wireless internet [Archive] - UK Monster Owners Club Forum

dean

14-03-2005, 04:06 PM

A question for anyybody who knows anything about this (help appreciated)

I curently am using dial up from home and am looking to change over to wireless. I have two computers and would like to have wireless access on both.

Any advice appreciated.

And yes, i do want to put posts on while on the toilet. That's the main reason in fact.

But not the bath, that might be a bit dangerous.

rjc

14-03-2005, 04:20 PM

The easiest way is to get a dedicated wireless router. This will connect to you phone line and have one or two antennae for the wireless connection. Your first port of call should be your ISP who may sell a device that does the job - that way you'll know it's compatible.

Rogerg

14-03-2005, 05:55 PM

your going to struggle to get a wireless dialup device. (modem)

If your get broadband it gets a whole lot easier.

you can find lots of kits on: http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk (their nothing to do with me, but a good place to start)

I use a Netgear DG834gt - works a treat with both my Mac & Sazza's Windoze machine.

I'm a Apple Mac man myself, they do do a Wireless router with modem for around £140.

My advice - go broadband

marchesini

14-03-2005, 05:56 PM

I have this set up at home using the Apple Airport device - connects an iBook, a Powerbook, an iMac (not imaac / Veet) and a desktop G5. A router that plugs into the wireless base station and then sends its harmful rays throughout the house and surrounding counties.

I think the thing not to do, is tell your ISP that you want to connect more than one device to the internet at one time. I believe (and its my choice to, freedom of thought and all that), that you would then be charged for a business type of account i.e. more moolah. The premise of home broadband access is on a single user basis so don't allow more than one connection into the ADSL box. This is where the router comes in - allowing any number of computers to wirelessly connect at the same time. Can't remember the name of the magic box but somebody cleverer than me had to do a bit of setting up for me as it wasn't a simple process.

The other thing to factor in is the wireless thingies (technical term), that you need to plug into your laptop or PC to be able to receive the radioactive pulses. Hope this helps (although probably not) but more than likely someone who knows what they are talking about will be along in a minute to tell you the real truth rather than that of the half-baked kind.

Best regards

simon

PaulS

14-03-2005, 06:24 PM

I'm with Rogerg on this one. You need broadband access to effectively make use of wireless - I'm not aware of any wireless routers that are intended for use with a dial-up modem. It would be theoretically possible to do if you had the modem and router attached to a desktop PC and ran a proxy server on the desktop PC, but would be difficult to achieve unless you are fairly technical - to be honest I think you would be on a hiding to nothing. If you have a BT phoneline then there are numerous ISPs that will supply you with various speeds of broadband at various price points. If you go this route then there are numerous companies that can supply a combined ADSL modem and wireless router - you will also need wireless cards for each of your PCs. If you get your phone service from the local cable operator then you will need a cable modem (normally supplied by NTL or Telewest and sometimes built-in to the TV's Digibox) and wireless router - again you may be able to get one device that does both jobs. I'm surprised you can put up with dial-up on one PC, connecting (and using) two at once would be terrible.

S4Mal

14-03-2005, 06:28 PM

Obviously Monster owners are technical gods and know everything about everything. Ive got one here which runs my PC (windows XP) my daughters and my wifes laptop. It took me about 3 weeks to get it working properly. - I thought it would be a case of plug it in an off we go but its not that simple. (for me anyway) Most of the problems involve firewalls and security features. Mines a Linksys ADSL gateway WAG54G. - Linksys tech help are brilliant but in the USA.
Remember there are different wireless protocols 801b (earlier version-sometimes cheaper but slower) and 801g (newer and faster) also boxes that do b and g.

I think you will be wasting your time if you dont get broadband tho. Good luck.

dean

14-03-2005, 07:21 PM

i meant to say that i will be swithching to broadband, my service provider is aol, they'll provide me with a free broadband modem. i've seen a bt package called voyager, wireless modem plus pcmcia card. is that all i'll need?. also, if so, how will i know whether my laptop is compatible?,

Also!, can i also use another computer as well, does my house have to become a hotspot!?

jargon i pick up, knowledge i fail miserably on.

