Suggest cheapest router with repeater mode / dedicated repeater

raksrules

raksrules

Elite
Can anyone suggest me the cheapest router which has repeater mode available or a dedicated repeater will also do. Second hand also ok.
The existing routers we have here do not work as repeater.
I would really not prefer the DD-WRT and such and would prefer out of box functionality.
Please suggest.
 
Im using the D- Link 505R since last 1.5 years now as repeater. Working flawlessly. It has suffered 4-5 hiccups during this time (nothing that cant be resolved by simply turning it off for few mins and starting). Although at ebay chinese repeaters are available for lower price, i decided not to go with those. My setup is like this Room 1 : Router, Room 2 : Repeater ( 15 feet away),Room 3 : PC ( 15 feet from Repeater)

http://www.amazon.in/DLink-DIR-505-Mobile-Companion-Router/dp/B0081TXIQA?tag=googinhydr18418-21
 
@srkmish

How easy is the setup of this ?
My current setup is

Airtel broadband wired modem is connected to TPLink router using cable and then we access this wifi using our devices.

I want an intermediate device which wirelessly connects to this TPLink and can be placed somewhere in middle of the flat and it also should repeat this wifi signal so I can access internet in the farthest corner of the house.

Can you give me gist on how the setup is done ?
 
http://www.flipkart.com/netgear-wnr2000-n300-wireless-without-modem-router/p/itmdz7hnmg4z3v6b

Takes about 5 minutes to set up, and is most efficient when placed at the edge of signal (-80dBm and below) rather than in the middle of the house.

You can use InSSIDer to measure signal strength across your network and place the repeater so that you can get some usable signal where it dips below -85 to -90dBm, where phones etc have a tough time with connectivity.

Don't expect miracles. I was using one to boost signal for a wireless camera, but it would keep dropping and eventually I switched to a wired AP (any router can be used as a wired AP, even the cheapest ones, but it needs a bit of setup work).
 
Yes I am reading about signal Dropping using these repeaters. That would not be good because if I am say downloading something using IDM or even normal Firefox downloading then it will be interrupted if signal drops.

Btw I am ok with buying from eBay.com also from those HK sellers.
I have around $20 in my paypal account which I can make use of.[DOUBLEPOST=1410840832][/DOUBLEPOST]Found this to be cheapest till date. Still reading its specs...

http://www.netis-systems.co.in/en/products/Wireless-Routers-Regular/53.html#.VBe4Ls7Z6Y8

On ebay.in it is available for more than 1000 Rs but on flipkart it around 800 Rs (including delivery charge from WS Retail):confused:

http://www.flipkart.com/netis-wf2411-n150-wireless-router/p/itmdmtepgxvrqzrz

The Netis one sounds good for the price as it is not just a repeater but a full fledged router. But it is not as portable as these...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wireless-Wi...osters_Extenders_Antennas&hash=item27e9a342af
 
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raksrules said:
@srkmish

How easy is the setup of this ?
My current setup is

Airtel broadband wired modem is connected to TPLink router using cable and then we access this wifi using our devices.

I want an intermediate device which wirelessly connects to this TPLink and can be placed somewhere in middle of the flat and it also should repeat this wifi signal so I can access internet in the farthest corner of the house.

Can you give me gist on how the setup is done ?
Click to expand...
Setup is a breeze. You just switch the device to repeater mode. Then login to the Repeater config page. Scan for available networks to repeat. Set password. Done[DOUBLEPOST=1410856894][/DOUBLEPOST]Regarding the farthest corner of the house, im not sure.. then you might have to look for something more powerful as it wifi range is limited. I dont need much range as my room is adjoining to the repeater and (as i said 15 feet from the repeater) and dad's laptop is also 15-20 feet.
 
@srkmish

How is the speed when you are connected to the repeater ?
Can you answer few questions..

1. What is your internet connection speed and I am assuming you get full speed (ideally) when connected directly to the main primary router?
2. What is the speed you get when you are connected to the repeater (and not primary router) ?

I want to know how much speed loss to expect when connected to the repeater.
My requirement is also almost similar to yours and currently I do get ok signal in my room but it sometimes drops low which interrupts downloads and such.
Infact I started getting better signal after I used the TPLink router (with external antenna) instead of the Belkin one (which has internal antenna). Or may be it is a placebo effect.[DOUBLEPOST=1410862614][/DOUBLEPOST]@chetansha

Can you ask your friend the queries I asked above and reply back here. I am also more inclined to order the one you mentioned from ebay.com (since I have paypal balance left).
This one seems to have one problem that if you handoff from main router to repeater on your device, you have to login again, everytime.
 
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1. What is your internet connection speed and I am assuming you get full speed (ideally) when connected directly to the main primary router?
2. What is the speed you get when you are connected to the repeater (and not primary router) ?
Click to expand...
BSNL 512 kbps. I get full 60-65 kBps when downloading via repeater or router via IDM. Torrent speed depends, of course, on health. My problem was same as urs . My router wifi strength used to fluctuate from 2-3 bars and while heavy downloading, it was disconnecting and was reducing to 1-2 bars. After getting the repeater, it is 4-5 bars and speed is constant.
 
@srkmish

You getting full speed even when you are connected to the repeater ? Because I read somewhere that speed drops when connected to a repeater instead of main router.
Also I am inclined to get this one..

http://www.flipkart.com/netis-wf2411-n150-wireless-router/p/itmdmtepgxvrqzrz

Costs 700 Rs if I opt for Saturday delivery (delayed delivery I think). Not really sure if I should go with this or not. 3 years warranty and all, seems too good to be true.
Also on ebay.in it is available for above 1K INR.
This is a full fledged router and has repeater function too. Yes it is not as portable as the wall charger type ones.
 
