I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

On 28/10/2019 16:43, R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

good bin it ...

R D S wrote:

I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Provided it has got its own unique IP on your lccal subnet, probably
defined by your main router, yes. You can probably either use DHCP
provided by the router or set it yourself if you know what IP to use.


Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
maybe


Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

Yes, but you can probably set it to leave all that to your router.
--

Roger Hayter

On 28/10/2019 16:43, R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

A LOT of cheap repeater **** is utter crap.
I have the same issues with a Ethernet over mains link.
Its fine for hours then it just stops working.

IMHO best is to get a wireless access point and connect it via Ethernet

--
Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the
gospel of envy.

Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

"R D S" wrote in message
...
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset

Yes, I did get that with the medion one I used for years,
but I had it under an upturned picking bucket with a brick
on it half way down by back neighbour's back yard and
the temperature there was way outside the specs.

and as often as not the PC will need a reboot too.

Never needed to do that with mine.

(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

That varys with the design, you usually can't with the cheapest ones.

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?

Yep. And there are full mesh systems which are
even better again but much more expensive.

Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

You do have a choice with its SSID You can
have it present the same SSID as what its
repeating or a different one. The big
advantage with the same SSID is that
the more intelligent devices like
the better smartphones can connect
to the strongest signal automatically.

The big advantage with a unique SSID
is that its easier to see when its stopped
and needs to be restarted, usually by
cycling the power.

On 28/10/2019 16:43, R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.

Apple kit is a lot more tetchy abut which chipsets it will play with.

(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

If it is in its default mode then it should be accessible. It is only
when you start to use the more exotic modes that the thing can become
inaccessible once configured. I have mine accepting a wired ethernet
feed and passing it one whilst creating a new independent Wifi zone.

Basically I have it intercepting the wired feed to the TV.

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

Mine is a cheap Netgear clone which I think cost £12 from Amazon and has
so far been pretty reliable once I got it configured right (despite the
Chinglish instructions). They are usually preconfigured with a simple
minded wizard to do basic simple repeater function out of the box.

Some Wifi chipsets are definitely more reliable than others.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Tue, 29 Oct 2019 05:42:29 +1100, Chang, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rodent Speed, wrote:


FLUSH the abnormal nym-shifting senile cretin's latest troll****

If you couldn't troll, nym-shift and pester people on Usenet with your
obnoxiousness, you would have NOTHING in your senile "life", eh, senile
Rodent? I mean, it's as clear as soup, you sleepless trolling cretin! LOL

--
Website (from 2007) dedicated to the 85-year-old trolling senile
cretin from Oz:
https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/r...d-faq.2973853/

On 28/10/2019 16:43, R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?
I have a couple of TP Link repeaters. Not got a problem with them. I do
know that after going into standby windows/10 can mess up the WiFi adaptors.

Go to control panel - "network and sharing Center" - "change adaptor
settings".

Right click on the WiFi adaptor and disable.

Wait till is shows disabled.

Right click on the WiFi adaptor and enable.

If it then connects to the network is windows...

On 28/10/2019 18:12, The Natural Philosopher wrote:


A LOT of cheap repeater **** is utter crap.
I have the same issues with a Ethernet over mains link.
Its fine for hours then it just stops working.


A lot of the cheapest home networking kit is crap full stop.

IMHO best is to get a wireless access point and connect it via Ethernet

^^^^ This.

It depends if its actually secure or not. I know some are truly awful, since
they can be hijacked by somebody elses wifi, having apparently no security.
If it has and has been set up you may actually be having different
problems, ie so many people using wifi on both bands that the whole thing is
unusable due to interference and not enough clear channels. Remember part of
the equation is the signal getting back from your device to the master
device as well as just boosting the outgoing channel, if the back channel
is seen to drop then you cannot use it can you?
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Jim GM4DHJ ..." wrote in message
...
On 28/10/2019 16:43, R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

good bin it ...

On 18:12 28 Oct 2019, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/10/2019 16:43, R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

A LOT of cheap repeater **** is utter crap.
I have the same issues with a Ethernet over mains link.
Its fine for hours then it just stops working.

To say nothing of the radio interference the plug-in units cause.

IMHO best is to get a wireless access point and connect it via Ethernet

On 29/10/2019 08:58, Brian Gaff (Sofa) wrote:
It depends if its actually secure or not. I know some are truly awful, since
they can be hijacked by somebody elses wifi, having apparently no security.

The very first Wifi I had was insecure by design. That was back in the
2000's. OTOH the house was practically a Faraday cage full of rebar and
concrete intended to survive a nearby nuclear blast so getting signal
from room to room was hard enough never mind outside.

I think today you would be hard pushed to find anything that didn't
support some form of WPA2 PSK support even on cheap and cheerful kit.

