OGI wrote:
Looking at getting Spectrum cable but having spec difficulty.
They will provide a router only, router with wifi or router with wifi
and phone but cannot give me specs.
What's my problem ?
I currently have AT&T WiFi Router that does not have much power out and
seems to drop WiFI or internet or ??? often. My security cams turn off
and the app shuts down. Bad app too !
If I use WiFi Analytics WiFi app on my laptop it shows the AT&T WiFI at
"Max Rate" 150 where another LAN WIFi router at the other end of the
house shows as "Max Rate" 300. I cannot watch movies from the back
room PC where the AT&T WiFi is to the living room PC using their wifi
since it stops and stutters. Using a cable down the hall works perfectly.
Several questions.
What feature should I be looking for in a WiFi router:
Speed 300 vs 150 "Max Rate"
Power output
Dual freq 2.9 vs 5 GHz
AC protocol or whatever it is called
Spectrum says it installs an Arris TG1672G but it does not specify
output power in the specs I found. Anyone have a better spec source ?
I am not even sure that is the WiFi modem router that I will get as it
seems they grab whatever is handy to bring out to install.
So I hate to think I would have to set up my own WiFi Router.
Last question -
If I get internet only and want phone service, what are my choices ?
And would that service be able to take my current land line phone
number and use it ? I would totally drop AT&T if so.
Does that service have caller ID - mandatory feature for me to have.
Also is there a preferred Channel ? 1 or 6 or 11 or ???
The channel number that is least-used, is preferred :-)
You would do a survey, if attempting to play that game,
and see what channels are occupied.
The Arris works on 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Each has channels in it.
http://www.arris.com/globalassets/re...pf_30sep13.pdf
3x3 Integrated Dual Band Concurrent
2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n radios with
Beam Forming
The Arris doesn't have band steering. There is a
red X next to the feature in the table here.
http://www.dslreports.com/hardware/ARRIS-TG1682-h4006
A demo without a lot of benchmarks...
A Wifi with band steering, puts the 5GHz capable
clients on the 5GHz band. These are silly little
firmware features, not necessarily requiring any
custom hardware to make them work.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wirel...-band-steering
*******
The rates are listed here. The Arris is likely to be
rows 21,22,23. Min of 156, max of 450 (ideal signal
conditions, with some mixture of clients). Would
the security cameras have three antennas ? What happens
when a non-MIMO device talks to a MIMO router ?
150 maybe ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n-2009
21 3 64-QAM 2/3 156 173.3 324 360
22 3 64-QAM 3/4 175.5 195 364.5 405
23 3 64-QAM 5/6 195 216.7 405 450
And to my way of thinking, you cannot reasonably
expect to escape the clutches of the "150", unless
the client devices switch to something better. If
you had band steering, *maybe* some of the more
capable clients would end up on the 5GHz band.
And *maybe* it would use 40MHz then. It's a
Wifi Lotto after all.
Even if you had a modem/router with 802.11AC
in it, it might still switch down to 150 for
some of the client devices.
And remember that penetration power, varies with
frequency. 900MHz bores through a lot of stuff.
2.4GHz is getting a bit flaky. 5GHz is going
to be worse. And 60GHz (WiGig) is guaranteed
to work in the same room as you - with whizzy
transfer rates, but no ability to reach
the basement room.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Gigabit_Alliance
*******
I'm not a big fan of "integrated" boxes like the Arris.
Can you figure out why ?
I need control of each aspect of my network. So
I can "design it". And for me, that means separate
boxes and a lot of wasted electricity. But, I'm getting
the features I want.
My VOIP ATA is a separate box. My router setup has
varied from time to time, and for a lot of years,
I used a separate router box. The modem portion
tends to stay in "bridged" mode. Which is not
available on "rental" modem/router/rocketship
boxes from the ISP. The ISP really doesn't
want you modifying the settings, because
then you'll call up and "complain" when it
no longer works. And they can't have that.
*******
Wifi:
1) Feature-rich.
2) Not tunable by humans.
Tends to deliver lowest-common-denominator.
3) Is an "Up-To" technology. Never ever
delivers the "max rate". Unbounded lower
rate (until the connection is so slow, it
times out).
*******
They make separate VOIP ATA boxes. There are two
ways to connect them. The easy way. The hard way.
The hard way, is for ATAs connected to subtending
wired connections, where you have to port forward
a bunch of stuff. If you install them in-line (the
easy way), they may limit download speeds. So you
have to be careful when selecting one. The boxes
also auto-update the firmware, and auto-pull-down
the config from the ISP. Using the box the ISP uses,
makes it a lot easier (the ISP puts the correct URLs
in the setup, so the box does the right thing when
plugged in).
Example: "GRANDSTREAM VoIP ATA" - has two RJ11 jacks
(Would need two phone accounts to use both jacks)
(VOIP accounts are available for $10/mo with
portable DN. I use my old POTS phone number
on my VOIP setup. I *hate* VOIP and think
it sucks donkey balls... The ****er has dropped
calls on me, while the modem was operating
perfectly fine. The server at the ISP is suspected.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA3HG37Y8553
VOIP offers the worst of all possible worlds:
1) Nobody is interested in your call quality.
Try and get Tech Support to care :-(
AT&T won't "wring the line out" when you call.
POTS has a certain regulatory framework.
What does VOIP have ?
2) Services are unverified. Does the VOIP service
have "e911" ? Mine doesn't. In an emergency,
I could be talking to a dial tone, screaming
for help. There's no guarantee of anything when
an emergency arises. No guarantee they know where
you are. If I dial 911, someone will pick up,
but they might not be in my city, and they have
no idea of my physical location. If I've just
had a heart attack, and cannot speak, I'm
going to just croak waiting for help.
3) For $10 a month, you get a DN... (preserve your
Directory Number), and the rest is purely left
to your imagination. You are responsible every
once in a while, for using your cell phone or a
pay phone, to make sure the VOIP still works.
Call home, see if your voice mail box picks up
or not. What fun. I'm enjoying myself already.
4) If you drop the conventional FAX machine to 9600 baud,
it may work over your second RJ11 VOIP jack.
The 14400 baud setting is unlikely to work.
But I am saving money. I keep telling myself
I'm saving money dammit.
HTH,
Paul