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Wireless Internet Access Through Floors and Walls

March 17, 2006 by debbie T | Computers • Internet • Wireless

Recently, I asked my mom if she would like to try sharing the high-speed cable Internet that my sister has upstairs in her bedroom.

At first, I was considering running Ethernet outside the upstairs window & into the window in her office downstairs. Gosh that would require a lot of wiring, but initially I didn’t think wireless access would be possible.

I started researching, and learned that wireless-G access is much better reaching through walls and floors than wireless-B.

So I figured I would give it a shot; if the signal was too low, I could always consider adding a repeater to strengthen the signal.

Since I loved my new Linksys WRT54GS, I started looking at the sales flyers. I found the WRT54G (v5) at Staples for $50.

Note: I really don’t think the speed booster router was necessary. I did purchase the speed booster version for our home, but only because it had a better price at that time, and I liked the reviews better than the plain G. But basically, I am pretty sure that both routers are exactly the same, except one has the speed booster.

Along with the router, I needed a wireless adapter hardware for her desktop. I admit I am hardware challenged, so I really didn’t want to install a PCI wireless adapter. I opted for the WUSB54G (v4) USB network adapter from Linksys, but I bought the Linksys PCI adapter just in case the USB adapter didn’t work well. (Each were $50.) The reviews on the USB adapter were very mixed, in fact reviews were not so good for any USB network adapter.

To save time, I configured the router at my house with WPA2 Personal security (with a strong password,) Universal Plug ‘N Play disabled, firewall enabled, and a new administration password. Then I brought it over to my Mom’s.

Once it was plugged into my sister’s system upstairs, I plugged the USB network adapter into my Mom’s system. Hmm, it wasn’t working, so let’s read the directions. Uh oh, do not plug in the adapter until the software from the CD is installed. Gee, I guess I should have read the instructions first.

So, I uninstalled the driver Windows XP installed, and unplugged the adapter. After installing the drivers on the CD, I plugged in the network adapter again. In my opinion, the interface is a little awkward and unintuitive. When the network was found, a dialog box appeared with password text box. It took two tries, but I did finally connect.

Initially, the signal fluctuated from 60% to 70%, so we experimented with placement of the USB adapter and router (upstairs). Eventually, the signal strength moved to 80%.

When I have more time, I might go over there and experiment a little more. After reading the User Guide online, it appears I can forgo the Linksys connection monitor, and use Win XP’s monitor instead. It might be easier to do that. One night my Mom noticed another signal (40%) on the list of available networks, and I want to ensure that she cannot accidentally connect to any other open networks in the area. I know XP can be configured to not add every network to your list of preferred connections.

Bottom line, my mom loves the speed, and my Dad is even thrilled to be going online. It was a good upgrade for them and I recommend both the Linksys WRT54G router and WUSB54G USB Network Adapter.

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