Electronics

[hckynutjohn]

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@gardenman

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All of the AC routers I've seen are backwards compatible all the way back to a/b/g/n tech. With a top speed of 15 mbps I'm not sure you'll see a big difference using an AC router. The AC routers are designed to work with some of the quicker connections (100 mbps+) and for households with multiple devices accessing the Internet at the same time. Pretty much any old router can handle 15 mbps to just one device. Now if you've got two adults, a couple of kids and a visitor all trying to stream video on a really fast Internet connection, an AC router would be a good investment.

Thanks "gardenman" for the info. Gonna be buying a router soon and figured I might as well spend a few bucks more for the AC. Just me and my wife here so not like there is a lot of things operating at the same time. Maybe her cell and me using a tablet, or now maybe our new AC TV set.

Still got old copper telephone wires(I probably made some of them)running into our home. To get a higher than 15mbps speed we at least will need fiber optic cables, but I am sure something new is around, or will come around, before they even think about getting fiber optics to our area.

Might be picking up a new tablet for my wife. Hers is the Samsung SII and I want one with at least a quad core and much more RAM. Gonna check around and see what prices are there for an 8" or something in that size range. Ain't interested in any table bigger than that size. We use the Easy Handle, or whatever it is called as it makes it much easier to use, at least it does for me with small hands.

Thanks again for the info,

hckynut(john)

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[gardenman]

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@hckynutjohn wrote:

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@gardenman

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All of the AC routers I've seen are backwards compatible all the way back to a/b/g/n tech. With a top speed of 15 mbps I'm not sure you'll see a big difference using an AC router. The AC routers are designed to work with some of the quicker connections (100 mbps+) and for households with multiple devices accessing the Internet at the same time. Pretty much any old router can handle 15 mbps to just one device. Now if you've got two adults, a couple of kids and a visitor all trying to stream video on a really fast Internet connection, an AC router would be a good investment.

Thanks "gardenman" for the info. Gonna be buying a router soon and figured I might as well spend a few bucks more for the AC. Just me and my wife here so not like there is a lot of things operating at the same time. Maybe her cell and me using a tablet, or now maybe our new AC TV set.

Still got old copper telephone wires(I probably made some of them)running into our home. To get a higher than 15mbps speed we at least will need fiber optic cables, but I am sure something new is around, or will come around, before they even think about getting fiber optics to our area.

Might be picking up a new tablet for my wife. Hers is the Samsung SII and I want one with at least a quad core and much more RAM. Gonna check around and see what prices are there for an 8" or something in that size range. Ain't interested in any table bigger than that size. We use the Easy Handle, or whatever it is called as it makes it much easier to use, at least it does for me with small hands.

Thanks again for the info,

hckynut(john)

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hckynut. I can't even get 15mbps here and the old copper wires here have deteriorated to the point where thunderstorms completely knock out Internet access. Just to annoy us, Verizon strung their fiber optic lines past our house, but won't connect us to them since we lie outside the city lines of the county seat. So, even though the fiber optic lines are there, and we're besieged with ads to sign up for FIOS, and our copper wire service is a mess, they won't connect us to the fiber optic lines. They say we'll have that option at some point in the future, but it's been years now.

[hckynutjohn]

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@gardenman wrote:

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hckynut. I can't even get 15mbps here and the old copper wires here have deteriorated to the point where thunderstorms completely knock out Internet access. Just to annoy us, Verizon strung their fiber optic lines past our house, but won't connect us to them since we lie outside the city lines of the county seat. So, even though the fiber optic lines are there, and we're besieged with ads to sign up for FIOS, and our copper wire service is a mess, they won't connect us to the fiber optic lines. They say we'll have that option at some point in the future, but it's been years now.

gardenman. Yep, we live outside the city limits also, but!!  We have to pay city taxes, and another BUT!  We cannot vote for any City Officials or Bills. Now I thought the old: "No taxation without representation" was illegal, but!  One of my hockey players is a lawyer and he specializes in working for big companies against class action lawsuits etc.

