much competition at at the EnGenius 3220 price point. The units work reliably in all weather conditions and have a nice collection of mounting hardware and POE adapter. The EnGenius 3220 is an excellent solution to linking points if the alternatives are impractical or simply more expensive.

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ASUS WL330GE Wireless pocket access point Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought two of these, one to use as a wireless adapter and one as a repeater. My primary wireless router is a Dlink DIR-622 running the original 1.11 firmware.
Initial setup is fairly easy. The manual is TERRIBLE but you really don't need it for basic setup. Out of the box, or after a hard reset, the device is in "Gateway Mode" with it's DHCP server active and ready to hand out addresses in the 192.168.1 subnet. Connect it to a PC's ethernet port, open your browser to http://192.168.1.220 and you get the configuration screen. From there, it is easy to choose one of the other (3) modes and make a connection to your wireless network.
If you want to make additional configuration changes to other parameters, it gets harder. Once you switch from Gateway mode to one of the other (3), the device no longer acts as a DHCP server for the ethernet port; rather, it effectively becomes a device with a static IP of 192.168.1.220. To make additional configuration changes, you must open your PC's TCP/IP settings and change from DHCP (i.e., "obtain an IP address automatically") to a static address (i.e., "use the following IP address") in the 192.168.1 range. Only then can you again open your browser and use http://192.168.1.220 to access the device.
I setup the first unit in "Adapter mode", configured it for wpa2 and then connected it to my Dish Network 622 dvr. Everything connected and worked perfectly.
I have a large house with my wireless router at the North end, so signal quality at the South end of the house is poor. I configured the second wl-330ge for "Repeater mode" and placed it near the center of my house. Devices in the South end now get excellent signal quality from the centrally located wl-330ge repeater. Devices that used to get 6mbps now hit 35mbps.
Both my units came with firmware 2.0.1.8, but I noticed a newer 2.0.1.9 firmware on the ASUS web site with 11-23-2009 release date. As it mentioned a fix related to Repeater mode, I decided to download it and update both units. I then hard reset and reconfigured them. The one in Adapter mode still worked just fine. The one in Repeater mode ceased to function; devices would connect to it momentarily then lose the connection. After several hard resets and reconfiguration cycles, I gave up and flashed it back to 2.0.1.8, and it immediately started working again. If you are using Repeater mode, I recommend avoiding the 2.0.1.9 firmware.


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Buffalo Technology AirStation High Power N150 Wireless Router & AP WHR-HP-GN (White) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're not a geek, this router is awesome. It comes with a CD which guides you through installation and secure setup. (The #1 problem with wireless routers is security, and the setup process is the solution.) It supports WPS, which means, you can hold down a button on the router for a few seconds, and then your devices (laptops, many Blu-Ray players) will automatically and securely negotiate connection to the router (no more entering crazy-long passwords).
If you're a geek, Buffalo actively supports DD-WRT (you can download it from their web site). In addition, the specs are great: 32 MB of RAM and 4 MB of flash space.
For more information on why I chose this router, see [...]

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Buffalo Technology Wireless-N 150 High Power Router & Access Point WHR-HP-GN (White)

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Buffalo Technology AirStation N150 Wireless Router & AP WCR-GN (White) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using a powerline adapter to get ethernet to my slingbox and other A/V equipment, but powerline is very sensitive to anything and everything. So I started looking for an affordable wireless bridge. Here it is in the WCR-GN.
To be clear (since the packaging is not) this unit can be used as a standard access point and firewall, or as a bridge to connect to your existing wireless network and give you five ethernet ports in a remote location--a wireless switch. The box leaves you wondering if this unit is compatible with other brands of access points--it is.
I got the unit, plugged it in and configured it for bridging mode, and it connected to my D-Link DIR-625 wireless network with no problems (using 802.11n). It brings me much better and consistent throughput to my A/V equipment than did my four port powerline unit. In bridging mode the "WAN" ethernet port becomes a fifth switch port.
The web management interface is quirky and unrefined, but it gets the job done. When you make changes that cause the unit to reset, the screen usually says it will take about 20s. It really takes 1-2 minutes to settle down and stabilize, so don't get too impatient. The radio seems to have a more limited range than most, but it's acceptable for my purposes. It is a rather small unit, so can fit just about anywhere.
This unit can also act as a simple access point with a no-frills firewall, but I don't intend to use it that way and haven't tested it. What I did test was streaming my slingbox to my desktop while simultaneously watching an HD YouTube video streaming to my BluRay player. Both were running through the Buffalo in opposite directions. Pretty basic stuff, but I had to make sure it performed given the price. Neither had a hiccup, which is again far better than my old setup.
Lastly, in bridging mode it can also act as a wireless repeater to extend your existing wireless signal, or to add more SSIDs. I don't have a need for this and only tested it briefly.

