Can I use a PCw/ 802.11b as a WLAN repeater

Here is what I'm trying to do:

1. I have a desktop computer running XP with an 802.11b wireless card
and a thinkpad with XP with and 802.11b card also.

2. My router is setup in my living room far enough away from my laptop
so that I can't get a signal from my desk in my bedroom.

3. I want to place my desktop on my dresser in between my laptop and
the router and allow the desktop to get a DHCP address on the wifi
card. Then I want to point the gateway of my laptop to the desktops ip
address and use it as a "repeater" for my wifi signal from the
livingroom. Can I just enable ICS in the desktop box, then point my
laptops gateway at the XP desktop box?

In other words, can I get the wifi card to talk to the router(network)
and the laptop at the same time, or would I need to have to wifi cards
installed?

With standard nics one is connected to the internet cable while the
other nic connects to switch. (it is essentially a computer based
router).

If this is possible then I could stick an old 486 in place and use it
as a wifi repeater for the house.

tmt

tmt wrote:
> Here is what I'm trying to do:
>
> 1. I have a desktop computer running XP with an 802.11b wireless card
> and a thinkpad with XP with and 802.11b card also.
>
> 2. My router is setup in my living room far enough away from my laptop
> so that I can't get a signal from my desk in my bedroom.
>
> 3. I want to place my desktop on my dresser in between my laptop and
> the router and allow the desktop to get a DHCP address on the wifi
> card. Then I want to point the gateway of my laptop to the desktops ip
> address and use it as a "repeater" for my wifi signal from the
> livingroom. Can I just enable ICS in the desktop box, then point my
> laptops gateway at the XP desktop box?
>
> In other words, can I get the wifi card to talk to the router(network)
> and the laptop at the same time, or would I need to have to wifi cards
> installed?
>
> With standard nics one is connected to the internet cable while the
> other nic connects to switch. (it is essentially a computer based
> router).
>
> If this is possible then I could stick an old 486 in place and use it
> as a wifi repeater for the house.
>

try one of these

http://www.netgate.com/product_info....3e188efb1d2b1f

Mike Roberts

In theory this could work, your desktop would ned two network interfaces.
One interface would connect to your router and supply the Internet
connection to the desktop machine, whilst the other interface would connect
to your your wireless notebook as part of a peer-to-peer (adhoc) network.
You would the setup Internet Connection Sharing using your desktop machine
as the ICS host and your notebook machine as your ICS client. You would
need to disable the DHCP server on your wireless router however or this will
interfere with ICS (it uses it's own DHCP service).

Having said that, it would probably be less problematic to extend the range
of your notebook's wireless adapter or your AP. There are a number of way's
in which you could do this which is dependant on your hardware, however this
route will most likely involve spending money on new hardware.

Some PCMCIA wireless cards such as the Orinoco gold have an MC connector
which allows you to connect an external omnidirectional antenna (I have one
of these), this take's the signal from 2.2dBi to 7dBi, these antenna's are
relatively inexpensive to purchase. There are also high power output
wireless cards available which could be used in your notebook. Also, some
wireless routers/AP's support external/replacement antenna's which can help
extend the range of the WLAN, there are also repeaters available for this
purpose.


--
All the best,

Ryan Younger.
http://spaces.msn.com/members/wirelessnetworking/ - Ryan's Wireless
Networking Weblog





"tmt" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Here is what I'm trying to do:
>
> 1. I have a desktop computer running XP with an 802.11b wireless card
> and a thinkpad with XP with and 802.11b card also.
>
> 2. My router is setup in my living room far enough away from my laptop
> so that I can't get a signal from my desk in my bedroom.
>
> 3. I want to place my desktop on my dresser in between my laptop and
> the router and allow the desktop to get a DHCP address on the wifi
> card. Then I want to point the gateway of my laptop to the desktops ip
> address and use it as a "repeater" for my wifi signal from the
> livingroom. Can I just enable ICS in the desktop box, then point my
> laptops gateway at the XP desktop box?
>
> In other words, can I get the wifi card to talk to the router(network)
> and the laptop at the same time, or would I need to have to wifi cards
> installed?
>
> With standard nics one is connected to the internet cable while the
> other nic connects to switch. (it is essentially a computer based
> router).
>
> If this is possible then I could stick an old 486 in place and use it
> as a wifi repeater for the house.
>

Ryan Younger

After spending far too long on this particular project, I conclude it's
easier to look for a more powerful 802.11g router and do it this way.
It's a pain and unless the signal is strong and reliable from the
source, you get dropped signals and intermittent interference which
translates into corrupt packetsand bad downloads.

tmt

thank you for you help though. I appreciate it.

tmt