Hawking Hi-Speed 54M Wireless G Router (HWR54G) Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this one as a replacement for a wireless D-Link DI-784 router that was glitchy and could not be programmed at all. And this was quite a change! While this router is not too sophisticated in terms of either available wireless security protocols or some other features, it has everything one needs to create a home network, and more.
Namely, compared to similar wireless routers from better known brands (DLink, NetGear, Linksys) this one:
1. Is PROGRAMMABLE. That is, it does not stop working or deos not develop glitshes when you change modes and parameters. (Many others present you with a whole spectrum of glitches when you start changing default settings.)
2. Supports any Internet connections, not only cable/DLS. You CAN use it with a leased line, you CAN connect it to another router with a static address, etc.
3. You CAN assign it a static IP address, and it works. (MOST others don't.)
4. It does support opening additional ports for your special applications (such as IP telephony - see below), and it works. (Many others don't do it properly.)
5. You can switch the DHCP feature off, and the router still works. (Many others don't.)
6. VPN pass-through works, and one can really connect to your work networks from home without glitches.
SUMMARY: I have successfully set the router up so that it currently supports 3 wired computers, 1 wireless, and a Vonage IP phone router. I couldn't do it with other routers from manufacturers mentioned above, because all of them were glitchy and actually could not work with static IP addresses and/or other routers and/or DHCP off, etc.
All wireless features work fine, and the speed/range are acceptable. One can use a long WEP key (26 Hexadecimal characters), and communication is fast and stable.
For those who are interested in configuring IP telephony: Vonage offers great phone plans, but it currently sends you a regular Linksys router of of its own with 3 RJ45 ports and 2 phone ports. So IF you have more than 3 computers and/or computers using wireless, you need to set up TWO routers to work together. And I succeeded in doing this with the Hawking one. Namely, I have connected the Hawking HWR54G to the cable modem, and it is the "primary" router with DHCP enabled. All 3 wired computers are connected to it as well as the wireless laptop.
The "secondary" Vonage router is connected to the primary one using a STATIC IP address (outside of the range used by DHCP). That way you can guarantee that it will always have the same address irrespective of the number of reboots. This configuration makes it possible to MAKE calls, but not receive them, because the system (primary router) doesn't know where to send incoming call data packets, and also blocks some of the ports by default (firewall function).
So I opened the IP telephony ports on the Hawking router and set up re-routing of these data packets to the Vonage Linksys router at its static IP address. Also, I had to open port ranges used by Vonage by adding these to the list of custom applications. Ports to be opened on the router/firewall:
69-69 (Vonage 1)
5060-5063 (Vonage 2)
10000-20000 (Vonage 3)
All three apps should be checked.
That way the phone works both ways, i.e. you can receive calls as well!
On the negative side, the only thing that I noticed was as follows: from time to time (once a day if you work intensively for the whole day) the router can "hang", and wireless networking stops working. As soon as you unplug it and then plug it in again, it reboots, and everything works fine. Nothing else is needed (no computer reboots). Generally speaking, this is quite a good result compared to some other models, and I can live with it. Recommended.


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Belkin F5D7132 Wireless-G Universal Range Extender Review