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Hawking Hi-Gain USB Wireless-300N Access Point/Bridge (White) Review

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(More customer reviews)There aren't a lot of wireless bridges on the market. I had tried a DLink DAP1522 and it basically didn't work at all (see my review). This Hawking model had better reviews, so I tried it. Ultimately, it did work, but there are some problems you should be aware of.
The set-up wizard provided on the CD did not work at all, so I went with the web client set up. The process is persnickity (you have to set up a static IP address to connect to the web client etc) but it is at least well explained in the manual. It was a quick set up, and the product appeared to work at first.
After a day I started losing my connection. It turned out that the reason is you MUST set your wireless router to use a single channel, not to change channels automatically. Anytime the router changes channels, the Hawking loses its connection. TO make matters worse, the "site survey" function in the Hawking is buggy - when you try to restablish a connection, your wireless network often doesn't seem to show up at all! THis means you have to do a hard reset of the Hawking device and start all over. And of course every time you want to access the web client you have to reset your IP address etc. It's quite annoying after a while.
The second thing I noticed was that I was only getting a "G" connection despite the fact that I have a 2.4GHz N router (the DLink DIR655). The ONLY way I was able to get the Hawking to connect in N mode was to set the DLink to ONLY function in N mode. Even if I told the Hawking to only use N, when I switched the DLink back to mixed G/N mode (to acommodate legacy devices in my home), the Hawking would revert to G mode! So, I basically have a G Bridge, not an N Bridge....assuming I want to have any N devices on my network. VERY ANNOYING! And enough for me to rate the product only two stars.
The final thing I'd point out is that the bridge gives you very little status information on strength of connection, whether it has successfully connected, etc. It also doesn't say if it is connecting in N or G mode--I had to go to the Dlink to find that out.

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Buffalo Technology AirStation High Power N300 Gigabit Wireless Router & AP WZR-HP-G300NH (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Pros:
Excellent Range - even with existing Wireless G clients
Gigabit ethernet ports
Network Attached Storage
VPN Endpoint
Excellent web interface with help along the right column
Our house is like a wireless black hole. We have tried multiple Wireless G routers and cannot get a strong signal throughout the house. If the router is in the center of the house, we usually get a 11 mbps connection from our Wireless G clients. If we put the router at one end of the house, we do not get a signal at the other corner. We don't live in a huge house by the way. With this router, we get a full strength signal through the house, regardless of whether it is placed in the center or in one corner. I assume it's due to high gain antennas plus the built-in power amplifier. The range of our Wireless-G network has been extended greatly without even having to upgrade our computers to Wireless-N adapters. Most Wireless-N routers transmit in the 100 mW range (e.g. Linksys WRT610N, D-Link DIR-825). This router transmits above 800 mW, close to the legal limit of 1000 mW. You can look up the transmit power of all routers on the FCC web site. Excellent product!
Update on September 1, 2009: Buffalo has confirmed a bug in the router. It sometimes loses the ability to connect to wireless clients. It seems to happen to me once every 1-2 weeks. I have to reboot the router to correct. They assured me that the first firmware update will correct it. The significant speed and range improvement for me makes it worth dealing with this minor issue.
Also, a positive review from Small Net Builder (formerly Tom's Hardware): [...]
Update on October 29, 2009: Updated firmware (v1.65) is available on the Buffalo Technology website. My router is running it, and so far I have not seen any issues.

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Buffalo Technology Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Router & Access Point WZR-HP-G300NH

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ZyXEL WAP3205 Wireless N access point, Ethernet client, and universal repeater Review

