What should we care about in a home router to select the best for us?

[Arlen _G_ Holder]

What should we care about in a home router to select the best for us?

In a recent thread on the Windows ng, it was noted by one that their current router worked just fine even as it was 9 years old. o Router recommendations

Same with me, although mine is "much" newer, as the warranty expired in

2013 so it's a 2012 router! :)

Given what we know about power attainable in WiFi based on the Ubiquiti thread, what REALLY matters in terms of buying a home router today? o Curious how far your Wi-Fi access point is from your desktop computer

Typical home routers are hopelessly anemic in terms of power, aren't they? o So what really matters when buying a router for your home today?

I don't know, but as I am wont to do, I'll make a first pass stab: (This is just a guess since I'm not looking for a router myself.)

1. First in import, I would think, is WiFI AP transmit power, which, let's face it, is almost fatally anemic in all home routers, but if you can get

3dBm more than some other router, that's DOUBLE the power (and, as I recall, 1/4 more range).

1. Second in import, I would think, isn't antenna gain (as they're all likely 3dBI or so omni antennas, even as the marketing of them may get "fancy" with all sorts of technologies that simple "gain" would more directly overwhelm), nor is second in import, I would think, the supported protocols, as AC of whatever "speed" you can get is gonna be in all of them.

Second in import, I guess, is "speed", which, um, I don't know, I guess it's directly related to the CPU and RAM of the computer inside the router, but where the lies about "claimed" speed may make that comparison difficult.

1. Third in import, I guess, is "everything else", such as, oh, perhaps: a. Detachable antenna (so you can put a more directional antenna if needed) b. USB port (CIFs SAMBA, so you can put files on the Internet, if needed) c. (special needs may take priority, like multiple fast streaming needs)

1. I suspect the commodity checklist stuff goes here, such as a. fast ports, usually 4, but the faster & more the better of course b. firewall configuration (but don't they all have them?) c. what else matters?

What do we care about in a home router to select the best for us?

[Ed Pawlowski]

I use a Bosch 1616EVS router in the table, but a DeWalt plunge router on the bench. Soft start is a very nice feature to have. Variable speed is good if you will use large diameter bits.

[Rene Lamontagne]

You Sir, are on the *cutting Edge*. :-)

Rene

[Clare Snyder]

Not getting sucked into this one either, even though I do have some experience and expertise.

[gfretwell]

I have a nice 1/2" Porter Cable mounted on a wing of my table saw. It makes efficient use of the space and I can use the table saw accessories (sleds jigs etc).

If you are talking about the computer, it is the one the Telco gives me but most of my machines are hard wired. As long as the kids get WiFi in their room(s) they are happy.

[Tim Taylor]

My Binford 6100 has plenty of power.

[micky]

I use a wireless router. It works okay for the internet, but I can never get it to machine the wood.

[Clare Snyder]

You need a cordless router for that.

[invalid unparseable]

My Xfinity modem contains the router. They gave us a new one last year to handle their highest tier of service. The unit is catercorner on the

2nd floor from my desktop and laptop on the first floor. I have both on Ethernet. Using wifi only in these rooms gives about 1/3 the speed.

[invalid unparseable]

My wife just talking to her brother in Vegas said Cox put in a new modem and now he cannot connect with ethernet. All I know is that he does not use wifi and his laptop is 15 years old. He put the old modem back but it will not work. I'm getting this info 2nd hand but wonder if there is a simple fix.

[Paul]

You're probably holding it wrong.

There used to be a TV series, where the father and son did nothing but use routers. It appears the series was called "The Router Workshop" and it had fairly cheesy production values. (The back wall of the shop, looked like it was designed by an "art director".)

"the+router+workshop" Watch that series first, then give it another try. I'm sure it'll work this time.

Paul

[Dean Hoffman]

Hey, how was your trip?

