Long Range Wireless Router - the options

Finding the best long range wireless router is no easy task unless your a geek in the know. The challenges include: vendor hype, obscure technical explanations and the vagaries of location specific conditions. As a result many of us simply give up and buy the cheapest router with a recognizable brand name. Sadly that strategy didn't work for us.

Linksys-Cisco WRT54GL

Admittedly our house is a bit of a challenge. It's a long and skinny Victorian with double brick walls, heigh ceilings and large solid furniture in every room. We installed a WiFi range extender and WiFi repeaters, but even after weeks of tinkering at least half of the house remained in the shadow of a pathetically weak signal.

The situation was "manageable" until our three teenage children presented their grievances in the unequivocal style that all parents become familiar with. Given the nature of the crisis we could no longer afford to dabble, we had to get serious and find the best long range wireless access point available to man.

D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Wireless Router

There was no need to research long range wireless routers. The kids had done it already. They had read all the marketing hype and swallowed it whole. In their view the only solution was to invest in the latest and greatest wireless N router. I wasn't convinced. Having had a history of buying a router p.a. for some 5-6 years I was in no hurry to add to my collection of duds.

Belkin F5D7132 Wireless-G Universal Range Extender

I asked them to explain why an N router would be a better long range router, and attempted to uphold the bluff of knowing all about that stuff. They obviously knew that they were on safe ground and proceeded to give me a dump on: MiMo, multiple radios, fly swat ariels, multiple antennas, signal processing ... and increased performance over longer distances.

To be honest I wasn't convinced, but it was clear that something had to be done. There were no other options except the outrageous suggestion that we get a second cable installed for the dedicated use of the kids. In the end I caved. For less than a $100, I could buy peace and the kids would own the outcome.

We looked at three wireless N routers:

• Belkin Wireless N+ 802.11n Router
• Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router
• D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Wireless Router

Having purchased several Belkin wireless routers in the past we decided to give them another go. It was not the most attractive of the three options, but who cares, it's a router.

The result: not only do we have a strong signal in every nook and cranny of the house, but it's also fast. Media intensive applications that used to run like treacle are now turbo charged. I would also recommend it as a Skype router. Until we upgraded I would never have believed the quality of a Skype call could be so good.

The bottom line: without any understanding of the technology, I'm convinced on the basis of a very personal real life experience that we have the best long range wireless router available.

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