posted
I've got a question. I've lived in tiny apartments all my life, which are very easy to set up. In my last apartment, I had two things working just the way I wanted them. The first was wireless internet, which sent a strong signal from the centrally-located router to anywhere in the house for laptop connection. The second was computer-stereo access. I had physical audio lines (via mini-jack extensions and splitters) running from my computer to a stereo in every room of the apartment. It was excellent.
Now I just moved into a house. It's not that big, but the computer is on the opposite corner of the house from my bedroom, and for obvious reasons my wife is not going to let me run audio or ethernet cables all across our ceilings anymore. So I'm looking for a way to 1) extend the range of my network, and 2) get tunes from the computer to various stereos in other rooms of the house.
I was looking for different items to achieve each of these purposes when I ran across the Apple AirPort Express, which claims to do both things simultaneously. It sounds too good to be true, so I just wanted to see if anyone here had any personal experience with them before I plopped down $150 for something that doesn't work. I guess the main reservation I have is the fact that I'm running a Windows PC with a Linksys wireless router. There will be absolutely no other Apple components involved, and I want to make sure this will extend the range of the network under those conditions.
I've read a few online customer reviews, but those are never as helpful as Jatraquero reviews, so I figured if anyone here has had a similar experience, you might be able to tell me about it. Or give me better options that I hadn't considered. Thanks much in advance.
posted
Offhand, I believe that it's not easy to get the express working with a non-apple router. There are ways, lets see if I can find them.
It depends on what kind of linksys router you have, and if you want to spend the time fiddling. Do a google search "airport express linksys" and you'll see several articles commenting on specific linksys routers that will work, while other ones require an open firmware installation.
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Is there any reason why you can't run wires in your attic?
I've found that, for speed and convenience, you just can't beat a wired network, especially if you're gonna be there awhile.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
As much as I'm a fan of Apple gear, why not try the Roku SoundBridge? They've got some specials on at the moment. I'd seriously love one if my computer wasn't hooked up to some kick-ass speakers from my old recording studio.
posted
These are some really great ideas. Thanks. I may just decide to run some wires in the attic. I would like some kind of wireless access, since I like the idea of being able to walk around with the laptop and get online. But I wouldn't mind running an ethernet cable from one wireless router at the front of the house to another router, or a bridge or access point (I'm kind of new to this level of networking so I don't know what would be best) at the back of the house.
I guess that would likely involve buying a box of cat5 cable and figuring out how to put the ends on it, but I've always wanted to try that anyway, so that's cool. It would also involve drilling big holes in my wall, which I'm a little more nervous about, but I guess now that I have a home I'm going to have to learn how to do that anyway sooner or later.
And those SoundBridges look wicked cool. A little more pricey than the Apple stuff, but if they're that good, it may just be worth it.
Thanks again for the help. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Hey, as long as I'm here, can I ask for some tutoring from the networking wizards of Hatrack? If I wanted two wireless signals connected by an ethernet cable at opposite sides of my house, what would be the best way to do that? It would seem to me that I'd connect a switch to my modem, with one line running from the switch to the desktop box and another line running to the back of the house. Is that right? And when the line got to the back of the house, what should it be connected to? Another router? Something else? How tricky is it to make them all a part of the same network?
If there's some kind of reliable resource I should be going to so that I don't waste everyone's time with trivialities, I'd appreciate being pointed in that direction as well. Thanks large in advance. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
As far as connecting the connectors to the cable, there's a special pair of pliers that crimps everything where it's supposed to go. Couldn't be easier.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote: If I wanted two wireless signals connected by an ethernet cable at opposite sides of my house, what would be the best way to do that? It would seem to me that I'd connect a switch to my modem, with one line running from the switch to the desktop box and another line running to the back of the house. Is that right? And when the line got to the back of the house, what should it be connected to? Another router? Something else? How tricky is it to make them all a part of the same network?
The easiest (but not necessarily best) way to do this: buy two wireless routers, and make sure one of them also has ports for wired connections.
Attach the first wireless router to your cable modem via the Uplink port on the router, and configure it properly. Then run a cable from any wired port on that wireless router to the next wireless router's Uplink port, and configure the second router as a network bridge. (You could also use the second router to actually perform NAT a second time, but I wouldn't recommend it; it's not necessary.)
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Excellent. Thanks loads. I'm really excited to start screwing around with this now. Bleedin' Comcast, not coming until Thursday.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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