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(More customer reviews)I have shared the same experience as the most helpful reviews here: this is a pain to install when you want to configure this Extender to be secure (so strangers can't mooch off of your internet or worse). On the other hand, once you have it set up, it works like a charm.
It's possible, but prepare to burn an hour or three. I would like to add some instructional steps, which are a variation of the very helpful ones already present here on Amazon.
Dummies Guide on How to set up the Extender with security turned on:
1. Completely ignore the instruction sheet that comes with the product. At first, I tried following it stubbornly despite reading these Amazon reviews, and I found that it is an embarrassment. Shame on you Belkin, for giving us so much unnecessary grief.
2. Find a computer in your home to use for this setup. Any computer (that isn't Vista) will do.
3. If this computer happens to be plugged into your router (I'm not talking about not the Extender), unplug it from the router. If this computer happens to have a wireless connection, disable the wireless connection.
4. Plug in the power cord for the Extender into the wall, then connect an ethernet cord (looks like a fat telephone cord) into the back of the Extender, then stick the other end into your computer. The "LAN" light will now light up. Just in case you're concerned, you can ignore the red "search" light that may blink.
5. Install the "Belkin Range Extender Utility" onto this computer. The installation CD will place a program in your Start->Programs menu once you run the install.
6. Go to start->settings->network connections. At this point the only enabled network connection should be Local Area Network (or Local Connection... the name may differ slightly for you). If anything else is enabled, disable it. Right click Local Area Network and select Properties. You're now looking for a new window to pop up that lists a bunch of internet-sounding words like Network or QoS. Look for the item called Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Double click that.
7. Select manual IP, and enter 192.168.2.100
8. The subnet mask will get filled out automatically. Ignore the gateway. Hit OK, you're finished.
9. Start up the Belkin utility, and hit "refresh" if nothing shows up on the list of detected Extenders. If you're lucky, you will see the Extender show up, and you can now click "Web Management".
10. If no items show up on the Belkin Utility's list, or an item does show up but the "web management" icon is unclickable, then repeat steps 6-9 but enter the IP address 192.168.1.100 instead. Then the Extender should show up.
11. Finally, once you are able to click "Web Management", it will bring you to a webpage that is very much like a Router setup page. The details of what you need to do here can be found in instructional docs on the web elsewhere. The basic idea is that you want to copy pretty much everything over to be identical to what your router settings are. The only exception is possibly the SSID of the Belkin Extender. Depending on your preference, you may want to choose a different name for it just so you can confirm that its really working later on.
12. Save those settings (there's a systems tab at the bottom of the web management panel that allows you to save the settings into a file as a backup).
13. Unplug the Extender from the computer, unplug the power for the Extender, and move the extender to wherever you want. Plug the power back in.
14. Go back to steps 6-9. Remove the manual IP configuration for your Local Area Connection, and revert the panels back to the way they were (which is probably "automatically obtain ip address"). Hit OK. Enable all your network connections if you disabled them in step 6.
15. You should now be able to use your wireless connection to see the Extender under its fresh new SSID. Enjoy.
A version of the above for those that are network-saavy:
1. Disconnect all wireless from your computer, then connect your computer directly to the Extender as if it were a router. Power up the Extender.
2. Manually specify your computer's IP address to be 192.168.2.xxx with subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Yes, I know this step is weird. I'll explain the reason for it in step#4.
3. Install the Belkin Network utility. Its a simple executable. Start it up. It's purpose is to scan for the Extender, provided that your Extender is directly wired to your computer (which we did in step 1).
4. You should see your Extender show up in the utility. If the Extender does not show up or the "Web Management" button is greyed out, this is because your computer and the Belkin Extender are on different subnets. The Belkin Extender is usually shipped from the warehouse hardwired to the IP Address 192.168.2.254. What??? When you plug your computer into the Extender, you need to hardwire your computer to be on the same subnet so the stupid utility will work. Hence, since the factory setting for the Extender is 192.168.2.254, hardwiring your computer's IP to 192.168.2.100 will get the utility to connect to the Extender. However, if for some awful reason your Extender is hardwired to some other IP Address (which is configurable once you get to step#5), you need to change your computer's IP Address to have a value that matches the Extender's new subnet. In other words, if the Extender IP somehow changes to 192.168.5.254, you should change your computer IP address to 192.168.5.100
5. Once you click "Web Management" you can configure the Extender via a browser window. Replicate your router's settings here (they all need to match the original router's, with the exception of the Extender's SSID).
6. Hit Save, then unplug the Extender's power cord and ethernet, and then move it to wherever you would like. Power it up again.
7. Remove your computer's manual IP address. You're now officially done.
*As a note, I had occasional connection problems when I had my Belkin router & extender encryption set to WPA-PSK. I just switched my encryption to WEP and now it is fine. Not everyone has this problem.
Up this review, if you found it useful. I want to see other people spared from the excessive pain the rest of us have already experienced!