He lives in the city and he told me that the city has the right to claim X number of miles outside their "city limits proper", and tax those of us that can't vote. Don't seem right to me.

Anyways. Since we are out of the city limits and use the City's Gas/Water/Electric, they won't spend any money on eroding cables or sewer lines. Our water pressure is virtually nothing, but they came out and tested it and said it is within their 40psi(or however they measure water pressure)so they could do nothing.

We weren't teased by Centurylink, they just don't have any fiber optic even close to our home and I ain't gonna live long enough to ever see it.

Thanks again for you help,

hckynut(john)

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[feline groovy]

7 Ways to Improve the Wi-Fi Signal In Your Home

All kinds of issues can prevent you from connecting to your wireless network, from the construction of your house to interference from your neighbors and even just old equipment:

1. Router placement is key

Where you place your router in your home makes a huge difference in signal quality, Entrepreneur.com says. Avoid placing the router in corner rooms, or worse yet, your basement. The more walls, piping, or ducting the signal passes through, the weaker the signal is going to be. The router should be placed as close to the center of the room as possible for optimal radio performance signals should be able to make it through walls without much problem, but if you’re in a room with thick walls, expect to have trouble connecting even with a router close by.

  2. Dual band router? Use it!

Many routers come with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity. USA Today recommends you use the 5GHz band whenever possible. With so many wireless networks out there, and Bluetooth becoming more common (it, too, operates in the 2.4GHz band), there is a lot of interference for your router to overcome at times.

We recommend you use the 5GHz band for video streaming and gaming, as data speeds are slightly faster. The 2.4GHz band should work well enough for everyday web use though.

3. Does everybody need to be wireless?

As more and more Wi-Fi enabled devices are added to the network, your router will slow the connection speeds of everyone to ensure all devices have enough bandwidth to connect, B&H Photo & Video says. If this is happening, consider networking the old fashioned way.

Devices closest to the router should be connected via ethernet cable rather than through Wi-Fi. Almost all Wi-Fi routers include at least two — and usually four — wired ethernet jacks. Yes, it’s not as pretty, but your wireless speeds should improve, not to mention those jacked-in devices will be cruising.

  4. Lock it down!

B&H also brings up another good point, and that’s wireless security. Lock your wireless network down with a password. Anyone can connect to a password-free network, and mooch off of your Internet (i.e., clog up your bandwidth). It’s also a security risk, as hackers may be able to access data on improperly secured devices, PCWorld warns. If you have the option for “public access” (i.e., an open access version of your network that allows guests to connect without a password, but not access the main network), turn it off. Just give your trusted guests your password when they need to connect to the Internet.

  5. Consider linking routers together

Even with proper placement, large homes or older buildings may have trouble with getting Wi-Fi to reach everywhere. MakeUseOf recommends linking two routers together in order to increase range. There are a few negatives of doing so, such as the fact that you may need to connect the second router via ethernet cable to the original one, but if you’re having problems getting Wi-Fi signals to your entire home, it may be the only option.

  6. Maybe it’s time to upgrade

Wi-Fi routers are real workhorses, often operating almost continuously for years without issues. But like any electronic device, they’ll eventually wear out and begin to fail. ITProPortal points out that there’s other benefits to getting a new router: new wireless technologies. Especially if you’ve upgraded a lot of your gadgets and computers recently, there’s a good chance that a years-old router isn’t able to take advantage of the newer wireless technologies that are available.

Of course, sometimes all you’ll need to do is reset the router to fix slowness — but if that doesn’t work, maybe you’ve outgrown the capabilities of the router itself.

  7. Try a better antenna

Some wireless routers allow you to replace the stock antennas with better ones, Yahoo reports. There are a variety of options for those routers that can, just make sure they’re compatible with your router. Buyer beware: Try to buy these better antennas from the companies themselves rather than ones made by a third-party that are “compatible” with your router. Sometimes the quality of these antennas found on eBay and other sites are quite low.