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(More customer reviews)Once you have it setup it works flawlessy. Problem is setting it up for the first time. Documentation is not user friendly to the non-tech savvy. I'm using it as a wireless bridge / access point with my Sony blue-ray player. I already have a Linksys wireless router using WEP encryption (forced to use this because my XBOX 360 doesn't support WPA). To make it easy for others doing the same thing use the following steps:
1. Change your pc or laptop's ethernet adapter's IP address to 192.168.1.3 To do this on Vista or Windows 7 you open you network sharing center then you open your ethernet LAN adapter settings (or manage network connections in Vista). Select the Internet protocol v4 (IPv4) and go into properties. Manually put in the IP address with subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and don't worry about the gateway address.
2. Connect your WAP3205 to your pc/laptop with the ethernet cable that is provided. Of course make sure you plugged in the power to it or your going nowhere. Open up your preferred browser (IE, firefox, netscape, etc.) and then type in the address bar 192.168.1.2 and now you will be connected to the WAP3205. Type in the default password of 1234, you are now prompted to change your password to whatever you want it to be.
3. Now that your in the WAP3205 click on Expert Mode. When in this mode on the far left you will see Status and below it Monitor, Configuration and Maintenance. Click on Maintenance and then hit the plus sign in front of Maintenance once you are in. Go to the last option of Sys OP Mode then select Client Mode and hit apply.
4. Go back to the far left and hit configuration then go to Wireless LAN. You will see tabs for Profile, Site Survey and WPS. Hit the Profile tab and then hit the Add button. Type in your network name / SSID and then select your security drop down box. Select WEP if you have a setup like me with the XBOX 360 or if you don't care about security select the no security option. Type in your passphrase that you use for your router's security or the actual 128 bit security code (or 64 bit if that is what you use) and hit apply. Then select your newly created profile and hit the activate button. If it's configured correctly you will get a green check. Now your done on this end.
5. Disconnect your WAP3205 from your pc/laptop and change your pc or laptop's ethernet adapter settings back to whatever it was before.
6. Go to your blue-ray player and disconnect the power cord for about a minute or more. Connect the WAP3205 to the blue-ray player with the ethernet connection and power your blue-ray player back on. The blue-ray player will automatically pick up the network settings from the WAP3205 and you will be done.
Hope this is helpful and if you don't have an XBOX 360 or if you use WPA for security the setup should be easier.
So far so good with the Zyxel WAP3205...I had used the Linksys WET610N (2 separate units) and they both failed. The first one worked a couple of days before the wireless stopped working and the second one's wireless failed right out of the box. The WET610N's are way easier to configure but they are too expensive and for me totally unrealiable. The WAP3205 is a steal and worth the effort when you consider the rock solid connection I have now, besides it was less than half the price of the Linksys. It's not as nice looking as the Linksys that's for sure but the main thing is it works as described.

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Buffalo Technology AirStation N300 Wireless Router & AP WHR-G300N (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)A rock solid router after firmware is updated to DD-WRT and hence the 4-star. It is basically unusable with the stock firmware, especially with Comcast, where it could not find the DHCP server most of the time.

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Buffalo Technology Nfiniti Wireless-N Router and Access Point WHR-G300N

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NETGEAR DGN2000 Wireless-N Router with Built-in DSL Modem Review

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(More customer reviews)The DGN2000 replaced my old Linksys router, a Speedstream DSL modem and an older Netgear wireless router. I have 9 devices networked together in my home. 5 computers are wired to the router via gigabit and 10/100 switches. The DGN2000 worked fine for these devices. The modem and wired router worked. The problem was with the wireless functionality. After following the wizard to set up the first wireless device, it worked briefly. However, when I tried connecting a second computer, it would lose the connection. The DN2000 would work briefly, but only if 1 computer was connected. If the computer went to sleep, the connection would be lost upon wake-up. Most of the time it switched from Access Point mode to Ad-Hoc mode and my wireless computers could not connect. I spoke with several Netgear tech support agents and they had me try different channels and security settings. The Netgear agent told me to contact my vendor and ask for a replacement. First, I checked Amazon.com's return policy and noticed that the vendor was actually ANTOnline.com. ANTOnline's policy was that they didn't support the product and that I was to deal directly with the manufacturer. I contacted Netgear again and explained the situation, so they agreed to give me an RMA to replace the DGN2000.
The replacement arrived a few days later (after having to pay an expedited shipping charge). The second DGN2000 seemed to work a little better than the first, but it still lost the wireless connection. At least this one worked briefly with 2 computers and an iPod Touch. However, within an hour it would switch to Ad-Hoc mode. Again, after dealing with several tech support reps (including the 2nd tier), they decided to give me another RMA and send a third unit. At least this time, they didn't charge me for shipping.
The third unit arrived - same problem. By this time, I was ready to give up on the DGN2000. It was clear this was a poorly designed product. If 3 are bad, it's highly likely the 4th is going to be bad. I checked Netgear's online forum and found several threads discussing problems with the DGN2000. This one about switching from Access Point to Ad-Hoc was exactly the same problem I was experiencing.
[...]
It's strange that all of Netgear's tech support agents acted like they'd never heard of this problem, when clearly many people were dealing with it.
Anyhow, I just wanted my money back so I could purchase a different product. I contacted ANTOnline and asked for a refund and they refused because more than 30 days had passed since purchasing the original product (it had been something like 33 days). Since many of these days included shipping to and from Netgear, the 30 day policy didn't seem fair. I tried getting a refund from Netgear, but they don't provide refunds and were only willing to send me another poorly designed DGN2000. I tried Amazon.com's A-to-Z Guarantee and they wouldn't help because they decided that ANTOnline's written policy was clear and fair.
So after spending over [...] and much time and hassle, I still didn't have a product that worked for my wireless networked devices.
Finally, after complaining to Netgear, they agreed to replace the DGN2000 with the next step up - DGND3300-100NAS. The DGND3300 is working fine. So at least in the end, Netgear was willing to help me out. However, I would not recommend buying the DGN2000. And for ANTOnline's support and return policy, I won't ever buy something from them again.

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Netgear DGN2000 Wireless-N Router DGN2000-100NAS Routers & Gateways - Wireless

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