[trowa barton]

I am trying to set up a wireless network through my house. I've pretty much picked the router a Netgear FM114P. This will be connected (Optimum Online) to a cable modem (Motorola SB4200). It will most likely be set up in the basement (that is where the cable guy set up the line). I have a pretty big house (3 floors, inc basement). The basement (w/ Netgear FM114P) will connect one PC (LAN/ethernet) and one Powerbook G4 (Airport). I would also like to bridge/connect the wireless network with a PC and Powerbook G3 (both LAN/ethernet) on the 2nd floor.

I'm a little confused with what I need to do this. Can I bridge two routers wirelessly? I also have an SMC barricade 4 port router (non-wireless) that I would like to use for the second floor. I don't think I can do what I want with a USB Wireless adapter. Is there anything that will pick up a wireless signal and be able to feed it to other computers wirelessly and through LAN ports?

Any help will be appreciated.

thanks in advance

[ghporter]

I don't understand your statement about "bridging" to a second(?) wireless network on the second floor. Are you saying that you want to have network capability on both floors and in the basement? You want wireless coverage on the second floor? You can do all of that with a single network, albeit with more equipment, or by rethinking the arrangement of the equipment you have or are considering.

If you simply put the Netgear wireless router on the 1st floor, you may be able to cover the whole house (depending on where you locate it). This might mean a network cable or two between the basement and the 1st floor, but that's not usually a big problem.

How about a little clarification on your layout and requirements?

[trowa barton]

When I say bridging I mean having some device on the second floor receive the wireless signal from the basement and feed it (LAN/Ethernet non-wirelessly) to the computers on the second floor. I don't want to buy a wireless PCI card for the PC or a wireless PC Card for the Powerbook G3.

If possible I would also like this device to act as a signal booster of some sort, filling in gaps in the house. It is an 8000 sq ft house so there is a lot of ground to cover.

I'm sorry if my previous post was a little confusing. I am just getting into the whole wireless thing and with all the reading I am doing it is just confusing me more. I hpoe this clears up some of the confusion.

If not please ask questions and I will try to clarify.

thanks for the help.

[ghporter]

Ok, bridging isn't a big problem, I just needed to know what you meant. There are a couple of products I know of that do that very well, the first being Linksys' WET11. You plug your computer into it via ethernet, configure it via your browser, and it becomes a transparent part of the network.

As for something that acts like a wireless repeater, that's another issue. What works better is to have several access points connected by wired ethernet and configured for "roaming" access. That means that they all have the same network name (also called an SSID), but they're on different channels. When properly configured, your computer connects to the network through the access point with the best signal.

Some people feel that ethernet is a big problem to run through the house, or have concerns about how far an ethernet cable can go. The cable is smaller than a pencil, so it doesn't take a lot to run it through floors, ceilings, etc. (anyone who is generally capable of tying his or her shoes can get pretty good at attaching RJ45 connectors correctly in a very short time). The ethernet standard calls for supporting cable runs of up to 100 meters, so a few dozen feet within a house or between floors isn't a big issue.

My take is that trying to do what you want entirely with wireless will not only be extremely expensive (there are commercial wirele$$ repeater$) and difficult to put together, but a pain in the butt to configure and manage. Better to go the simpler, wired to wireless route.