hardwired vs. wireless

I use DLink for all my wireless stuff...

I have a 4 level split-level, and the signal couldn't reach from the 1st to 4th level. You may have to move the router so you can move the Access Point and such, or get a wireless network extender (about another 150 bucks).

Is 40' straight up? or is that 40' walking distance, up the stairs, around corners, etc?
Is your house old? Because if walls are made of lead, or solid concrete or something like that the signal doesnt go through.

Hi-

This is up the stairs, around the corner and behind closed doors. The
base station would be in a room on the lower level that is not a direct shot
to the stairs.

Sounds like it wouldn't work well....

No, it might be ok. If it's only one floor, it might work. Worst case senario: you have to get a range extender...plug and play.

You may want to go with a repeater rather than an Extender. For one it is cheaper. Two you will get stronger signal through obstacles that way. Linksys (not my favorite but the easiest to set up for this) has an Access point that you literally just plug power into it and will behave as a repeater (this is direct from Linksys tech info). Also I would go for a G network since they have a greater range and stronger signal overall. (there is also a Super G available but it can be awful touchy about mixing hardware brands) Another factor you will need to consider is if there are any 2.4Ghz phone base stations in the middle of the direct line of signal ... the wireless operates at the same frequency and will have troubles if the base is located in between the sending and receiving units. The reason for this is that they share many of the same channels.

My personal preference for Wireless is the NetGear brand since they offer SPI and NAT firewalling as well as 128 bit WEP encryption protocols. The drawback is that only the Linksys brand is certified with Xbox live. If Xbox Live is not a factor then the point would be moot there. If you don't mind spending the bucks, Linksys also has very small repeaters available that will plug right into the wall socket.

Thanks. Another question I have is the potential for interruption.... I mean....
does it have a habit of cutting out or disconnecting ... or is as reliable as
hardwired? Thanks very much.

Hardwired is always going to be more reliable .... If your signal strength is "Excellent" and there are no devices to cause intermittent interference it can be very reliable ... Of course Ideal conditions do not on average exist. Since you are dealing with a broadband connection the average download will do just fine. Most of the drops will not even be noticeable except for a little longer loading times. Wireless lans have built in Packet recovery software that will detect the loss of packets and just attempt to resend ... unless your connection completely drops for the full timeout period, it will be fine.

The best way to picture this is a cordless phone. 99% of the time your calls are crisp and clear. On occasion though you will notice static or (rarely) a call drop. It is pretty much the same for wireless once you have it functioning well and consistent.

Not true....there are very few dropouts. I've been running a network for almost a year now, and we've had maybe one since it was setup. Regardless of signal strength....if you have bars, you have a connection, and it doesnt drop out.

I'd get a wireless router and try it with one usb network card. If it doesn't work, run a cable. Most wireless routers have about 5 wired outputs. 40 feet is the outer reaches for wireless even though they probably advertise a lot more than that. Wired is rock solid reliable. The wireless will not go through any metal such as a refrigerator, locker, people in tinfoil hats etc... http://www.dslreports.com would have a ton of info on this subject.

This may be a stupid question... but... if you do use a wireless router
and have 3 machines running on the internet at the same time... do they
all get 1/3 of the signal and therefore the speed is 1/3 of what it would be
with one user?

Hard for me to get my mind around how it works....

No each user has access to all of the available bandwidth. If someone else is downloading a file and you start downloading a file each computer would get half the bandwidth but for the most part if your dsl is 1500k then you download at 1500k

I use a Linksys router, i had d-link at first..it was AWFUL..i took it back

Anyway, you should have no problems with 40 feet, doors dont matter all that much, especially in this instance. GL m8

yes, i have a wireless link w/ the comp. and w/ dsl

it works perfectly, i also have D-Link, give it a try!
you can buy it almost anywhere pretty cheap!

~hope this helps
~For more help, CONTACT ME!!!!~

you could convert from a standard fromat like 802.11a,b,g and go with a unit like Proxim and go with a 900mhz system and get some serious performance but its kind of expensive stuff but a sure option if you had to have wireless! those babies have several miles worth of coverage! lol but i admit this is not really good advice just a crazy overkilled idea!