raymac46 Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 I can well remember my very first use of a broadband router. My daughter came back home after getting her Master's degree in 2002 and I had to share Internet access with a second desktop system. At the time my broadband speed was about 900 Kbps DSL. This was before laptops, smartphones, Roku etc. I got a wired D-Link box and snaked an Ethernet cable around to the opposite wall and set her up there. After she moved to Ottawa I had no more need for a router as I was back to one wired system. After moving to Almonte I inherited my daughters old Dell system and set it up in the basement with Linux. That is when I got serious about wifi and had a wifi router and eventually a range extender. My wife didn't want me drilling holes in the walls and fishing cables so I head to learn about wpasupplicant. The ISP at the time had only a dumb cable modem so you needed a router for anything practical. They started to offer gateways but I avoided them as long as I could. Finally as my speeds increased I needed a DOCSIS 3 modem and the only thing I could get was a gateway. Even so I stuck with my own router - which by then was a pretty capable N series device. At long last I ended up with 1GB AC dual band gateway and at this point I didn't replace the router. It was OK but by now I had a large number of wifi devices - and when my daughter's family came over they brought a bunch more. I also noted that at times I would end up with a dropped connection - especially in the basement. Speeds were not bad but I thought I could do better. My daughter is now studying again and plans to do some online seminars here in October. I needed a more reliable signal and better stability. So close to 20 years later I am back to a separate modem router setup. And so far I can say it was absolutely worth it. My speeds have increased anywhere in the house, on any unit. Where I have the latest tech the speeds are epic. And it seems more stable as well. The more things change, the more thay stay the same. (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 My daughter and her family came over yrsterday. They brought 2 laptops, 2 phones, an iPad, and a portable game console. My wife had her Samsung Galaxy pad connected, and the kids also were streaming YouTube on the Roku box. This was in addition to the usual desktop wired PC and 2 phones we have connected. The router handled everything flawlessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 You need to have a serious chat with your daughter and family about "outdoors" and "exercise". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Yes, I read that and thought the idea of an in person visit is to talk to each other. Fortunately when I used to be able to have lunch out with friends and former coworkers, none of us have phones out. We sit and talk and find out what is happening in each of our lives. Once in awhile, a picture or two on a phone is shared but that's it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 It wasn't total screen time. Just pointing out that the router could handle that many connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted September 27, 2020 Author Share Posted September 27, 2020 Well after 10 days or so, I am still glad I went back to a separate modem and router. I am getting a 30% speed increase even on my old single band adapters and above all - stability. No more disconnect and reconnect during a download. My daughter should have a good experience with her remote sessions next month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 I took advantage of my Linksys router's mesh capability and put a cheap Velop router node in the basement. It really has helped down there. Now I might add one more mesh unit near the TV upstairs if I can get one on sale. I can then wire in my Roku box. Mesh systems provide strong wifi on the same network SSID and are pretty much future proof. Normally you get a couple of identical units but having the more powerful router as the base station is a plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Ethernet-over-Power never got considered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 11 hours ago, crp said: Ethernet-over-Power never got considered? No. Wifi suits my needs well enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 18 hours ago, crp said: Ethernet-over-Power never got considered? I used that for years before finally deciding I couldn't logically maintain my insistence on wired connections for security. It did a great job for a single connection, but I understand you can have some difficulties with multiple connections. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 I still use an ethernet over power connection for a basement computer (refurbed XP running Win 7). At one time I had a switch connected to it and used 2 computers connected. Our first floor gets good coverage in all locations. The basement has good wifi coverage for the newer laptops but didn't have it for the old desktops (we're talking Win 9x and Win 2K computers) with a USB wifi connector so that's why I went to the netgear units. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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