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SHARES DATA & PERIPHERALS AS WELL AS A SINGLE INTERNET ACCOUNT AMONG ALL COMPUTERS CONNECTS TO THE NETWORK SWITCH & JOINS WIRELESS-EQUIPPED PCS TO A WIRED ACCESS POINT NETWORK INCREASES THE COVERAGE OF EXISTING WIRELESS NETWORK OF UP TO 1500 FT STANDARD 802.11G54 MB RAMLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY

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NETGEAR WGXB102NA Wireless G Router Wall Pg Review

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(More customer reviews)I use a wireless router in the house with great success. However, the range is pretty weak or my house is too big, and I am pretty sure it's not the latter. As a result, I researched a variety of solutions, none of which seemed too appealing to implement (bridges, wireless range extenders, new RF antenna, etc). It just all seemed too complicated, and I consider myself pretty tech savvy.
Fortunately, I was reading through some tech reviews and stumbled upon the Netgear Wireless wall-plugged router kit. It seemed like it was pretty simple to setup and easy to use. Well, I can report that it is exactly that.
There is no software to install at all. You simply plug in the ethernet cable from the cable modem in one room into the Netgear plug and then plug that into the wall. Check that all three green lights are lit and you are good to go.
The next step is to take the second half of the Netgear plug into the desired room in the house and plug it into an electric socket. When its three lights are lit, you have a connection and are good to go in there. My laptop computer picked up wireless signal immediately and I was surfing the web in no time flat. Basically, it was flawless.
So, WHY am I am only giving it four stars? Two reasons:
First, the wireless range of the Netgear plug is pretty weak. It definitely doesn't have the power of my main wireless modem. Then again, it doesn't have an antenna AND it still works, so it's no big deal; it's just not perfect.
Second, the Netgear plugs need to be plugged in somewhat near each other to function correctly and get the Homelink green light to turn green. When the Netgear plugs were plugged in on opposite ends of the house (what I was hoping for to maximize range), it did not achieve a homelink connection. However, when I moved the plugs to outlets that were closer together (but still outside my wireless routers range), it DID work. So, partial credit again here. While I cna't explain why it did not work, perhaps the electrical homelink signal degrades the farther the outlets are apart.
Anyway, everything is working pretty smoothly now and I am excited that I can get a signal in another area of the house that was not covered by internet previously.

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The NETGEAR WGXB102 Powerline Wireless Range Extender includes everything you need to provide wireless access to an existing network using only power outlets. You can now extend an internet connection to even the farthest reaches of your home without a tangled mess of cables.
Elegant Design and Simple to Install The WGXB102 is a kit that comes with two devices, the Wireless Range Extender (WGX102) and the Powerline Network Bridge (XE102).
The WGX102 is a small silver-colored box with rounded edges that has no wires or ports of any sort. Installation is truly plug and play: simply plug the device into the outlet and you have a wireless network originating from that spot.
The XE102 is a similarly shaped box that connects from an existing wired or wireless router to the power line. It then sends a network connection between connected NETGEAR Powerline devices. In addition to the included WGX102, other compatible devices include NETGEAR's XE104, XE103, XEPS103, and XE102, all sold separately.
Fast and Secure The WGX102 complies with both the Homeplug 1.0 and 802.11g wireless standards for compatibility with a wide range of devices. Since 802.11g is backwards compatible with 802.11b, you don't have to worry about your older devices that might not yet support the newer standard. The WGX102 supports 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption as well as WPA so you can be sure your data is safe from prying eyes. Additionally, it has VPN (IP-Sec and PPTP) passthrough, as well as the option to turn Wireless SSID broadcast on and off.
The NETGEAR WGXB102 Powerline Wireless Range Extender is backed by a 2-year warranty.
What's in the Box WGX102 wireless range extender, XE102 Powerline network bridge, ethernet cable, two setup CDs, installation guide, and warranty/support information card.

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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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Cisco-Linksys WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander - REFURBISHED Review

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(More customer reviews)There was a lot of information out there about this product but I decided for $25 (Refurbished) I'd try it. Plugged it in, hit the "auto" button and away it went. It boosted the signal in an outbuilding from "Low" to "Excellent" and seems to be working just fine. I ignored the directions and the CD that came with it and didn't do any of the techno stuff like configuring the Host name, etc, etc. It just worked!

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