Wi Fi booster

[Old Boggy]

6 minutes ago, hedge said:

Does your man cave have mains power?

You've only got to see all his electrical stuff, bandsaw, linisher, grinders, pillar drills, sanders etc etc. He's got the lot served by a damn great SWA cable.

OB

[udderlyoffroad]

38 minutes ago, Old Boggy said:

You've only got to see all his electrical stuff, bandsaw, linisher, grinders, pillar drills, sanders etc etc. He's got the lot served by a damn great SWA cable.

OB

And speaking of SWA...

Get this stuff, and run a 2 cables out to the man cave workshop.  Terminate into Metal Clad Boxes with a gland, and use a metal-clad 'grid' front and Ethernet jack.  You may need to buy a punch-down tool, but these are less than a tenner from the usual sources.  You can then hook up an old router to act as a wifi hotspot

[hedge]

6 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

You've only got to see all his electrical stuff, bandsaw, linisher, grinders, pillar drills, sanders etc etc. He's got the lot served by a damn great SWA cable.

OB

OK! 😃

In that case I highly recommend the Powerline option.

I have some set up in outbuildings for a friend where the power comes from the house. They now have a wifi point over 50 metres away from their original router in the house.

 Just plug the `sender` unit into a socket by your router, plug a network cable from your router into the sender unit.

You then plug the WiFi `receiver` unit into a power socket in your man cave (#jealous) and it should talk to your router via the power cable.

The system uses your ring main as an internal network cable and saves you having to lay Cat5 cable etc.

You do have to `pair` the send and receive units so they talk to each other and you can also clone your wifi settings on the `receiver`, so your phone etc treat it all as the same wifi (saves you having to login and out of your router and the `receiver` when you go from house to MC and vice versa). The `receiver` units also usually have 1, 2 or 3 network cable sockets in them, so you can `hard-wire` your IT stuff into them if you want. Useful if you have a laptop/PC or TV with internet/Amazon Firestick etc (I'm not sure how posh your MC is). It's almost the same internet speed as plugging directly into your router in the house.

The benefit of Powerline over just an extender is that you get more or less a full strength broadband signal into your MC and basically have a 2nd router. An extender is just trying to boost the signal from your router in the house and that never works as well.

I use these (other options are available). 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/networking/powerline/tp-link-wpa4220-wifi-powerline-adapter-kit-av600-twin-pack-10153178-pdt.html

Without complicating things, would you want single or dual band? 

 

[Stour-boy]

Hi hedge, thanks for the info. But I am a bit lost when you ask whether I want single or dual band .

S.B.

[hedge]

17 hours ago, Stour-boy said:

Hi hedge, thanks for the info. But I am a bit lost when you ask whether I want single or dual band .

S.B.

Don't worry too much about that.

Basically, most freebie type Wifi routers are `single` band and operate on an older 2.4GHz frequency. As we have more and more electronic devices, a 2nd frequency was launched using 5GHz. This is meant to be a `faster` frequency but doesn't have the range of the 2.4GHz. Modern phones, tablets etc are geared towards 5GHz and will use it if they have access to it. They will use 2.4 if that is all that is available. The idea was not to clutter the 2.4GHz and share the workload if you have 10+ devices in your house. The broadband into your house is just broadband. It is the router that determines if you have 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Therefore, a router that operates on 2.4 and 5GHz is `dual band`. It is meant to allow you to run multiple devices on both 2.4 and 5GHz.

IF you had a dual band router, you could get a dual band Powerline Wifi adaptor (they cost more). A normal (cheaper) Wifi adaptor would be single band 2.4Ghz.

I have a dual band router and have a dual band Powerline Wifi adaptor in the house as that is where we have phones, tablets etc. In an outbuilding I have just a single band 2.4GHz Powerline Wifi adaptor. This talks to a CCTV camera that only uses 2.4GHz, so I don't need the dual band capability there.

A normal Powerline Wifi adaptor will suffice but wasn't sure if you had/wanted the option to go dual band.

Who is your broadband provider and what router do you have?

You see. Simples! 🤣

 

 

 

 

[Stour-boy]

Hi hedge, thanks for the info. But I am a bit lost when you ask whether I want single or dual band .

S.B.

Hi Hedge thanks for making it understandable my provider is BT. and the hub is I think a BTHub6-GS7N with 4 yellow ports I also have 2 bt comtrend units which the tele is on one these were supplied to save ripping up the carpets

S.B.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Stour-boy
Signature.

[hedge]

2 hours ago, Stour-boy said:

Hi hedge, thanks for the info. But I am a bit lost when you ask whether I want single or dual band .

