Dummies, Wireless

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Part V: The Part of Tens
If you happen to come across one of these — or someone gives you one —
you should know that signal boosters are mated devices, which means
they’re engineered for specific products. Vendors have to walk a fine line
when boosting signals in light of federal limits on the aggregate signal that
can be used in the unlicensed frequencies. For example, the Linksys Wireless
Signal Booster was certified by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) for use with the WAP11 Wireless Access Point and BEFW11S4 Wireless
Access Point Router only. Linksys says that using the WSB24 with any other
product from either Linksys or another vendor voids the user’s authority to
operate the device.
The main reason that companies such as Linksys sold their signal boosters
for use with only their own products is certification issues. The FCC has to
approve any radio transmission equipment sold on the market. A great deal
of testing must be done for a piece of gear to get certified, and the certification
testing must be done for the complete system — and vendors usually do
this expensive testing only with their own gear.
As some reviews have pointed out, however, you could use the WSB24 with
any wireless LAN product that operates in the 2.4 GHz band — notably,
802.11g products. You couldn’t use it with 802.11a or any dual-band 2.4/5 GHz
products; its design couldn’t deal with the higher frequency.
Add an Access Point
Adding another access point (or two) can greatly increase your signal coverage,
as shown in Figure 18-1. The great thing about wireless is that it’s fairly
portable — you can literally plug it in anywhere. The main issues are getting
power to it and getting an Ethernet connection (which carries the data) to it.
The first item is usually not a problem because many electrical codes require,
in a residence, that power outlets be placed every eight feet. The second
issue (getting the Ethernet connection to your AP) used to be a matter
of running all sorts of wiring around the house. Depending on the actual
throughput you’re looking to provide, however, you may be able to set up
another AP by using the HomePlug, DS2, or even wireless repeater functionality
that we mention in Chapter 3 and elsewhere in this chapter. We don’t
repeat those options here, but know that you have those options when you’re
moving away from your office or other place where many of your network
connections are concentrated.
After you get the connectivity and power to the place you want, what do
you need to consider when you’re installing a second AP? Choose the right
channel: If you have auto channel selection in your AP, you don’t need to
worry because your AP’s smarts handle it for you. If you’re setting the
channel manually, don’t choose the same one that your other AP is set to.