Add a Signal Booster

Add a Signal Booster
If you have a big house (or a lot of interference), you can add a signal booster,
which essentially turns up the volume on your wireless home network transmitter.
A stronger signal means that the receiving point gets a higher quality
transmission. This increases throughput by reducing retransmissions of data
that occurs when the signal strength is weak.
A signal booster can also improve the range of your access point (although this
is much harder to quantify). Today’s 802.11b and g products typically have a
range of 100–150 feet indoors mainly because 802.11b/g products operate at a
lower frequency. Although 802.11a products reach a shorter distance — up
to 75 feet indoors — these products are getting better, and their distance is
improving. A booster might add another 25–50 feet to this, but it won’t take
you to the Starbucks and back.
The signal range of the APs on the market today is steadily increasing
because manufacturers are creating more efficient transceiver chipsets. We
recommend reading the most recent reviews of products because products
truly are improving month over month.
Linksys, for instance, sells its WSB24 Wireless Signal Booster
(www.linksys.com; $90) that piggybacks onto a Linksys wireless access
point (or wireless access point router) to increase the throughput, effective
range, and coverage area of a resulting 802.11b network. (See Figure 18-1.)
This is really easy to install. Simply unscrew the antenna from the AP, connect
the two linking wires (an SMA-to-TNC connector, if you’re curious), reattach
the antennas onto the booster, and then plug the electric cords in.
Signal boosters are mated devices, meaning that they’re engineered for specific
products. Vendors have to walk a fine line when boosting signals in light
of federal limits on the aggregate signal that can be used in the unlicensed
frequencies. For example, the Linksys Wireless Signal Booster is certified by
the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for use with the WAP11
Wireless Access Point and BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Point Router only.
Linksys says that using the WSB24 with any other product from either
Linksys or another vendor voids the user’s authority to operate the device.
The main reason why companies like Linksys sell their signal boosters for use
with only their own products is because of certification issues. The FCC has
to approve any radio transmission equipment sold on the market. A lot of
testing must be done for a piece of gear to get certified, and the certification
testing must be done for the complete system — and the vendors will usually
only do this expensive testing with their own gear.
That having been said, as some reviews have pointed out, you can use the
WSB24 with any wireless LAN product that operates in the 2.4 GHz band —
notably, 802.11b and 802.11g products. You cannot use it with 802.11a or any
dual-band 2.4/5 GHz products; its design cannot deal with the higher frequency.

Figure 18-1:
The Linksys
WSB24
mated to a
Linksys
wireless
access
point.