I have a Linksys WRT54G-Ver. 6 router that I'd like to boost a bit with dd-wrt firmware. My current signal strength is just a bit shy over covering my whole house... bumping it up 10% should do the trick. I know the disadvantages of an overpowered signal (signal distortion, etc) and don't plan to crank it up beyond what I need to cover my house.
My question is whether or not anyone here has used dd-wrt, and if so, was it worth the trouble? So far I have 12 different tabs open, all with "vital must know information you need before you reflash", and none of them are very clear cut on EXACTLY what step is first, second, third, etc. I'm confident enough in my ability to read directions and perform the procedure for reflashing with the dd-wrt firmware, it's all the extra garbage that's starting to make my head hurt a bit. "Kill" the old router firmware, Save custom MAC address, etc.
It appears that I'll need to power cycle / reset the router about 10-12 times to complete this process. That's an awful lot of time and energy dedicated just to router resets, and doesn't take into account any of the actual process that taking place on the computer, and the similarity of each step which would make doing something out of order almost inevitable...
Anyway, I'd like the improved performance without buying a new router, but I'm hoping there's another way to boost power a bit to prevent bricking this router due to missing some little detail in parenthesis on one of the 12 pages I have open right now.
and how would that help me boost my wireless signal?
I've used it. I prefer Tomato (http://www.polarcloud.com/firmware) at the moment but DD-WRT runs on a lot more hardware.
I have a Linksys WRT54G-Ver. 6 router that I'd like to boost a bit with dd-wrt firmware. My current signal strength is just a bit shy over covering my whole house... bumping it up 10% should do the trick. I know the disadvantages of an overpowered signal (signal distortion, etc) and don't plan to crank it up beyond what I need to cover my house.
My question is whether or not anyone here has used dd-wrt, and if so, was it worth the trouble? So far I have 12 different tabs open, all with "vital must know information you need before you reflash", and none of them are very clear cut on EXACTLY what step is first, second, third, etc. I'm confident enough in my ability to read directions and perform the procedure for reflashing with the dd-wrt firmware, it's all the extra garbage that's starting to make my head hurt a bit. "Kill" the old router firmware, Save custom MAC address, etc.
It appears that I'll need to power cycle / reset the router about 10-12 times to complete this process. That's an awful lot of time and energy dedicated just to router resets, and doesn't take into account any of the actual process that taking place on the computer, and the similarity of each step which would make doing something out of order almost inevitable...
Anyway, I'd like the improved performance without buying a new router, but I'm hoping there's another way to boost power a bit to prevent bricking this router due to missing some little detail in parenthesis on one of the 12 pages I have open right now.
I used to have a Linksys WRT54GL, and I also preferred Tomato over DD-WRT. That doesn't make DD-WRT bad. It's still much better then Linksys original firmware. Tomato also have the option to boost the signal.
For me, flashing was a relatively straightforward process...
I did, back when I had a crappy WRT54G that reset itself every ten minutes. I tried everything under the sun to get it working consistently. dd-WRT made things a little better, but it was still a total lemon. I replaced it with a 'el cheapo Trendnet wireless router, and have been happy ever since (with stock firmware, too).
I use tomato. You can boost to 251mW so it should serve your purpose, and tomato has a very nice, easy to use interface.Thing is, if he has a Linksys WRT54G v6, I don't think loading either Tomato or OpenWRT is supported due to both the VxWorks and small NVRAM of 2MB, where a DD-WRT is supported. So DD-WRT might be the only game in town for that router, as it was for my Linksys travel router.
If you dont want tomato, Instead of DD-WRT I suggest OPEN-WRT. I won't use DD-WRT beacuse of issues in the past with regards to the integrity of the "developer".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD-WRT#Controversy
More info can be found online if you are curious, but the guy is basically a doucher.
Ok... More confused now than before... openwrt, ddwrt, hyperwrt, and tomato, some or all or none of which might run on my router? Maybe I just need to do some research and buy a new one that's got a larger range out of the box :PIf you want to load something on the router you have, I think DD-WRT is probably the only game in town, due to the limited support of it's 2MB NVRAM and VxWorks.
Well most of my wireless devices don't have upgradable external antennae, and the reviews I've read about using the Linksys "upgrade" antennae for the router were less than convincing.What I've read about off the shelf "rubber ducky antenna" like the linksys yield very small benefit at best while some report no benefit and a small number of negative benefit reports. Radio Shack used to sell some Linksys antenna which could be bought and easily returned if they didn't pan out. A lot of it depends on what you're trying to do. Many antenna boost signal in a direction or plane at the cost of the other components of the omnidirectional pattern. But I don't want to oversimply a complex subject. If you're interested, might go do some reading at WWW.FreeAntennas.Com (http://www.freeantennas.com/), Seattle Wireless (http://www.seattlewireless.net/AntennaHowTo) or any one of probably a hundred site you can find via google (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=wireless+antenna&as_epq=&as_oq=information+recommendations+types). Boosting power a bit might be a lot easier and you can try it for free.
Umm... If I buy a new one I don't plan on fudging around with firmware. If I buy a new one it will be to plug it in, set it up with the wizard, and enjoy increased range. If there are none on the market that can give me a 15 foot increase in the radius of the range (oversimplifying and treating it as a circular range for the sake of this post) to cover my bathroom and bedroom, and one of the upstairs bedrooms, then I'll just stick with this router.Then be very careful and make sure users are happy with the stock firmware. Check out product reviews and perhaps forums.
Umm... If I buy a new one I don't plan on fudging around with firmware. If I buy a new one it will be to plug it in, set it up with the wizard, and enjoy increased range. If there are none on the market that can give me a 15 foot increase in the radius of the range (oversimplifying and treating it as a circular range for the sake of this post) to cover my bathroom and bedroom, and one of the upstairs bedrooms, then I'll just stick with this router.
About a year ago, I got a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 preloaded (aftermarket) with DD-WRT off ebay. Cost about the same as retail. Worked great for my (unusual) wireless setup, after a few hours of fiddling with it. I don't know about the models on there now, though. Might be worth taking a look.Routers preloaded with 3rd party firmware are often a good deal. I am pretty comfortable loading my own so have never gone that route but nothing wrong with it as long as they don't gouge you too much.
What about relocating the router upstairs?
I'm happy with my Netgear Wireless N dual band WNDR3700 but can't guarantee it would boost your G range. It does have adjustable antenna power though.Show Image(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4859017356_72692c59eb_z.jpg)
Moving the router upstairs would just weaken the signal downstairs, which is where I am a *majority* of the time. I would also have to either run tv cable or ethernet cable to upstairs, which would defeat the purpose of wireless in the first place :P
Moving the router upstairs would just weaken the signal downstairs, which is where I am a *majority* of the time. I would also have to either run tv cable or ethernet cable to upstairs, which would defeat the purpose of wireless in the first place :P
Yeah, just make an elaborate network of ethernet cables through your house (may have to do some drilling). That way you can "plug in" anywhere, anytime. Assuming how many cords you wire.