Ever have wireless connections issues on your router? Here is a fix without breaking the bank.

I have my router in the basement. Never could get a decent signal upstairs or outside.

I did this awhile ago but right now Future Shop has them on sale so I thought I would post this.

First off you need this particular router currently $40 while supplies last (I got the last one in stock at the Newmarket store yesterday). The ones they are selling now are version 8. There are others you can use, but this one is dirt cheap.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catal.....logon=&langid=EN

What I found is you can load a kill file, upgrade the firmware to DD-WRT Micro for free and boost the power output substantially. Transmit power can now be increased from 40Mw to 251Mw.

The unit can handle it. I am sure there are some CRTC licensing issues with emissions here   but man does it make for an awesome wireless router.

Information can be found on how to do it here.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/How_To_Flash_the_WRT54Gv8

By the way I came across this because this unit was notorious for hanging up every couple of days. I found that the third party flash not only fixed this issue but had many other fantastic features, one of which was cranking the sucker up!

Of course, you could also build yourself a "Cantenna", but I have found that building directional reflectors out of stiff paper and tinfoil works very, very well at getting signals wher eI want them:  http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/Ez-10/ There are variations, like parabolic reflectors on that site too.  Very easy and cheap to build, so easy to experiment.  You will be amazed at the gain using the directional antennae "add ons".

Yes, but I really am looking for omnidirectional coverage from my router so there are no dead spots anywhere. The signal needs to propagate out 360 degrees and as importantly from the basement, up.

Just a warning, cranking the transmit juice levels doesn't work all the time.
Damn these 12" inch thick cement  floor and walls.

and it will be one of your neighbours wondering why their radio or tv signal is all screwy.

never got around to experimenting with the 2 antenna  solution (one for radial boost, the other for vertical boost).

We are talking milliwatts here. Not the 1.5 Kilowatt linear amplifiers that we used to play with when I was into ham radio.

Maybe then they would complain.

This is the same router o/s that is used on the new RFM worldwide tournament  mod.

http://www.mypinballs.com/tournament/

But this router ( WRT54Gv8 ) looks like it only runs the micro version.  One of the developers told me that the system will not run on the micro version of the code though.

Quoted from Monkeybug

This is the same router o/s that is used on the new RFM worldwide tournament  mod.

http://www.mypinballs.com/tournament/

But this router ( WRT54Gv8 ) looks like it only runs the micro version.  One of the developers told me that the system will not run on the micro version of the code though.

Yep. Micro only.

DD-WRT shows compatible models for the standard version. I had an older Linksys that will run the full version. Personally I don't know why, the micro seems to have all the functionality of the full version, but the developers would know.