I am not sure if this is possible. I normaly have a very unusual sleeping pattern. I wait till parents are in bed and then start work, this means I am often working till 3:00am and don't sleep till 5:00am. The sitation has got really quite stupid and I now want a much better routine.
I have been given a new work area in the dining room but there is no ethernet access there which is essential for my job as I deal with many desktops with no WIFI connection. I have been told I am not allowed to run messy wires to it the new work area so running an ethernet cable from the downstairs router is not an option.
I thought about mains over ethernet but the cheapest solution is £40. I could have a PC running at the workstation and bridge the wireless connection on that to the ethernet port which will work but it is messy and the last thing I need down there is another full time PC.
I could use an old broken laptop for the job but I don't have any spare.
This got me thinking is there any cheap wireless routers e.g TPlink where I could setup it up t get the internet access wirelessly and then use the ethernet switch as normal? I am currently looking into wireless bridges which will allow me to use a wireless dongle and connect to the ethernet uplink port on the switch but not sure how reliable that would be and they are still not cheap.
What would you do? The problem is the room is nicely decorated with a fitted carpet etc so there isn't anyway of neatly running an ethernet cable to the workstation.
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Just seen some firmware called DDWRT. It runs on Linksys routers, if I can find a cheap Linksys router this might the best way to go. It would be neater too as it is built in ethernet switch so I won't need to use my seperate one.
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Be careful with buying Linksys routers because the more recent ones no longer ran Linux but another OS. The reason for the change was to reduce the memory on board and therefore cut costs. They did reintroduce the Linux version and they had an L suffix.
I mention this because the alternative firmwares will not fit in the available memory on these newer routers.
I have a spare Linksys router but it is the one with less memory. If you knew it could work you can have it for very little - it's not needed because of the BT Homehub I have now.
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I don't think I'd be faffing about with old routers and unknown firmware for this job. I'd spend about £50 on a single and a triple port Homeplug pair. Put the single where you want the connection to 'start' and the triple where your going to be working to give you 3 connections. No extra PCs or setting up required.
If you go for the ad-hoc wireless bridge route, you'd never be certain if it was the bridge or the computer if you had a connectivity problem. Spend your time fixing customers computers rather then messing about saving a couple of £s. Just my 2pennth.
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Well I have a spare 8 port switch so I would simply wire that into a homeplug. The problem is the homeplugs them selves would have to be blucked into one of them 6 way gang things so even that is not ideal.
I do know where you are coming from though and I suppose sometimes do I get systems back with no connection, usualy because it is being diverted via some gangs proxy server but like you say it would be something else to get in the way of things.
I really need to see if I can get this cable under the carpet :(.
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Rattle,You need to start on some serious parent management classes. Living at home, (it is your home as well), and not being allowed to run cables etc is worse than having a landlord to answer to.
I remember rebuilding engines in the kitchen, modifying and soldering a radiator up in tthe bathroom, chemistry experiments ......( I hesitate to recall falling face forward during a very urgent excursion to the khasi at 03,00,).
Or did I abuse my understanding parents?
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My parents are quite understanding and I have ethernet cables on show going up the stairs etc. The problem is the dining room is quite neat and tidy so I can't simply put a cable under the carpet has it properly fitted.
I have found a router at Microdirect for £18 which apparantly will run the firmware so I may buy that. Also need to buy a new monitor as the one I have just taken out of the lockup has just exploded in my face.
I will see how much I can lift up the carpet first.
Thanks for the suggestions so far :)
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 17 Nov 10 at 18:20
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>> The problem is the dining room is quite neat and tidy so I
>> can't simply put a cable under the carpet has it properly fitted.
>>
I had a similar problem with my missus. I bought a 10m flat ethernet cable, pulled the edge of the carpet from under the skirting board but not off the grippers, I then put the flat cable on the floor between the gripper and the skirting board and held it in place with tape every foot or so and then pushed the carpet back under the skirting board with a wide bolster chisel and/or paint scraper.
Last edited by: Rhubarb on Wed 17 Nov 10 at 18:37
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For and old house would the power line adapters provide decent speed for connections? I would look at wired connection. Would using some plastic duct be an option to keep this tidy?
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I would need a 2-4mb (actual internet speed, not network speed) connection really to get a decent speed. Rob it would only be going to the next plug socket along it is just in the opposite corner. There is an opening over the through room and I could route the cable along that then under some furniture which would be quite neat.
The problem is I have just seen thiis which seems very cheap.
www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/49623/TP-Link-Power-over-Ethernet-Adapter-Kit
It is barely more than the 20m ethernet cable I would need.
I have got power over ethernet working perfectly in the house perfect when testing it for customers. It would then I mean I have the £70 to go out and buy a nice new 19" monitor for the workbench.
I have got them to connect at 100mbps before.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 17 Nov 10 at 18:52
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I may have misunderstood you but that is power over ethernet not ethernet over power.
Last edited by: Rhubarb on Wed 17 Nov 10 at 19:02
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Rhubarb, you are correct in saying the link Rattle has found is power over Ethernet (and data as well) and not what he needs/wants.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Wed 17 Nov 10 at 19:55
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>> I remember rebuilding engines in the kitchen
I removed a Lambretta engine and stripped it my bedroom. Then plugged up the round holes in the crankshaft web with cork, covered the cork with araldite, then baked it in the oven to harden it nice and quickly......
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Thanks for spotting that!! I nearly wasted £16 then!. It just shows when you scan things the brain only wants to read what it wants to read. I think it is back to the 20m cable :(
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I'd still recommend a flat cable, get one in a neutral colour and you'll find it remarkably easy to hide. About £10 for 20m. Try pushing it between the skirting board and carpet (the cables I have are 1.7mm x 6.7mm) and secure the ends with straight couplers fixed to the skirting board with double sided tape.
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In the end I bought a cheap TP Link bridge which cost me £16. It was a bit of a nightmare to setup as the user interface is a bit vague. It is working perfectly now and download speeds are fine.
I also bought a brand new 19" widescreen TFT for the workbench which set me back £69.32 so the day wasn't too bad.
I tried lifting the carpet but it just won't budge, if the TP Link bridge becomes unreliable then I will have to just use a cable and if it doesn't work too well long term I will always always have use for an access point. It even with a device to allow power over ethernet which can be handy in some circumstances.
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Rattle if you get any hassle with your TP Link then I have a spare wireless router going. Brand new and unopened and at a bargain price as well.
cgi.ebay.co.uk/BNIB-Virgin-Media-Netgear-WGR-614-wireless-G-router-/300493216445?pt=UK_Computing_Networking_SM&hash=item45f6ca9abd
Last edited by: bhoywonder on Fri 19 Nov 10 at 10:18
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Not sure if that would even be comptable with the software I mentioned. What I am actually doing is connecting the anthena of the access point to another router, which means I can plug anything into the ethernet port and get instant internet access.
If I have any hassle with this then a cable or expensive ethernet over mains is the only way forward.
Just spent over £100 kitting the bench out and haven't booked a single job in since. I am dead now :(.
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Using a router as a bridge - RattleandSmoke
