Powerful Router - $100 Range

Krovos

Krovos

Member
I'm working with a client that is using an ASUS RT-N53 router, in a 3 story, 4000 square foot home. The ASUS router has 2.5DB internal antennas and the signal gets really degraded as it starts cutting through levels of the house.

General use of their internet includes: Online gaming, media streaming, working from home, web browsing, etc... My client wants me to strengthen their SOHO network.

I know 802.11ac routers are a great option for larger homes, but I have never personally owned one. My clients material build-out budget is set at $100 and I was hoping I could get some recommended networking hardware within that price range.

Thanks guys!
 
voyagerfan99

voyagerfan99

Master of Turning Things Off and Back On Again
Staff member
Yeah the N53 isn't very good for range. The AC66U is a good option to look at but it's at least $40 over budget.
 
beers

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Just $100?

Omni antennas generally have a pretty limited elevation plane. I'd at least put an ap on the bottom and top floors for layered coverage.
 
Krovos

Krovos

Member
voyagerfan99 said:
Yeah the N53 isn't very good for range. The AC66U is a good option to look at but it's at least $40 over budget.
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That router looks great, but unfortunately my client wont budge. Although the material budget is $100, my service fees bill out an additional $100/hr.

beers said:
Just $100?

Omni antennas generally have a pretty limited elevation plane. I'd at least put an ap on the bottom and top floors for layered coverage.
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That's not a bad option and may just work.
Thank you!
 
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Geoff

Geoff

VIP Member
Krovos said:
Although the material budget is $100, my service fees bill out an additional $100/hr.
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You charge $100/hr and you ask for recommendations from this forum?

802.11ac is the opposite of what you need. 5GHz is not going to give you anywhere near the coverage in that home compared to 2.4GHz.
 
Agent Smith

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
Yeah, 5 GHz will bounce like... well it will bounce off walls and not penetrate. You want N. The 2.4 GHz portion of N that is.

Another option is Internet Ethernet over powerline.
 
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Krovos

Krovos

Member
beers said:
Dang, where the hell do you live?

200k/yr for basic consumer grade stuff? Count me in.
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I live in Denver, Colorado. I make NOWHERE near 200,000 a year; my income falls around 40-50k. The trade off of charging $100 an hour is not having a full time schedule, but I also get to deal with less clients than I would if i charged cheaper. I'm also not just consumer based, I work with several business clients as well.

Geoff said:
You charge $100/hr and you ask for recommendations from this forum?

802.11ac is the opposite of what you need. 5GHz is not going to give you anywhere near the coverage in that home compared to 2.4GHz.
Click to expand...

Why shouldn't I be on this forum? I don't charge $100 an hour because I am a tech deity, I charge these rates to work less hours and have more loyal customers/clients.

What would you rather have?: Charge $50 an hour, make 50k a year, and work full time | Charge $100 an hour, make 50k a year, work part time.

Agent Smith said:
Yeah, 5 GHz will bounce like... well it will bounce off walls and not penetrate. You want N. The 2.4 GHz portion of N that is.

Another option is Internet Ethernet over powerline.
Click to expand...

We were unable to do powerline pass throughs; they have a washer and dryer downstairs that would spike the current in the copper lines.

I ended up building a 2.4GHz router with a old computer I had lying around with pfSense. I picked up a 12DB antenna and strapped that into a wireless network card on the back.

Thanks guys,
 
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Geoff

Geoff

VIP Member
Krovos said:
Why shouldn't I be on this forum? I don't charge $100 an hour because I am a tech deity, I charge these rates to work less hours and have more loyal customers/clients.

What would you rather have?: Charge $50 an hour, make 50k a year, and work full time | Charge $100 an hour, make 50k a year, work part time.
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So you are making the customers pay more for services than they should be because you don't want to work as much? My point of you being on this forum is that for $100/hr service charges, you should have the utmost expertise to not need help from forums like this, when a customer could come here and get the same advice for free.
 
jjohn6

jjohn6

New Member
20$ access points (2.4) + power line adapters (30$ on sale two sets?) roughly 100$

???? on the dryer and washer thing? I am not even sure where you are going with that. I can't even that statement.
 
Krovos

Krovos

Member
Geoff said:
So you are making the customers pay more for services than they should be because you don't want to work as much? My point of you being on this forum is that for $100/hr service charges, you should have the utmost expertise to not need help from forums like this, when a customer could come here and get the same advice for free.
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Yes, that's business, and I live very happily with it. I appreciate the information this forum offers and I was simply asking about a new-ish network standard I am unfamiliar with. I'm honestly becoming a bit offended by your criticisms. I am able to conduct business however I wish in order to support myself and my family.

jjohn6 said:
20$ access points (2.4) + power line adapters (30$ on sale two sets?) roughly 100$

???? on the dryer and washer thing? I am not even sure where you are going with that. I can't even that statement.
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Okedokey said:
Wouldn't the washer/dryer be on a different circuit to the standard (10A) GPO?
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"Third, power line adapters' performance can be degraded by the noise that certain home appliances generate in the power grid. Examples of these appliances include motorized devices (fans, vacuum cleaners, washer and dryers), switch power supplies (AC-to-DC converter used in phone chargers), and fluorescent lamps."

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/home-networking-part-7-power-line-connections-explained/
 
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johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
There is no way I could charge $100 an hour for my services, even if I did it as my main source of income. For a quick fix such as malware infection I charge about $30. I have a huge clientele and have been extremely busy lately. To build a system and deliver to client, I usually charge $65. If I have to transfer data then its $75 total.
 
Krovos

Krovos

Member
johnb35 said:
There is no way I could charge $100 an hour for my services, even if I did it as my main source of income. For a quick fix such as malware infection I charge about $30. I have a huge clientele and have been extremely busy lately. To build a system and deliver to client, I usually charge $65. If I have to transfer data then its $75 total.
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Fair enough, to each his own. Granted, my rates are only applied when I'm physically engaged with my project, not just letting a malware scanner run in the background as I watch movies.
 
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jjohn6

jjohn6

New Member
Hmm...
mta/cm > netgear > tp-link powerline adapter > tp-link power line adapter > 5 port tp-link switch > Ethernet cable
100m/5m services
speed tests
Capture1.PNG Capture2.PNG
Looks like it's doing alright. Also peak time usage for download so this is a skewed result, as you can see upload has basically no loss at all.
Food for thought.
 
Krovos

Krovos

Member
jjohn6 said:
Hmm...
mta/cm > netgear > tp-link powerline adapter > tp-link power line adapter > 5 port tp-link switch > Ethernet cable
100m/5m services
speed tests
View attachment 6470 View attachment 6471
Looks like it's doing alright. Also peak time usage for download so this is a skewed result, as you can see upload has basically no loss at all.
Food for thought.
Click to expand...

I also have no way of knowing how stable your connection is with a test like that.
>CMD
>ping google.com -t
>then show results
 
Krovos

Krovos

Member
beers said:
$50/h full time is about double that ;)

I really hope the person isn't in an area with a lot of access points...
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Only depending on how you look at that; a good chunk of running my own business doesn't include billable work: Cut out time for networking events, advertising, billing and invoicing, free meetup estimates, emails, followups, driving time, equipment trips, etc... It adds up really quick :D. If more than half my time went to billable services, I would be writing this message from a yacht in Miami. In theory, $100 an hour sounds phenomenal, but on paper, when all other time-eating necessities are accounted for, it's stretched thinner than one might think.

They have no need, they can connect to that router from the moon now lol.
 
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