"Extreme" Wi-Fi Router: A Quarter-Mile of Coverage

Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:55PM EST

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Need to blanket your house—along with a few surrounding city blocks—with Wi-Fi coverage? The Extreme Range Wi-Fi Router is here.

Gizmodo has the goods on this $284 monster of a wireless router, which promises to blast out your Wi-Fi signal up to a quarter-mile in every direction. According to its specs, the Extreme Range router packs in 30 dBm of power, the maximum allowed by the FCC (standard Wi-Fi routers only manage about 20 dBm, while FM radio stations average about 80 dBm). The router supports the usual 802.11b/g wireless standards, along with WEP, WPA2, and WPA-Enterprise encryption. Also on board (according to an informed Gizmodo commentator): a battery of fans to keep the Extreme from melting down.

Is the Extreme Range Wi-Fi Router overkill for most of us? Absolutely, and the $284 price tag is pretty steep. Then again, for someone like me who lives in a high-density area with literally dozens of competing Wi-Fi networks in the vicinity, the Extreme might be an effective (if rather unneighborly) way to up the ante.

Related:
Extreme Range Wi-Fi Router Reaches a Quarter Mile [Gizmodo]

Comments on "Extreme" Wi-Fi Router: A Quarter-Mile of Coverage

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  • 1 Posted by mg1394 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:17PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's nice that this can blast out such a strong signal. However, I like my Wi-Fi to be a 2-way system, so how does this help my laptop (for example) put out a stronger signal to get a packet to the router???

  • 2 Posted by scottiecordes on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    Correct me if I am wrong...I don't think the laptop strength comes into play here...if the router can broadcast far enough to get to the laptop, the router will pick up the packets from the laptop. Yes?

  • 3 Posted by everythingisfree101 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    now they just need to make a 1/4 mile reciever.. so i can pickup transmittions from my old router ..lol

  • 4 Posted by dcsoccer25 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    #1 poster, you can get a card for your computer to boost the signal strength. And #2, yes it does come into play. The router may be able to broadcast that far, but that doesn't necessarily mean the laptop has the muscle to send a signal that far.

  • 5 Posted by sschoicefl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ok, to clarify further...this router puts out a very strong signal (though it's not said if it's due to a higher transmitter power or increased antenna gain, like by flattening and lowering the angle of radiation, making more signal go out horizonally and not up or down) and a laptop / PCI card may detect the signal at greater distance but not necessairly send it's signal back to the router any better. If this router gets it's higher field strength (I guess that's what 30 dBm means -- field strength, and not RF output) at least in part from antenna gain, it would be expected to receive from as well as send to greater distances. Does anyone know what the specs in this respect are for this router, and also what the options are for an especially sensitive laptop receiver / cable / antenna combo? I'd rather use a good, flat omnidirectional antenna with high gain than a Pringles can / corner reflector which has extremely high gain but is very hard to orient correctly. Thanks!

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