^^
But is that not just another router. Why not get one of those with wall plug capability. Also (though you are in Mumbai), if power fails the end-point network also goes down. Something like this would need to be kept on a UPS. I keep my router on a UPS, since power does go in New Delhi...!
 
@asingh

Yes the one I linked is just another router. But it supports OOB functionality of a repeater. I don't really need the other options as yet. The cost is pretty lucrative too. The wall plug ones are yes portable for sure but I am skeptical about their range since they have a inbuilt less dB antenna while the netis one listed above supposedly has external 5dB antenna. I am not sure how big/small difference it makes though. Also I read something about the wall plug ones that everytime my device will handoff from main router to repeater, I have to login everytime. I am not sure about this problem and how grave it is.
Basically this is an unchartered territory for me and hence I am wanting to spend as much less as possible.
 
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Speed of repeater connection is slower than main connection, but not slow enough to affect browsing speeds. There is some latency overhead but you should still get 5x to 10x the speed of your internet connection...
 
I have placed the order in the morning. Although reviews are mixed on FK. but i dont trust those reviews. Will return it if the thing doesn't work out. :p
 
raksrules said:
You getting full speed even when you are connected to the repeater ? Because I read somewhere that speed drops when connected to a repeater instead of main router.
Click to expand...
Of course he's getting full speed, wifi from the main router is around 20Mbs, a repeater will halve (this is how much is lost per repeater or hop) it to 10Mbs. A second will make it five, a third will make it 2.5Mbs , he only has a 512kbs connection :)

Unless your internet speed is higher than 10 Mbs then you are good. Repeaters are a no go when you want to stream 720p media.

My requirement is also almost similar to yours and currently I do get ok signal in my room but it sometimes drops low which interrupts downloads and such.
Infact I started getting better signal after I used the TPLink router (with external antenna) instead of the Belkin one (which has internal antenna). Or may be it is a placebo effect.
Click to expand...
What can affect speeds is the presence of other networks using the same channel. use wifi analyser and see how crowded your spectrum is. Maybe your neighbour switched on their wifi and it clashed with your channel. When you tried the tp-link it might have detected the presence of another network and switched to another channel. This is automatic and you can choose whether to hop or not. In crowded space it can be problematic as you lose your connection periodically as your clients have to reconfigure to the right channel.

Another pain with repeaters and mobiles is when you move from one room to the next the signal will also be disconnected. There is no clean way to do handover as yet with consumer grade equipment.

What is the power situation like where you are, it needs to restart unassisted in the event of an interruption.[DOUBLEPOST=1410954252][/DOUBLEPOST]
cranky said:
Takes about 5 minutes to set up, and is most efficient when placed at the edge of signal (-80dBm and below) rather than in the middle of the house.
Click to expand...
Right, so this edge business was a point of contention between Eddy and myself some time back.

The idea i had was if you place it at the edge you get a weaker signal to repeat. Instead, placing the repeater a third away (by signal strength) from the edge means higher throughput and possibly a more stable connection at the destination.

Could you confirm either way ?
 
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I don't have the repeater anymore, I switched to a wired AP.

One of the considerations is the physical access to the intended location and power availability. Since ours is a four-storey house with the middle two occupied by tenants, we could not actually place it anywhere else. So placement by thirds wouldn't have worked. I got about 6mbps at final user locations, which is enough for security camera and browsing, but it was not very stable and connection would time out 3 to 4 times a day.

You are correct in that you will get a weaker signal at the edge. However the edge is also where the signal needs maximum reinforcement. Typically thirds will give you stronger signal to and from the repeater, but the overall range of the combination reduces significantly.

The answer would be 'it depends'. In any case wireless repeating is fraught with issues and does not produce reliable results. Wired APs are definitely the way to go.
 
blr_p said:
Another pain with repeaters and mobiles is when you move from one room to the next the signal will also be disconnected. There is no clean way to do handover as yet with consumer grade equipment.
Click to expand...
This has not been my experience. My mobile still functions well when im surfing while taking a dump in the bathroom.
 
blr_p said:
The idea i had was if you place it at the edge you get a weaker signal to repeat. Instead, placing the repeater a third away (by signal strength) from the edge means higher throughput and possibly a more stable connection at the destination.
Click to expand...
Err.. IINM, you advocated placing the repeater 2/3rds away from the edge, i.e. very close to the main router. So the repeater had an excellent link to the main router, but any repeater clients were now at the edge of the repeater's signal. This is even worse than indicated in the pic, since there were 2 walls to the right of the repeater as well. What was the point?
The 2nd setup which is 1/3rd away from the main router's signal edge does look closer to the setup I was suggesting, so maybe after a year, we do agree after all :p


blr_p said:
Of course he's getting full speed, wifi from the main router is around 20Mbs, a repeater will halve (this is how much is lost per repeater or hop) it to 10Mbs
Click to expand...
One year on and still propagating a myth :)

Since you trust smallnetbuilder, here's how they put it :-
"repeaters start out with a minimum 50% throughput loss."
"If you're trying to work around the signal-sapping effects of stone or concrete walls, those obstructions will also kill the repeater's signal, on top of the built-in 50% throughput reduction."

blr_p said:
I say link speed router-repeater is more important than repeater-client in terms of throughput on the client. There was a good article on SNB that explained this subtle point but i cannot locate it.
Click to expand...
From the same article on SNB :-
"best repeater placement will involve a lot of trial-and-error. Placing the repeater closer to the main wireless router will provide higher bandwidth for the repeater to retransmit. But the longer distance from the repeater will reduce the signal received at the target area and also the resulting throughput. Placing the repeater closer to the target area will provide a stronger signal there, but at the expense of even less received throughput to be repeated."
In other words, they are recommending balancing both router - repeater and repeater - client links like I had already suggested.
 
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