CraigMac

14-03-2005, 07:35 PM

Dean Im in the same boat as you and need the same advice....so im following this thread as well....Shall we put the sail up..or just drift.....and your house is a hotspot.....wow....have you contacted British Gas...they may be able to help...what with all this global warming lark.... whats it going to be like in summer!!
Are you south facing...that could be your problem....Im concerned!!

dean

14-03-2005, 07:44 PM

Craig, you do realise that now you have posted a reply to this thread, the following will happen in quick succession

1. the rseponses will quickly degenerate in to farce involving all sorts of espionage and conspiracy theories.most of them true.
2. nobody else will take it seriously
3. Well all get warnings from the thought police
4. Alex will interject with some french stuff
5. the thread will get taken off air

none of this i object to, so lets go.

p.s advice on the wirelss stuff still important but please hurry, this thread is now ticking.

Rogerg

14-03-2005, 07:49 PM

ok couple of questions:

1. how many computers need to connect to the internet and what are they. ie desktop Win XP, Mac Laptop etc. do any of them have wireless cards already?

2. presumably the PC that already connects to the internet via the phone line would not need a wireless card as its right next to the phone line anyway, but does it have an ethernet card? (looks like a phone connector, but bigger) so could cable it straight to the router.

3. don't get your broadband from AOL - complete rip off + their support for routers is not good. Theres loads of good, cheaper providers out there - www.freenetname.co.uk £18 per month for a 2Mb line & free domain name and all.

CraigMac

14-03-2005, 07:55 PM

Dean, I am really interested in this wireless...ohjah stuff.
And like you, I havn,t got a clue..
So yes folks, I agree....Please inform us witless ones what we should purchase.....
If not, we will be forced into PC World, where one of the "Staines Massive"(with a shirt and tie on) will flog us something that we dont need and we'll be paying £9.00 per minute to some geezer in Bombay to tell us how to load it up....
This is a serious question and serious answers are required!!

So are these wireless things made of Bacolite??

Regards..

CraigMac

14-03-2005, 08:05 PM

benjiwillik

14-03-2005, 08:20 PM

aol will only support Net Gear routers, although others will work...I to am a paid up victim of aol, and its !*!*!*!*ty browser that crashes all the time!(get fire fox's browser...once you have your adsl wireless router, you won't need to do all that pointless signing on to aol any more!) I brought a Belkin adsl modem with built in wireless router after xmas and got it all up and running on two lap tops in an afternoon-with a little help from my mate 'john' from their indian call center...which is 24hr and FREE!!!my lap top had built in wi-fi so it may be worth checking your hardware before you splash out, but I bought one for her-in-door's lap-pooter (£50ish), and i was a plug and play affair pretty much.

Definatly go for it-it is revolutionary, and am already looking forward to sunning my self in the garden whilst using my pc this summer, instead of being stuck indoors. Hope this helps mate and let me know how you get on...and in case you wondered,I don't work for belkin either ;)

dean

14-03-2005, 08:30 PM

righty,

i have a laptop with windows xp, plus an old desktop with windows 2000.

to get multi computer and broadband i need an adsl router?, aol provide one free of charge with the broadband package dont they?

to get wireless, i need what?

also, i need to stick with aol cos of the missus' work.

how does the wireless thing work?, am i right in assuming that they work on the same principle as cordless telehpones, i.e base station and handsets. in this case pcmcia card attached to laptop/pc being handset.

thanks in advance, and i am impressed to see this thread still open. i know there's a new personal best looming for a few of us.

Rogerg

14-03-2005, 08:34 PM

Roger, Dean appears to be off looking at other stuff.....Ive got a "Intel anypoint DSL modem" via broadband does this gubbins stuff just plug into there on the pc.... and the same for the laptop.....
I know he started this thread, but in reality he,s a top egghead and really does,nt need this advice.
Regards

that sounds like a USB device to me - in which case you'll need to replace it with a wireless adsl router & put a wireless card in your PC

Router: http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ShopGroupID=38&CategoryID=65&ProductID=539

PCI card for PC: http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ShopGroupID=38&CategoryID=65&ProductID=539

PC card for any PC based Laptops: http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=1013&CategoryID=58&ShopGroupID=8

if you've got a Mac Laptop use the Apple branded card.

The netgear box is simple to configure using a web browser.

Rogerg

14-03-2005, 08:38 PM

Dean, I'd check with AOL to see if their supplied router is wireless enabled.

