XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-10   
   From: nospam@nospam.com   
      
   On Sat, 4 Mar 2023 12:29:07 -0500, Alan Browne wrote:   
      
      
   >> Who wouldn't want extended range for free without cost or waste?   
   >> And who wouldn't want to save landfills from one more piece of waste?   
   >   
   > This is my first thought as well, along with benefits such as another AP   
   > for WiFi.   
      
   Like you I don't want to waste things and I only started realizing that   
   every option that I choose adds both the access points and the switches.   
      
   > However, it is more complicated to set up and will require maintenance   
   > at some point down the line if the configuration changes.   
      
   I don't "maintain" my routers since nowadays they can upload the latest   
   firmware on their own, and they take their IP address from the modem too.   
      
   > Why a smart/unmanaged switch is so easy to install - and not expensive.   
      
   Can't argue with you that a dumb switch is the easiest method, which is why   
   originally I was only thinking about re-use as a switch but then I realized   
   while looking at all the responses that EVERY option adds two things anyway   
   [1] three or four extra ports   
   [2] two Wi-Fi access points (one 2.4GHz and one 5GHz)   
      
   If anything, I have more appreciation now than before I opened this topic   
   that a router is a powerful set of switches & access points no matter how   
   you configure it for a typical home environment.   
      
   >> My thoughts are that I hate to waste things, and buying a new "anything" is   
   >> a tremendous waste for the environment if everyone acted that way.   
   >   
   > Indeed.  Why I repurpose a lot of things or sell/give them away to   
   > someone who might need it.   
      
   I only recently realized another use can be to augment a PC's weak Wi-Fi   
   NIC by connecting the router to the Ethernet port and using it for three   
   different purposes all at the same time (which is amazing).   
      
   [1] It starts as a wireless client bridge connected to any AP in the home   
   [2] For free it adds a few more ports at that PC if you need more Ethernet   
   [3] And for free it adds two Wi-Fi access points at the location of the PC   
      
   I don't see any disadvantage of this other than it uses up the one Ethernet   
   port most PCs have but if you're not using it, then that's not a drawback.   
      
   >> I would also say most people could use a few more ports, but as some noted,   
   >> they never hook voip phones or cellular mini towers or network printers or   
   >> additional wired access points or wired repeaters and the like to their   
   >> main home router so most of its ports are probably unused already.   
   >   
   > WiFi does a lot to avoid cables, and a lot of "appliances" have WiFi   
   > (printers, etc) so it's appealing to avoid cabling.   
      
   On a humorous sidenote, I observe that going wireless has produced more   
   wires than I had before I only had long ago wired devices. :->   
      
   > I personally have run Ethernet from my home office to the downstairs   
   > AppleTV - mainly because the routing turned out to be convenient   
   > (through the bathroom under the tub, downstairs to the laundry room,   
   > through there (above the window, exposed), into the wall and down to   
   > exit near the AppleTV.   
      
   I've run cabling too but I prefer for this re-use not to, so the only   
   cabling will either be from the new home router to the old re-used router   
   (to get more ports mostly as I don't need more access points in the office)   
   or from a PC ethernet port to the old re-used router (to extend its range   
   and to add more ethernet ports to the pc and to add two more access points   
   at the location of the pc).   
      
   Practically, that option seems to be the best but it would likely be only   
   useful for a static desktop and not useful for a laptop which moves around.   
      
   > But.  If I had to run it to the other end of the house I doubt I'd even   
   > try.  WiFi would do it.   
      
   One trick I've used in the past to get signal from one end of the house to   
   the far end is to drill a hole in the outside wall where the modem cable   
   runs into the house and run the cat5 cabling from the home router in the   
   office out that hole and then around the outside perimeter of the house and   
   then either bring the signal back inside the house at the other end by   
   drilling another hole or without drilling the hole using an access point   
   just outside the window pointing back into the house.   
      
   I'd use the router if I could but it has to be outdoor equipment for that.   
      
   >> But I would assume almost everyone not living in a one-bedroom flat would   
   >> like to have increased signal strength in the furthest places of the home.   
   >   
   > Of course.   
      
   With all this advice, I'm now leaning toward using the extra router to   
   augment a desktop pc's existing Wi-Fi NIC because the extra router might be   
   more powerful than the PC's internal Wi-Fi NIC, and it also adds extra   
   ethernet ports to the PC and it also adds two additional access points to   
   the PC which cellphones can use.   
      
   This seems like a perfect solution for a desktop PC far from the location   
   of the main home router which is usually located near where the modem is.   
      
   The only requirement is the desktop PC needs to have an empty RJ45 port.   
      
   >> Am I correct in assuming that every option listed above in some way can   
   >> "extend the range" of your signal when set up on a typical home router?   
   >   
   > Sure.  With caveats and maintenance in mind.   
      
   Once I set up a router, I don't look at it for years, and because of that I   
   often tape a written description of the login details because I don't touch   
   it for another five years and then I forget what the login credentials are.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)