Ok. My main problem is that my 802.11g Buffalo router doesn’t provide enough range down to the first floor of my home. i would like to have the ability to work anywhere in my home…currently not possible. I don’t have any equipment that currently have N adapters. My laptops I am sure don’t. I have been looking at the ZyXel 550 router and it is 802.11g w/ MIMO. But then further research has shown me that 802.11n might provide more range because of MIMO. But doesn’t the ZyXel have MIMO eventhough it is not a N router. very confusing. if need be i’ll just buy a N router…advice is appreciated. Maybe a less expensive Linksys N router.
I use range extenders in my home (my lot is 250′) I have my main router at front of house and an extender/booster near the back. I can get good signal out to the alley easily. Just a thought which may or may not help. Its a small box that pretty much configures itself to grab an IP and boost the signal. Booster is alot cheaper than picking up a different router.
Pinched
MIMO just means Multiple-Input / Multiple-Output – for a ROUTER this means it usually has multiple antennas for the Wireless tranmission – sometimes these are interna – on others they are visible. 802.11n does have wider coverage; but it is not a great improvement unless you have the 802.11n capable WLAN adapter in your laptop as well.
If your laptop is 54g / 802.11g – then it will work fine with n – however, signal will be diminished as you are only benefiting from the MULTIPLE OUTPUT side of the router. To be clear, to get the best results – you need n both ends.
By the way; wireless tranmission is a funny thing – and every home is different – metal studding in your walls, central heating radiators absorb the signals and weaken them. If you are getting drop-outs – you will *most likely* still get them with changing JUST the router end. LINKSYS have just released an internal antenna 802.11n model which works well – but best buy a USB WLAN adapter as well which is n class just to be sure of an improvement.
Hope this helps?
Wireless networking standards 802.11
Protocol Release[3] Freq.
(GHz) Thru.
(Mbit/s) Data
(Mbit/s) Mod. rin.
(m) rout.
(m)
– 1997 2.4 00.9 002 ~20 ~100
a 1999 5 23 054 OFDM ~35 ~120
b 1999 2.4 04.3 011 DSSS ~38 ~140
g 2003 2.4 19 054 OFDM ~38 ~140
n 2009 2.4, 5 74 248 ~70 ~250[4]
y 2008 3.7 23 054 ~50 ~5000
802.11-1997 (802.11 legacy)
IEEE 802.11 (legacy mode)
The original version of the standard IEEE 802.11, released in 1997 and clarified in 1999, specified two raw data rates of 1 and 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to be transmitted in Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band at 2.4 GHz.
Legacy 802.11 was rapidly supplemented (and popularized) by 802.11b.
[edit] 802.11a
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
October 1999 5 GHz 23 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s ~35 m
IEEE 802.11a-1999
The 802.11a standard uses the same core protocol as the original standard, operates in 5 GHz band with a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s.
Since the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used to the point of being crowded, using the relatively un-used 5 GHz band gives 802.11a a significant advantage. However, this high carrier frequency also brings a slight disadvantage: The effective overall range of 802.11a is slightly less than that of 802.11b/g; 802.11a signals cannot penetrate as far as those for 802.11b because they are absorbed more readily by walls and other solid objects in their path.
802.11b
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
October 1999 2.4 GHz 4.5 Mbit/s 11 Mbit/s ~35 m
IEEE 802.11b-1999
802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same media access method defined in the original standard. 802.11b products appeared on the market in early 2000, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the modulation technique defined in the original standard. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with simultaneous substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.
802.11b devices suffer interference from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band. Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range include: microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and cordless telephones.
802.11g
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
June 2003 2.4 GHz 23 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s ~35 m
IEEE 802.11g-2003
In June 2003, a third modulation standard was ratified: 802.11g. This works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b) but operates at a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, or about 19 Mbit/s net throughput. 802.11g hardware is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware.
The then-proposed 802.11g standard was rapidly adopted by consumers starting in January 2003, well before ratification, due to the desire for higher speeds, and reductions in manufacturing costs. By summer 2003, most dual-band 802.11a/b products became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting a and b/g in a single mobile adapter card or access point. Details of making b and g work well together occupied much of the lingering technical process; in an 802.11g network, however, activity by a 802.11b participant will reduce the speed of the overall 802.11g network.
Like 802.11b, 802.11g devices suffer interference from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band. Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range include: microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and cordless telephones.
802.11-2007
In 2003, task group TGma was authorized to “roll up” many of the amendments to the 1999 version of the 802.11 standard. REVma or 802.11ma, as it was called, created a single document that merged 8 amendments (802.11a,b,d,e,g,h,i,j) with the base standard. Upon approval on March 08, 2007, 802.11REVma was renamed to the current standard IEEE 802.11-2007.[5] This is the single most modern 802.11 document available that contains cumulative changes from multiple sub-letter task groups.
802.11n
IEEE 802.11n
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
June 2009 (est.) 5 GHz and/or 2.4 GHz 74 Mbit/s 300 Mbit/s (2 streams) ~70 m
802.11n is a proposed amendment which improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and many other newer features. Though there are already many products on the market based on Draft 2.0 of this proposal, the TGn workgroup is not expected to finalize the amendment until November 2008.[3]