If not, you'll need a wireless access point. (ie an ethernet to wireless converter): http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ShopGroupID=8&CategoryID=57&ProductID=599

then the relevant card for each computer that you need to go wireless, see above

benjiwillik

14-03-2005, 08:52 PM

the modem they supplied at the time I took out my contract was a usb modem, so that would be no good for wireless, but they may have changed their offer now. dsl modems work via a network card so DON'T get one of those. you need a ADSL modem with a wireless router built in (802.11g), a wireless net work card for the lap top, and a the equivelant card for the desk top, which will require minor surgery, but nothing too scary....alternativly if the router can be placed near the desk top, and there is already an eather net card already installed, you can patch straight in to one of the rj45 sockets on the back of the router with a STRAIGHT(not cross over) catogory 5 cable...usually 1 supplied with a router.

the best thing to do is get one(ADSL modem with a wireless router) from aol when you subscribe, as that way you get free phone support and no compatibillity worries.

another bonus is file sharing so you can free up space on your laptop by storing files on the desktops larger (prob.) hard drive...see how you go, and have fun phoning india-they all have nice english names and if you get someone who speaks good english, they usually know their onions and are very helpfull ;)

Plum

14-03-2005, 09:13 PM

I am with RogerG on his choice of hardware. I currently use a Netgear DG834 router with a seperate Wireless Access Point, but the all in one kit that roger uses is good. If you buy the all in one package, then all you need to worry about is a wireless card for the lappie as you can plug the desktop straight into the router (unless the router is not going to be close enough to hardwire. The Netgear kit is quite easy to setup, even for someone with only a little knowledge. To be honest one of the best ways to check out options on setting up a wireless network would be to check out the Microsoft Knowledge base (microsoft.com). They have up to date and easy to follow articles. Each network is configured differently by people to suit their needs. The only advice i would give someone is

1. Get it up and running so you can get internet access and file sharing between your lappie and desktop if you wish. Then build on it by configuring it for your needs. You will find this way might be best way as you will do it a bit at a time and this will make it easier to trouble shoot should you have a problem.

2. Get the most up to date firmware for your hardware. This will give you a better and more stable enviroment as all the bugs will have been ironed out from previous firmware versions.

3. Be the best secured you can. Wireless, although a fantastic thing, is still less secure than a cabled network (for obvious reason)

4. Dont be baffled or scared by the jargon. I was 27 (4 years ago) when my wife bought home a PC. This was my first PC and i looked at it and thought 'what the f*** is that. I didnt have a clue. I couldnt even sus out the internet. A year later i blag my way into an IT job and am still there and happy three years later, so i guess i can say i know a little bit.

If you want any help with anything, please feel free to ask as i would be more than happy to help with advice or questions.

Good luck mate

CraigMac

14-03-2005, 11:51 PM

Thanks for the good, sound advice.
and thanks dean for asking the question in the first place!!
Im sat in a cold spot...hows your hot spot.

Regars and good night.

dean

15-03-2005, 07:58 AM

thanks all for advice and tips. am looking to upgrade to droadband first over the next few days. will then do wireless afterwards.

It's been a big help and i know i will be referring to the posts for the weblinks posted.

And Craig, we managed to have a thread that bordered on sane, the murderators will be swelling with pride.

DesmoDog

15-03-2005, 08:28 AM

Did you solve the hot spot riddle? All you have to do is make the network private and Bob might very well be your uncle (if he's not being pulled off in Alex's thread). Too bad about AOL, I have blueyonder who provide the wi-fi set up, keep increasing the delivery speed and then refuse to support networking. Which is nice. My house isn't a hot spot, but I can set my lap top to scan for hotspots and identify every house in the street with the wireless set up. Seriously thinking of dropping my subscription and piggy backing on one of the neighbours connections, because you know they don't need 1.5meg to download e-mails from the next catalogue once a week.

A Yerbury

15-03-2005, 08:49 AM

Sorry that I did'nt get to interject on this one boys ,I had a row with the old man (father not husband) so I rode off in a self righteous huff and listened to a program about "glacier creep" on Radio 4 instead. It looks like you all enjoyed yourselves, had a serious old chat, no one ended up crying and no one has been banned. Don't do this ever again.
AY.x

dean

15-03-2005, 01:17 PM

more advise please!

I have just contacted AOL to upgrade our package to broadband. I have looked at getting the £17.99 per month package, 512kbps. I told them that i was going to go wireless and the fella said the £17.99 per month does not support wireless, to do that i would need the £24.99 per month?!

Is this right?

Help appreciated

A Yerbury

15-03-2005, 01:20 PM

what is the speed of the 24 per month? 512 may not be strong enough for wi fi or wiffy as we techtypes call it.

dean

15-03-2005, 01:30 PM

what is the speed of the 24 per month? 512 may not be strong enough for wi fi or wiffy as we techtypes call it.

the 17.99 is for 512, the 24 is for 1 mps (is that right!?). so 512 is not quick enough for wi-fi?

