Using 2 wireless accesspoints simultaneously

[dranonymous]

I have 2 wireless routers (a netgear and a dlink).  Since I have 2 laptops with wireless access, is there a way to set things up so one laptop uses one frequency of the 802.11 spectrum with one router and the other laptop uses a different spectrum with the second router?

Thanks,
Dr. A>

[JuddMan]

you can set the channel in the router's properties from 1 to 12, higher is sometimes possible but not all wireless devices support higher than 12. you can usually log in to the router and change settings by directing your browser to it's IP address.

you may also want to use a diferent network SSID for each router, otherwise the laptops may just log into whichever router it finds first when scanning.

are you planning on heavy use of the wireless network? i find that when transferring files between my two pc's here at home even with only one on the wireless, it's much quicker just to plug it in to the cable. i mainly use my wireless for internet access, and i have a PDA and a laptop, both can use it at the same time without any problems.

[blahblahblahh]

are you planning on heavy use of the wireless network? i find that when transferring files between my two pc's here at home even with only one on the wireless, it's much quicker just to plug it in to the cable..

Yes, most peoiple have 54 Mbps wireless, and everyone has 100 Mbps wired (even if your wireless were running at full speed, which it rarely does e.g. if you have a microwave in the house, or a cordless phone, etc etc).

Wireless networking in home and office == one of the most stupid ideas ever.

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[Virum]

It's nice for laptops, my mom and sister can take theirs wherever they want throughout the house and we don't have to worry about wires.

For heavy duty transferring, plugging in the cable is best, unless you don't mind waiting.

[blahblahblahh]

It's nice for laptops, my mom and sister can take theirs wherever they want throughout the house and we don't have to worry about wires.

For heavy duty transferring, plugging in the cable is best, unless you don't mind waiting.

But that's precisely the problem: you DO have to worry about wires, unless you have a megawatt laser beam in your room that turns you into fried chicken if you ever walk through it (currently no easy way to get power around wirelessly without hitting everything alonmg the way)

If you have a small ibook and dont play games, then you may have enough battery power to last 3 hours. Certainly, nowhere near long enough to use it and then leave it sitting on the table - do that, and when you come back it will be dead as a dodo.

[kul_th_las]

Well, it is good for quick setup of LAN parties (not that those happen on a regular basis).

It's also great if you've got an apartment, and can't install RJ45 jacks in your walls. Besides, AC power access is not something I worry about - I've got plenty of power plugs around the place.

[Virum]

But that's precisely the problem: you DO have to worry about wires, unless you have a megawatt laser beam in your room that turns you into fried chicken if you ever walk through it (currently no easy way to get power around wirelessly without hitting everything alonmg the way)

If you have a small ibook and dont play games, then you may have enough battery power to last 3 hours. Certainly, nowhere near long enough to use it and then leave it sitting on the table - do that, and when you come back it will be dead as a dodo.

Aye, the laptops are low powered machines (iBook g3 and a stinky Dell   ).  However, there are a lot more power outlets in the house than network hubs/routers (or ethernet jacks).

I, for one, don't like 20 feet of ethernet cable running through the house, but that's just me.

Sure, you can install the ethernet jacks in your walls (pain in the ass), but we rent b/c it's too expensive to buy a house in Southern CA.

Wireless works great for us.  But hey, whatever gets you off.    If you don't like it, don't use it.  My PC is connected directly into the modem b/c I want the faster speed.

[blahblahblahh]

I'm being slightly tongue in cheek, but most people sooner or later give up on wireless because ... it sucks.

For instance, you can now get 16 port switches (not hubs) for (the equivalent of) $30 each, with no fans (silent).

For $150 you can have a small switch in every room in the house, with just one cable to each room, tacked against the skirting board / dado rail / picture rail, which you pull out when you leave, leaving no visible marks.

I'm not saying I like it this way, just that that's a heck of a lot less hassle in the long run than a network which is:
- 1/3rd (at best 1/2) the speed of the CHEAPER wired networks
- crashes when you use the microwave
- slows down when you answer the phone
- crashes when your neighbours (if you live in a flat) install DSL and get a wirless router which conflicts with yours (there aren't enough channels for each flat in a small block to have wirless without conflict problems)
- suffers to some extent when any wirless cards from different manufacturers come in range, and go into "destructive" mode to deliberately sabotage your network (last I heard, these are still on sale, although the effects are usually bareable)
- costs much more money per card
- ...etc

For LAN transfers, I prefer gigabit ethernet now that it's been around a while .

My PC is connected directly into the modem b/c I want the faster speed.

This is what gets me (I thought we'd all be happy with wirless by now, that the hardware would be much better, most people would be on A (108 Mbps) etc) - everyone does that, sooner or later. Over time, you see people migrate more and more of their PC's off wireless because it's too much hassle.

[Virum]

See, I'm the only nerd in the family, so it doesn't matter so much for the two girls with the notebooks.

Your points are valid though.  We've recently been having slowdowns with our wireless, I wonder if somebody in our immediate neibourhood set something up that's interfering.

It would be nice to have better wireles.  I hate cords.

[dranonymous]

Thanks for the info.  I've got a netgear and linksys that I'll try setting to different channels.  I'll probably set them only accept a specific MAC addrs, that way I can make sure each one is only handling traffic per each computer.

I agree that wired is much better.  Its nice to have wireless, but as soon as I need high data throughput, straight to my hardwiring I go.    I'm a nerd and home owner, so I did the retrofit of putting lan drops in all the rooms.  Its much more convenient to have either type of access I want with no unsightly cords trailing along the floor.

Dr. A>

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[JuddMan]

About the MAC addresses, you shouldn't need to do that, but it would give you a decent bit of added security. Just giving each router a diferent SSID will do, as that will effectively make it appear like two separate networks, and the laptops will only use the one you tell them to. you can set the order of preferred networks on Windows, so that the laptop will always try to connect to the one you want first and then you could also have them join the other network only if/when it's main one becomes unavailable.

still, this all seems like a little bit of overkill, unless you have two stories on your house and want better coverage.

As for all the issues people are having with wireless, i must be lucky for living in the most technologically backward first world country, Australia.

Here in Adelaide, there's usually an average of just one or two wireless points per suburb, so interference isn't a problem... though i have never ever had problems with the microwave or phone interfering. i suppose i'll discover all the conflicts when wireless actually begins to become popular here, but until then, i use my wireless all the time even though the lan cable and lan PCMCIA card is close handy at my desk.

It does make it easier to move around the house though and we rent. i just grab the power supply and the notebook, unplug everything else and go anywhere in the house or back yard, all the while my bit torrent download happily continues uninterrupted.

the only time i ever switch over to the 100mbit card is when i want to transfer a CD image or something.

For laptops it's good. i get an average ping time to my modem of 2ms, and most traffic between the pc's is game traffic or documents. i would never put wireless on a desktop pc however. there's just no point