Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Wi-Fi and how to do it

Tuesday, July 29, 2014


Before all else OPT-OUT of the UCO wi-fi initiative. The forms are linked here.


Use Comcast thru the Messinger  club and get a return of your 1st month's fee.

TECHIE TALK FROM ME - WHAT A SHOCK!

Posted by Esther
     Sitting at the meeting on Sunday and seeing all the interest and yet confusion over how to wire up, I decided to do a little bit of research myself. Now if there is anything I hate to do, pretty high on that list would be to research something techie and/or have to read a manual. But I figured if I can find out the info necessary, then anyone can do it. So research I did and found it relatively easy in this case.
     My premise was that I do not have to understand the how of it working, just that it does and if it would be appropriate to our associations here. I went looking for extenders, which is what would be needed after Comcast or At&T would put in the original device in the common area (i.e. laundry room, storage room, office, whatever the building has).I quickly found the RE6500 from Linksys, called officially the Linksys Range Extender Max. It extends the range of the existing WIRELESS (no muss, no fuss) router 10,000 feet and creates a strong Wi Fi signal that all your devices can pick up. In a large building such as Wellington  I believe that an extender on both ends of the building would do the trick and perhaps in buildings such as Dover, perhaps three.  THE COST - $99.99 per each extender. Cost of installation - either zero, if you have a person in the building who knows how to set it up (my live in techie says it is not difficult) or pay someone and it will not be a costly payment as there is no drilling, no wires, no antennae, nothing but installing the extender using the quick installation guide. The minimum it needs for a range extender setup is a wireless router (check), or access point along with a Wi Fi enabled computer that has an Ethernet port and runs on fairly common systems. (check)
     Each user in the building, I repeat, each user in the building, could get its own access code and own password and the security is fine. The system supports up to 128 bit encryption  and has a Wi Fi Protected Setup button. It is a quick and easy installation setup (provided you use the manual).
     And there you go, wireless, secured and fast Wi Fi in your building for way less than it would cost via Village wide installation and NO EXTERIOR STRUCTURES TO BREAK OR GET HIT BY LIGHTNING OR DAMAGE THE ROOF WHEN BLOWN OVER IN A HURRICANE.

Cost - Comcast installation charge - anywhere from $49.99 to $99.99 depending on length of contract - 2 or 3 years.
      Add in the cost of the extenders, depending on how many are needed (if any, in the smaller buildings) at $99.99 apiece using the one in this article).
       Payment to installer of extenders - from Zero to $100, estimated, depending if you have to actually pay someone.
      A router for each individual user, which is their cost - buy their own, rent thru Comcast, whatever they choose.
     BA - DA BING, BA - DA BOOM - AND THERE YA' GO!!!

1 comment:

  1. Yes, I think maybe that is one way. What you are saying is that the signal is produced by Comcast at an entry point. The signal is wired to a Wireless modem. The signal is picked up by a extender and then to the computers in the unit. If the Association’s ID and PW is good enough your done. If you need more security get a router. However remember that to access your bank you are going to need a unique ID and PW

    So how secure do you want to be? ID and PW to get onto the Wi-Fi line, ID and PW to get into your individual Router and ID and PW to get on the banks website. And of course the Hackers are waiting at Target for your Credit Card.

    Total cost $120/month per association building, $75-$100 per extender one time. $100 per router one time. Ed went with direct wiring because of the turns in the building.

    This is pretty much it.

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