S.B.

Hi Hedge thanks for making it understandable my provider is BT. and the hub is I think a BTHub6-GS7N with 4 yellow ports I also have 2 bt comtrend units which the tele is on one these were supplied to save ripping up the carpets

S.B.

Ok cool. Your router should be dual band. 

The Comtrend units are much the same as Powerline units. How long have you had the Comtrend units? They seem an older technology.

That means you have the option of using a single or dual band Wifi unit in your man cave. Not real right or wrong answer other than dual band might work better with some newer widgets.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by hedge

[Stour-boy]

Hi Hedge, I have decided to hardwire out to the shed.

thanks for all the advice and I certainly know a lot more now .

and thanks to all of you who have contributed to the thread,

cheers

S.B.

[Thunderbird]

I'm coming late to the party here but I thought I would post it here as I'm hoping the knowledgeable people will see it. 

In our house we only have two double power sockets in the living room, at opposite ends of the room. We use a TP-Link from the socket near the BT router (near to where the phone line comes in) to another TP-Link with an ethernet cable into the BT TV box. So far so good, but, if you plug any additional items in the same room, we start to get the middle light on the TP flashing red - which I gather indicates a problem with the signal in the mains power. Then anything on-demand through the BT box won't work. 

A quick 'off and on again' of both TP-Links usually solves it (once you've unplugged the additional thing) but it's becoming a pain. Any ideas? 

 

[hedge]

1 hour ago, Thunderbird said:

I'm coming late to the party here but I thought I would post it here as I'm hoping the knowledgeable people will see it. 

In our house we only have two double power sockets in the living room, at opposite ends of the room. We use a TP-Link from the socket near the BT router (near to where the phone line comes in) to another TP-Link with an ethernet cable into the BT TV box. So far so good, but, if you plug any additional items in the same room, we start to get the middle light on the TP flashing red - which I gather indicates a problem with the signal in the mains power. Then anything on-demand through the BT box won't work. 

A quick 'off and on again' of both TP-Links usually solves it (once you've unplugged the additional thing) but it's becoming a pain. Any ideas? 

 

I would get your earth and neutral wiring checked.

Using an extra power point shouldn't cause your TP-Link to drop signal.

I'm no expert but 3 posibilities:

1. Electrical - some sort of incorrect/loose wiring is causing a `weak` wifi through the Powerline? Is it a building extension or addition to the ring main?
2. Maybe the extra socket you are using is faulty/badly wired? Something doesn't sound quite right as the socket seems to cause the issue.
3. Powerline issue - any way you can get hold of another one to test and see if your PL widget is faulty?

I'd suggest some testing/checks of both but that extra socket might be the culprit.

 

 

[Newbie to this]

1 minute ago, hedge said:

but that extra socket might be the culprit.

Or what is being plugged into it (if it is the same thing everytime)

[Thunderbird]

7 minutes ago, hedge said:

I would get your earth and neutral wiring checked.

Using an extra power point shouldn't cause your TP-Link to drop signal.

I'm no expert but 3 posibilities:

1. Electrical - some sort of incorrect/loose wiring is causing a `weak` wifi through the Powerline? Is it a building extension or addition to the ring main?
2. Maybe the extra socket you are using is faulty/badly wired? Something doesn't sound quite right as the socket seems to cause the issue.
3. Powerline issue - any way you can get hold of another one to test and see if your PL widget is faulty?

I'd suggest some testing/checks of both but that extra socket might be the culprit.

 

 

Thanks for this. I hope this makes sense; there are four power sockets in total (i.e. two doubles), the two TP-Links are plugged directly into the wall either side of the room, but in the other (on the router side) socket there is an extension board powering the router and a lamp and landline phone. In the socket near the TV we've got one of those gizmos that powers stuff down (such as the TV) when it's been on stand by for a bit. The BT box is plugged into the 'always on' side of that gizmo. 

Like I say, the only time it seems to happen is when we plug something extra into the extension lead leading to the socket where the router is plugged in, so not the same socket in which the TP-Link that shows the error is plugged into.

I'm wondering whether having a few extra wall sockets put in might help, and get the wiring checked at the same time?  

5 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

Or what is being plugged into it (if it is the same thing everytime)

It's different things, a PS4, an iron (the latter I'm guessing uses more power, not sure if that's relevant). 