A Yerbury

15-03-2005, 01:44 PM

the 17.99 is for 512, the 24 is for 1 mps (is that right!?). so 512 is not quick enough for wi-fi?
possibly or it may be what we call a "fob off" which is not as sexy as it sounds. Someone with a bit more know how may be able to advise better? it may be a pointless upgrade, 512 may be fine or it may be that it needs double the info (1mbps) instead.

PaulS

15-03-2005, 01:59 PM

marchesini

15-03-2005, 02:03 PM

the 17.99 is for 512, the 24 is for 1 mps (is that right!?). so 512 is not quick enough for wi-fi?

512 is plenty enuff. It will be at least 10 times faster than your existing 56K set-up and without the annoying alien noises. Again, some cleverer people than I will elaborate why but I believe that 512 is more or less what you'll get depending on how many are using it at the time but with dial-up, it is unlikely that you'll get anywhere 56k for any length of time - I think.

Best regards

simon

Bob Dixon

15-03-2005, 02:08 PM

Dean,
If you needed computer advice why didn`t you just come to me directly in the first place? I`m intrigued that you are going for the optional toilet installation kit;

You need
1] A router, B&Q have these on offer at the moment. Get yourself a Black and Decker router with the optional flexi drive. This is essential for a succcessful hook -up to your hard drive.

2] The best wireless for your requirements is undoubtedly the tweed fronted Fergusson, unfortunately these are getting harder to get hold off, if you can`t find one you may have to settle for a Bush.....make sure it's maroon.

OK, now you're ready to go..
I`d go hard wire to the outside of your toilet, at which point you should use the router to channel a decent rebate into your Torus skirting board. You might want to consider a Dustbuster or a Dirt Devil at this juncture, this will eliminate unwanted fluff interference.

PC World do a very neat workstation for using a laptop in the toilet. It has a neat slide out tray specially constructed to give adequate under tray clearance [essential for any WC PC user] It features clear plastic keyboard cover and an anti splatter perspex screen guard, which also has anti glare properties . A handy tissue dispenser completes the spec.
Good luck....

dean

15-03-2005, 02:26 PM

Dean - The AOL tosser is yanking your chain. Whether you use a hardwired connection to the ADSL modem or wireless has no bearing on the connection speed you require. That's purely down to how quickly you want to download data and how much data you want to download. If you're going to be using more than one PC simultaneously you may find 512k a bit slow but it's got nothing to do with using wireless.

So, if i get the AOL 17.99 broadband a month package (which will be hardwired to by desktop), will i still be able to tack on the wireless stuff for remote access from my laptop?,

Bob, font of wisdom that you are, i recognise that you are wanted by a number of people, so i didnt want to disturb you with my trivial toilet talk.

However on the wireless front i think you'll find massey ferguson are by far the most competitive on the market.

PaulS

15-03-2005, 02:49 PM

So, if i get the AOL 17.99 broadband a month package (which will be hardwired to by desktop), will i still be able to tack on the wireless stuff for remote access from my laptop?,

The short answer is yes. I assume the ADSL modem AOL supply will connect to your desktop using a USB connection? You will need to connect a wireless router to your desktop (preferably using an ethernet connection to a card in your desktop) and configure a proxy server on your desktop to pass on connection requests from your laptop (with wireless card installed). To be honest this could be a bit difficult unless you are technical (I assume you aren't or you wouldn't be asking). I would suggest you get the desktop up and running with the ADSL modem that AOL supply and ensure you are happy it works correctly and then attempt to replace it with a combined ADSL modem and wireless router - this would be much simpler than messing about with proxy server software. To use this solution you would need the following - Wireless router with ADSL modem built-in; ethernet card in your desktop and cable to connect to router; wireless card for your laptop. For ease of set-up I would suggest you source this all from the same manufacturer - Netgear is a good one that has already been recommended but 3Com, Belkin and numerous others do good stuff as well. Don't be bamboozled by the sort of people you get at AOL or PC world as generally they're just spotty oiks who don't know their arse from their elbow. This sort of thing is a bit difficult to deal with in this kind of forum as it sounds simple but often there are "gotchas" to catch you out. Don't you have a mate who lives locally who's a bit technical who can help you out on the ground?

dean

15-03-2005, 03:09 PM

top tips paul (i think!), i shall order my aol broadband and get that up and running for a few weeks before i go for the biggy.