[Clare Snyder]

Excellent. Did a LOT of walking but the weather couldn not have been better. Had about half an hour of heavy rain while we were inside at the vatican - couldn't have timed it better. Then we went through a bit of rain in the train in Tuscany on the way to Florence. On our one "sea" day we hit a bit of a storm for an hour - rain and thunder but no appreciable wind so it stayed smooth sailing.

Temperatures were very comfortable. The guest house we had in Rome was great and the host arranged van transport for us for everywhere we had to go in Rome - train station, Vatican, and so on as well as from the airport and to the cruise port. We were in MonteVerde - just across the road from the Salvatore Mundi International Hospital. The Koningsdam is a real nice ship too. The food was excellent and I didn't gain a pound!!

Alitalia tore a handle off one of our suitcases but otherwize the service was as good as could be accepted. With my wife's knee and my back we both travelled with canes - and the assistance at both Rome and Toronto airports on the way home was great - no waiting in lines, and no walking 3Km across the airport from terminal 1 to terminal 3 at Rome. AN extra couple of inches of seat width and a few more inches of leg room would have been nice -- - - -

[Arlen _G_ Holder]

Hi Mike Easter,

You're not a troll so it won't irk anyone for me to respond in detail to you, where I don't disagree that almost all (many?) tools are best bought separately for best performance and functionality (IMHO), I agree.

For example, you can purchase the fastest router (or switch) you can find at whatever price is your price point, and then add the best access point you can find at the best price point.

This has a HUGE advantage that the access point is connected by cat5, so it can be located, oh, I don't know, hundreds of feet away, can't it?

That gives you optimal placement of both the router & the access point. o Plus, you can buy the most powerful access point allowed by law.

As you know from this recent thread, the AP will almost certainly be able to shoot at the legal limit, which means it's as powerful as you can get it, and all you have to do is plug it into the back of the fastest router (or switch) you can find, and voila!

Instant (a) fastest router plus instant (b) most powerful access point, each of which is (c) placed at the optimum location for your specific needs.

What could be a more perfect situation?

o Just curious how far your Wi-Fi access point is from your desktop computer

What you wrote makes general sense, Mike, but I have a logical philosophical practical "issue" with that common sense approach.

As you know from the prior thread on WiFi range, the price of consumer stuff is about the same as the price for the pro stuff (ever since Ubiquiti got into the business anyway), where for $100 you can buy an anemic home access point or for $100 you can buy the most powerful home access point that the law allows.

The price doesn't seem to matter (all that much). o And availability isn't an issue either (as Amazon carries it all)

What's needed is the knowledge. o For example, the knowledge of the transmit power of your device.

At least when you buy the $100 pro stuff, you get clear, open, and obvious Tx & Rx power specifications, extremely clearly noted, down to the plus or minus in the measurements and down to the differences at each frequency range.

You don't get ANY of those specifications (AFAIK) in the anemic home stuff, which, kind of, sort of, is my main point.

The home stuff, IMHO, Tx & Rx power is utter crap (in most cases) compared to the pro stuff, and yet, it costs about the same.

My point is that buying by separate components seems to make a lot of sense, as does buying by the spec, but not by price since price doesn't seem to track performance.

Wow.

Your situation is probably common, where your speeds are 10 times what mine are since my Internet comes over the air, but what you just explained, seems to me, to be a perfect candidate for something like this setup:

1. You buy the FASTEST router (or dumb switch) you can afford
2. You tack on any access point that can Tx at the legal limits
3. You place that access point anywhere you want (hundreds of feet away)

Yes. But.

The Ubiquiti devices can be easily set up to be routers:

I'm not suggesting you do this, but I'm just saying you "can". o You get the best of three worlds in terms of speed & power & placement o At about the same price you pay now for consumer crap

I'm not suggesting you do this simply because we'd have to think it through more thoroughly; but I am constantly reminding people that the consumer stuff they pay for is crap in terms of its WiFi Tx power.

