I’d like to try to learn to use a computer to program decoders and other things that many of you guys do here. Someone is letting me use their nice IBM laptop that has a wireless card in it … Intel Pro/Wireless 2200 BG Network … the laptop told me.
But we only have a regular wired router hooked up to the cable modem in our house.
Isn’t there a way to use a wireless laptop (or other wireless device) with a wired router? Something like … I would plug “gizmo A” into a port on the router, and I would plug “gizmo B” into the port on the laptop, and these two gizmos could communciate wirelessly?
Or am I just dreaming this up?
If there is such a set up, could you please tell me the exact terminalogy of the items I need to order?
Anyone have a favorite place to oder computer stuff from. I hate going to the local computer super stores.
What you need is a device called an Access Point. It is both a wired/wireless device. The wired part plugs into your router, and the wireless part will communicate with the card in your laptop.
But, you don’t have to go through all that trouble. Temporarily cable the laptop to the wired router, download/install your software, and remove the cable. Then just carry the laptop to the layout.
In addition to the wireless card, the laptop probably has a port for a network connection. You might want to check that out before you spring for an access point. The money you save from just buying a cable could be spent on trains. [:D]
Yeah, it’ll look like a gigantic phone plug (it has 8 conductors instead of the normal 4). If you’re at the right place at the right time you can get one for next to nothing, otherwise just go to Wal-Mart and pay full price–it still won’t be much.
Of course hooking up a wire means you have to be close enough to hook up a wire - or at least have a way to run such wire. I have most of my house wired up, with a patch panel in my office, but to make EVERY jack in the house active at the same time (I ony have the ones live where there actually is a computer), I’d need around a 32-port switch. Not all that cheap - or a stack of 8 port ones linked together. So I have the wireless access point and I can sit anywhere in the house with my laptop without dragging a cable around.
Guess What - Your ‘wireless’ Thinkpad also has a 10/100 Ethernet port on the back of it(unless it is really old). My Thinkpad T30 has wireless and standard wired Ethernet 10/100 port on the back. Now my old Thinkpad 385ED has no built-in Ethernet or wireless, but I do have wireless card in it and it is sitting in the Kitchen - Use it for web browsing while I am cooking.
For the trains, I have an old 500 Mhz PC with 512MB of RAM that is ‘wired’ to the home Ethernet and also wired to the Digitrax via a USB attached Locobuffer II.
Lets assume you have a cable comming in from the street, connected to a splitter which feeds the TV’s on one side and a cable modem on the other side. The cable modem is then connected to your wired router. I would simply remove the wired router and replace it with a router which supports wired and wireless. I like Linksys routers, and mine has 4 wired ports and supports many wireless connections. It happens to be an 802.11b router, but an 802.11g would also work. They don’t cost too much, maybe $60 or less. Make carefull note of the wired router settings, and set up the wireless router with similar settings. As for security, change the SSID, and don’t broadcast it. Change the admin password. WEP or the current encrypton is a good idea. Use MAC filtering so only your laptop can connect to the router.