Whew, i need a cup tea now.

CraigMac

15-03-2005, 03:55 PM

There really are some clever people on here, its just like a university of general cleverness...all contained in a handy machine...Fantastic.

I remember when it used to take days to find a clever person and Ive been caught out a few times asking people with glasses, questions and they didnt know the answer.
Most clever people wear glasses, But in this modern era they can disguise there intellect with contact lenses, just to try and make themselves look thick!!! Maybe they just wear contact lenses to avoid answering questions.

Anyway, thank goodness that we have a few Boffins on here.
Regards.

A Yerbury

15-03-2005, 03:58 PM

Dean when you're finished please send the AOL chain pulling tosser this way please, "its been a while" as they say in Burundi (where the womenfolk will !*!*!*!*! your !*!*!*!*!*!* flick !*!*!*!*! !*!*!*!*! !*!*!*! for a potato, apparently..)
Allesandro.
ps Massey Ferrguson! don't make me laugh! Bendix mate, thats whatcho want now it's all digital.

dean

15-03-2005, 04:05 PM

i have ordered broadband from the very nice man at AOL.

He has advised me that AOL is very broad so i now have to invest in a widescreen monitor at a cost of £578.17 from pc world.

Craig, dont forget me when mr umdingo squares up mate!

A Yerbury

15-03-2005, 04:16 PM

578? I used to pay my broads 30 quid for a *!*!*!* and I could look at her boobs for that price. rip off Britain yet again.

CraigMac

15-03-2005, 05:53 PM

Alex,
Once again you hit the nail Fair and square, smack bang in the middle of the swede.
This broadband malarky is in my opinion a right load of bunkem. Ive had broadband for a while and the cable is no thicker than it used to be.
The tefal heads, have stitched us right up...like a kipper. The same amount of info still goes up and down the wire its just that they have done something which is much to technical for us to understand...it would even confuse those who wear glasses....so it must be complicated.

Another thing we are being ripped of with is these computers, wev'e had pentium 1 2 3 4...what happened to 5....I wanted a five...and then wev'e got AMD this that and the other.....
Now why didn,t they make pentium 4s years ago and we could have missed out on all the kack ones like the 1 2 & 3.

Can you imagine going in to buy a new monster and they say well youv'e got to have the 125cc monster first...then the 250cc monster,we can only make them go up a bit at a time. Yes sir, we know this bike wont pull the blankets off the bed, but like it or lump it. Oh and by the way, when we bring out the bigger bike, your old one wont be worth two pints of cold urine.....
So could one of the very clever people, put this in to some form of order and tell me why we cant have a pentium 38 right now....
A serious question, that needs a serious answer..... maybe..
Regards.

A Yerbury

15-03-2005, 07:13 PM

I keep upgrading my sound, graphics card and mobile phones.....you know what? they keep getting smaller!? they must think that we are idiots! I mean the first computers -like the collosus in bletchley park- were the size of rooms! yeah! back in the black and white days! Yet these whiz bang so called athlons and "intel inside" things are smaller than a packet of JPS. So much for progress......and dont get me started on Gilette....2 blades, 3...now four? when will it end? five six? my head is only so big! ( leave it-predictive easy gag inhibitor ed)

Richard_S

15-03-2005, 09:54 PM

you two have brought a smile. I had nearly just lost the will to live but like brandy to a snow-illed explorer I am refreshed by the ludicrous. Maybe you do deserve a second inspection craggles.

btw I have a pentium XtZg100-000. I try to tell myself that it makes up for my lack of neighbourly morning eyebrow acknowledgment gesture tipple blink moments. One must try harder in the bedroom opera of embrace succkage and also pay more attention to the allusive brake dancing of the lucky few.

A Yerbury

16-03-2005, 08:26 AM

Splendid news! Richard(troubadour extraordinaire and peddlar of scurrilous media)_S has re-aligned his live/dont liveometer and I have some tips for Dean on the technical front! hurrah...I did one of these internet searches and found a very helpful American gentleman with lots of pictures and small films of his wifey! He went into some detail as regards how all the -quite frankly baffling!!- equipment was connected and what bits did what...as I say I am a bit of a greenhorn as far as all this goes but it was all very interesting. To see "hot pics!" -his words not mine, these Yanks eh!!?- of some of the more advanced set ups you have to pay a subscription but all the basic positions and connections were there gratis. I will try and find the link.....hang on.