Wireless home networks are becoming more and more popular these day. The ease of installation and the practicality of being able to surf the net anywhere in the house makes wireless home networks very attractive to internet users. Setting up a wireless home network is quite easy but you need to know some basic things about wireless networks before attempting to start the set up. You can read up more about the wireless networking protocols to help you get a better understanding of wireless networking.
To set up a wireless home network you need to have broadband internet connection with a cable or DSL modem. The common set up at home is usually that of the desk top computer being plugged directly into the modem. In this tutorial we will assume that you have a laptop that you want to connect wirelessly to the PC that is connected to the internet. You need some hardware to make this possible. First you need to have a wireless router. You also need to add a USB wireless network adapter to your desk top PC and a PC card-based network adapter for your laptop computer. For obvious reasons, it is advisable to choose the same vendor for all the additional hardware you buy. Refer to the documentation that comes with your hardware for the installation process.
When you already have all the necessary hardware installed, you can begin the set up. First you need to unplug or turn off the DSL modem then connect the wireless router to the modem. You can check the documentation that came with your hardware for assistance. When you’ve set it up your computer will wirelessly connect to your router. The next step is to configure your wireless router. With Internet Explorer you can go to your router’s configuration page.
Most of the default settings there are rather safe left alone but there are some things that you need to configure. You need to choose a unique wireless network name or SSID, this will be the name of your network. Be sure that no one around that is near you is using the same name. The next step is, if your router requires it, to provide a unique passphrase that it will use to generate some keys. Then the last step to do before you are done with configuring the router is setting your administrative password. Choose a password that is not easy to guess and not too short for security reasons. Be sure to save every setting you’ve configured. The actual steps involved in configuring these settings vary according to the kind of router you have.
The next step is to configure your laptop’s network adapter. It is easy to follow Window’s XP’s on-screen instructions for this one. Right-click the icon for wireless network in your task bar and select “View Available Wireless Networks” in the pop up menu that appears. The Wireless Network Connection window will show and there you will see the name you chose for your wireless network listed. Click Refresh network list in the upper-left corner if you don’t see your network. You will then be prompted to enter a key, this is the key that you wrote down in both the Network key and Confirm network key boxes. Click Connect. You will then see connection progress as it connects to your network. When you’re already connected you can close the Wireless Network Connection window. You’re done, you’ve set up wireless connection.
By: Pinky Mcbanon
Posts Tagged ‘Wireless Networks’
How Do I Set Up My Wireless Network at Home?
February 2nd, 2010Wireless Network Trouble Shooting: Battle of the Wireless Neighbor
January 12th, 2010
Is your neighborhood have too many wireless networks which interfere with yours????
One of the most common complaints is that every time a neighbor puts up a wireless network your wireless network is slower or you get booted off.
The easiest thing you can due is change your channel on your wireless router. Almost all wireless networks have default channel of 6. Change your wireless network channel to something try channel 11 first.
If you have the money purchases a MIMO wireless router. This will overpower one radio access points.
The most common complaint about wireless interference is dropped packets. MIMO wireless routers let you transfer and receive at twice the rate because they have two transmitters and two receivers…or two radios!! This gives you a better quality signal and better coverage.
Next tip – Placement of your wireless router is the key. If you have a wireless router in one of your edge bedrooms half you signal is being sent out of your house with the default dipole antennas.
If you are going to keep your default Di-pole antennas then you need place your router in the middle of your house away from large metal objects.
Next, you can get rid of those cheap rubber duck antennas and make your purchase directional antennas. Directional antennas will focus your wireless signal in one direction.
If you purchase a directional antenna you need to change your transmit and receive antenna to the same. Or purchase a wireless antenna with diversity meaning two TNC connectors.
You might want to think about purchasing another wireless adapter. PCMICA wireless cards often are subject to damage.
Changing your wireless transmit power – You can change your wireless transmit power but it comes with a price. First this will cause your wireless router to work harder and heat up more thus reducing your wireless routers life span. Their is no need to have transmit power over 70mw for a home or small office. You can crank up your transmit power but remember more of you signal will bleed out into the street giving war drivers another target.
You will know if you are having interference if you are constantly connecting and reconnecting to your wireless network. The first thing to try is to try and change the channel to 2 or 11 or what ever works. Next you can make or purchase a wireless directional antenna to focus your signal where you need it. Third Move your wireless router to another place in your home. Fourth boosting your wireless signals transmit power has it’s benefits and it’s consequences, you could fry your wireless router and it could give you hacker issues. Finally if all else fails go out and purchase a new wireless MIMO router.
By: Eric Meyer
Setting Up a Wireless Satellite Internet Network
January 7th, 2010
There are several advantages of going wireless with your internet service. You can network your home or office computers easier, you aren’t tethered to the wall and you can access the internet on multiple computers at the same time. If you are interested in going wireless and you are also interested in satellite internet service, then you may want to set up a wireless satellite internet network.
The first step is to subscribe to a satellite internet service. These services are broadband so they are generally going to work with wireless networking equipment that has traditionally been used to create wireless networks for land based broadband internet services. The three top choices for satellite internet service are StarBand, HughesNet and WildBlue.
While you are waiting for your satellite internet service to be installed, you will want to buy all of the wireless networking equipment that you will need. First of all if you don’t have a computer that has an internal wireless networking card already built in then you will want to either buy one that does, or you will want to buy a wireless network adapter. Next you will need a wireless router.
After your satellite internet system has been set up you will be ready to connect your wireless network. To start with, connect your satellite internet modem to the router. The router will then send signals to your computer via infrared signals. Configure your router following the instructions that came with your router.
If you are using a wireless network adapter you will want to plug this into a USB port in your computer. Otherwise your computer should receive the signal using its internal wireless card. Turn your computer on and follow the instructions that came with your satellite internet system to set up your account if your technician didn’t already do this for you. That’s all there is to it.
By: Sarah Freeland