[Newbie to this]

16 minutes ago, Thunderbird said:

Thanks for this. I hope this makes sense; there are four power sockets in total (i.e. two doubles), the two TP-Links are plugged directly into the wall either side of the room, but in the other (on the router side) socket there is an extension board powering the router and a lamp and landline phone. In the socket near the TV we've got one of those gizmos that powers stuff down (such as the TV) when it's been on stand by for a bit. The BT box is plugged into the 'always on' side of that gizmo. 

Like I say, the only time it seems to happen is when we plug something extra into the extension lead leading to the socket where the router is plugged in, so not the same socket in which the TP-Link that shows the error is plugged into.

I'm wondering whether having a few extra wall sockets put in might help, and get the wiring checked at the same time?  

It's different things, a PS4, an iron (the latter I'm guessing uses more power, not sure if that's relevant). 

Is the TP-link plugged into the socket or extension lead?

[Thunderbird]

7 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

Is the TP-link plugged into the socket or extension lead?

Both are in the wall sockets. 

[Newbie to this]

38 minutes ago, Thunderbird said:

Both are in the wall sockets. 

That rules that out then. 

I would try replacing the extension lead you are plugging into first.

[Thunderbird]

25 minutes ago, Newbie to this said:

That rules that out then. 

I would try replacing the extension lead you are plugging into first.

Will try that. 

I suppose one of the things I'm trying to establish is whether having more power sockets in that room would help, given that two of the sockets are powering multiple appliances each. 

[Newbie to this]

6 minutes ago, Thunderbird said:

Will try that. 

I suppose one of the things I'm trying to establish is whether having more power sockets in that room would help, given that two of the sockets are powering multiple appliances each. 

It probably wouldn't hurt. But I don't think that is the problem

[Thunderbird]

I'll play around a bit with the leads and see how I get on. 

Thanks for the tips so far. 

[hedge]

When the TP link light goes red, is your router still working i.e wifi still working etc. is it still switched on?

I'm wondering whether this extension board thing is an issue.

Also - if you have this power down thing, is your TP Link plugged into that or `always on`? 

I think that rather than you having dodgey wiring on your sockets or ring main, the extension board and/or power saving widget are causing an issue. 

Personally, I'm not a fan of extension boards and would prefer more sockets as they go straight to your ring main.

For testing purposes, try to eliminate the extension board and see if that helps. You can cope without the lamp and phone for a little bit.

Also - if you have like a multi-socket extension lead, try that as well and see if the same issue occurs. 

Bet you're glad you asked the question now! 

 

[hedge]

2 hours ago, Thunderbird said:

Like I say, the only time it seems to happen is when we plug something extra into the extension lead leading to the socket where the router is plugged in, so not the same socket in which the TP-Link that shows the error is plugged into.

With regard to this - the TP-Link that flashes red can do that because it's not getting any broadband from either the TP-Link sender unit or possibly the router itself. Just because that one flashes red does not mean that it is the one with the fault.

[Thunderbird]

7 minutes ago, hedge said:

When the TP link light goes red, is your router still working i.e wifi still working etc. is it still switched on?

I'm wondering whether this extension board thing is an issue.

Also - if you have this power down thing, is your TP Link plugged into that or `always on`? 

I think that rather than you having dodgey wiring on your sockets or ring main, the extension board and/or power saving widget are causing an issue. 

Personally, I'm not a fan of extension boards and would prefer more sockets as they go straight to your ring main.

For testing purposes, try to eliminate the extension board and see if that helps. You can cope without the lamp and phone for a little bit.

Also - if you have like a multi-socket extension lead, try that as well and see if the same issue occurs. 

Bet you're glad you asked the question now! 

 

I am glad, it's progress  

OK, to answer, yes the router still works and wifi is fine. The Tp Links are plugged directly into the wall sockets, only the TV and sound bar are on the standby/timeout thing. 

1 minute ago, hedge said:

With regard to this - the TP-Link that flashes red can do that because it's not getting any broadband from either the TP-Link sender unit or possibly the router itself. Just because that one flashes red does not mean that it is the one with the fault.

Understood. Thanks. 

[hedge]

1 minute ago, Thunderbird said:

I am glad, it's progress  

OK, to answer, yes the router still works and wifi is fine. The Tp Links are plugged directly into the wall sockets, only the TV and sound bar are on the standby/timeout thing. 

Understood. Thanks. 

Bit wierd.

Have a play with stuff and see if excluding something removes the problem.

Look forward to your full report and PowerPoint presentation!

[Thunderbird]

2 minutes ago, hedge said:

Bit wierd.

Have a play with stuff and see if excluding something removes the problem.

Look forward to your full report and PowerPoint presentation!

I will.

Power point presentation! Very good. 😂