802.11g real-world experience
 

Anyone here have some real-world experience on 802.11g wireless access points? It looks like prices are coming down pretty low, and I'd like to set one up when I get home.

Particular points of interest:

• <B>Interoperability with 802.11b devices</B>. I read that early on, using an older "B" device would slow down the whole WLAN. I don't use any right now, but would probably be interested in getting an 802.11b CompactFlash card for my PocketPC. I know that 802.11g is backwards-compatible, but was this issue fixed in the "final" specification?
  
• <B>Range</B>. I've read that range on these is around 25m and can go through walls, etc. My house is 1-story, 3-bedroom with a finished basement. If I put the access point, say, at the top of the stairs leading to the basement, should I have any issues getting a signal anywhere in the house? I really don't want to have to buy 2 APs.
  
• <B>Interference with cordless phones</B>. We have one of those multiple-handset, 2.4GHz cordless phone systems. Can these coexist, or will throughput be drastically cut when one of us is on the phone?

I'm only using apple .11g hardware so as far as different brands etc go, i'm not the person to ask. On the other hand i've found phones to be fine. Range varies. I've got it though 2 double brick walls and around 20m though a brick house. At the moment i'm living in a tri-level warehouse apartment and it seems to be able to go everywhere (apartment is about 30m long).

I haven't gotten to play around w/ .11g, but when I helped set up the WAPs at the UofMn, Twin Cities campus, we used the non-.11g version of these. They are kind of pricey (being primarily business systems) but they work through four feet of concrete walls in the buildings where I did checking.
You also have the option to buy a .11b compatible device that can be upgraded to .11g or .11i when it comes out (though you'll probably have to pay more for it).

I'm happy with mine...
 

I have an 802.11.g Apple Airport (the $200 one and not the $250 one), an EMac and a Dell PC running Win98.

The DSL modem is hard connected to the Airport. The Airport sends a wireless signal about 100' to the EMac and I have connected the Airport to the PC via a LAN cable to an Ethernet card. The EMac and the Airport are on different floors and are about as far apart as any two points inside my house can be - about 100' or so. I'm told (and it makes sense) that residential construction does not impede the signal (steel and concrete might, tho).

It only took a couple hours to set up the whole thing and it runs flawlessly. Plus, anything that can talk to both Apples and PCs is OK with me!

Anyone know what the absolute, theoretical, straight-line functional distance between transmitter and reciever for 802.11 is supposed to be? I'm investigating setting up an outside network at our Pagan Festival site.

Supposed to be ~150 feet. Buy yourself an omnidirectional antenna for the base station and you'll be nice and set.

(With directional antennas, I have read of it covering over 7 miles.)

Cool! Any websites which give the nitty gritty on this procedure, and where to perhaps obtain equipment for same?

I just asked the salesperson at the Apple store and he hooked me right up! He just drew the whole thing on a sheet of paper, got the parts together (except the Ethernet cable and card) and, miraculously, it all worked exactly like he said. BUT, you have to have an Apple/Mac with an airport card. And you can only hardwire to one WinPC unless you introduce some additional equipment.

If I had to go to a website, I'd probably start with TechTV.com and do a site search for 802.11 (I would leave off the .g). The CallForHelp or ScreenSavers show has to have something on it.

What Apple store?

Setting up a network is pretty easy. You really just need a base station and power; configure your wireless card to obtain an IP automatically and then select your network. You should be good to go, and you can usually set them up through a web browser.

In browsing the Best Buy flier from Sunday, I note that Linksys seems to make everything that ought to be required. One of the items they sell is an 802.11 "extender" which is reputed to add range to a setup.

Anyone familiar with these?

I believe an "extender" is an active retransmitter. It receives signals from other base stations / clients, and transmits them back out. Probably useful only for extending the range of your network in a single direction, like between many floors in a building. In other words, if you think of the coverage area as a sphere, an extender will give you two smaller joined spheres (like bubbles stuck together), not a bigger sphere. I doubt it would help for what you want it for.

I do know that some 802.11 base stations are able to accept external antennas, which would probably be a good bet for you.

Edit: I just checked again on my link from above, and it says:
Of course, the "up to" should be taken with a large grain of salt, I'm sure!

BTW, thanks for the info, Beestie.. I do beleive I'll dive in once I return home.