I suspect (but don't know this for a fact) that the REASON they don't tell you the Tx specs on the box is that they KNOW it's crap.

Consumer stuff is probably crap in terms of Rx power too (but I haven't checked that).

Methinks you should, at least theoretically, consider three things:

1. The fastest router (or just a dumb switch) you like
2. Any access point that transmits to the legal limit
3. Placed within a few hundred feet of the router/switch (by cat5)

At least theoretically, doesn't that give you the best of 3 worlds?

Even though it's work, you're worth it, so I just snapped this picture for you, which shows that I'm doing exactly that, where my router is nowhere near my switch and where the access points are nowhere near the switch.

Note that you do NOT need such a huge access point, and also note that I brought that access point from where it was, to this location, to put it in the picture along with the switch, but rest assured, that access point is working perfectly and tied to the switch you see in that picture.

Obviously with such a huge antenna dish, that access point has stellar reception of even the weakest mobile devices (usually the anemic iOS devices), which is why it's being used inside the house.

You don't need anything near that, and, in fact, you can easily get to the legal limit on transmit power with just the small horn of these devices:

I'd LOVE to see those spec sheets for the EIRP of those $25 routers! o I'm expecting something really crappy, like less than 20 decibels.

Notice that, at least theoretically, you seem to be a perfect candidate for the concept of breaking down the tools into the best at what they do.

Instead of the swiss army knife approach of most routers, you could a. Get the fasted switch (or router) you like b. Connect by cat5 an access point at up to the legal power limit c. Place that access point anywhere you like (hundreds of feet away)

As noted, I do exactly that all the time, only my switches are all spare switches that I have lying around, as are my access points.

Range is a function of transmit power, antenna gain, & receiver sensitivity, and bandwidth is a function of range and processing power, all of which can be optimized using the approach you suggest.

Basically we're (theoretically) contrasting these two approaches: a. Swiss Army Knife approach (which the typical consumer uses) b. Optimized tools approach (which is in my photo I snapped for you).

What I don't know is whether the router that comes with the Ubiquiti devices is "sufficient" for home use, but, hell, pros use it, so, I would "think" it would be.

But I never set my Ubiquiti devices up as a router, per se

I just set them up as a WiFi access point (or WiFi bridge to Ethernet):

So I don't know how good or bad they are as a SOHO router.

[Ed Pawlowski]

But you still had to put a little zing in there anyway. You have no self control, yet you feel superior to everyone else.

BTW it is spelled purposefully. Your spell check is broke.

[Arlen _G_ Holder]

Grumpy Old White Guy's purposefully helpful advice to Frank was apropos, but I'm not sure if Frank was sincere or just playing games with us.

If Frank was sincere, Grumpy Old White Guy's point is that the modem functionality is the responsibility of the Internet provider in most (all?) cases.

In my case, I own my transceiver (which is sort of like your modem), so I can log in and change the settings, of which there are many as shown below:

Screwing with a single setting could gum it up instantly, in which case I get very good at resetting the "modem" and starting over (since the transceiver is on the roof, we reset them from the POE on the ground) and then log in over the POE connected to our computers.

If you had admin privileges on your cable modem, you would do EXACTLY the same thing, although I doubt they give you admin on the cable modem, even if you do own it yourself (which I would think almost everyone would do if the other choice is to rent it for the rest of your life, as the payback period, last I bought a Costco modem, was generally less than a year, so only a fool would rent it with that being the math).

[Chris]

Lol :)

Am curious. In the US how are the two types of routers pronounced?

In the UK we pronounce them differently and so can differentiate between them quite easily. A "root-er" is the internet one and a "r-ow-ter" is the carpentry tool.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Both are pronounced like the carpentry tool.

Cindy Hamilton

[Dean Hoffman]

Mr. Google showed the Roto-Rooter drain cleaning company when I did a search for "home rooter". He also asked if I meant "home router". He did show a few pictures of the internet versions, though.

[Dan Purgert]