802.11g real-world experience

[Tobiasly]

Originally posted by Elspode
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:

Wireless Operating Range: Indoors - Up to 328ft (100 meters)
Outdoors - Up to 1312ft (400 meters)

Of course, the "up to" should be taken with a large grain of salt, I'm sure!