If it has and has been set up you may actually be having different
problems, ie so many people using wifi on both bands that the whole thing is
unusable due to interference and not enough clear channels. Remember part of
the equation is the signal getting back from your device to the master
device as well as just boosting the outgoing channel, if the back channel
is seen to drop then you cannot use it can you?
Brian

That might be true in a block of flats but I have encouraged my
neighbours to choose the cleanest channel so that people on the same
channel are as widely separated as possible. It was much worse when
every piece of BT kit always sat on channel 11 right out of the box.

The 5Ghz band isn't that busy where I live but its limitations on going
through thick Victorian walls makes it less than ideal for me.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 29/10/2019 08:47, Chris Bartram wrote:
On 28/10/2019 18:12, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
IMHO best is to get a wireless access point and connect it via Ethernet

^^^^ This.

That's what i'm doing with the repeater, it has a lan port too.

Wireless router downstairs
Wireless repeater upstairs connected to a switch serving a couple of
printers and a PC.

On 29/10/2019 08:43, David Wade wrote:

If it then connects to the network is windows...

It's Ubuntu i'm using.

It looks from (this morning's experimenting) like the router, the
repeater and the networking on the pc like to be turned off and back on
again in a certain order then all will be 'well'.

I'll probably just make a mess and run a cable.

On 29/10/2019 10:45, R D S wrote:
On 29/10/2019 08:47, Chris Bartram wrote:
On 28/10/2019 18:12, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
IMHO best is to get a wireless access point and connect it via Ethernet

^^^^ This.

That's what i'm doing with the repeater, it has a lan port too.

If you have it in that mode then I think you may well find that it no
longer responds to it's own base IP address until you do a factory
reset. It makes fine tuning the details more than a little tedious.

Keep notes of the setup and double check everything before you press the
activate button or you will go round the same loop many times!

Wireless router downstairs
Wireless repeater upstairs connected to a switch serving a couple of
printers and a PC.

Apart from the router being upstairs and the repeater downstairs that is
exactly the configuration that I use. Setting it up exactly right was
made more difficult by the inconsiderate way the unit went AWOL once it
was put into the rebroadcast fixed line ethernet mode.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 29/10/2019 10:50, R D S wrote:
On 29/10/2019 08:43, David Wade wrote:

If it then connects to the network is windows...

It's Ubuntu i'm using.

It looks from (this morning's experimenting) like the router, the
repeater and the networking on the pc like to be turned off and back on
again in a certain order then all will be 'well'.

I'll probably just make a mess and run a cable.

I used to have this sort of problem (I have a £15 TP-link box that can
hear the Plusnet main box wifi and gives me ethernet and wifi out, that
goes to a switch and then to printers and PCs in my office). It would
manifest as printers going offline, and shared drives on desktop and
laptop no longer being visible over the Windows network. I have lost the
link, but a post a while ago explained how to change some windows
network settings, sort of like making the desktop the "master" and the
laptop the "slave", and since then it has all been more reliable
(including keeping the printers online better).

On Tue, 29 Oct 2019 11:12:18 +0000, newshound wrote:

On 29/10/2019 10:50, R D S wrote:
On 29/10/2019 08:43, David Wade wrote:

If it then connects to the network is windows...

It's Ubuntu i'm using.

It looks from (this morning's experimenting) like the router, the
repeater and the networking on the pc like to be turned off and back on
again in a certain order then all will be 'well'.

I'll probably just make a mess and run a cable.

I used to have this sort of problem (I have a £15 TP-link box that can
hear the Plusnet main box wifi and gives me ethernet and wifi out, that
goes to a switch and then to printers and PCs in my office). It would
manifest as printers going offline, and shared drives on desktop and
laptop no longer being visible over the Windows network. I have lost the
link, but a post a while ago explained how to change some windows
network settings, sort of like making the desktop the "master" and the
laptop the "slave", and since then it has all been more reliable
(including keeping the printers online better).

I have a laminated sheet on the side of the equipment rack telling me
what order I have to power stuff up. There are 11 steps now!



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 29/10/2019 10:45, R D S wrote:
On 29/10/2019 08:47, Chris Bartram wrote:
On 28/10/2019 18:12, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
IMHO best is to get a wireless access point and connect it via Ethernet

^^^^ This.

That's what i'm doing with the repeater, it has a lan port too.

Wireless router downstairs
Wireless repeater upstairs connected to a switch serving a couple of
printers and a PC.
I think TNP (and myself) were suggesting not doing the link between the
two wirelessly.

It sounds like you're not using the repeater as an repeater, but as a
wireless client connecting to the router's wifi?

In your case I would either put a cable in between the router and
switch, or, if that's a real PITA, use a power-over-mains link.

In article ,
R D S wrote:
I don't know why but I never get results searching for stuff with
Thunderbird, maybe i've downloaded too much....

Anyway, i've a WiFi repeater (sub 10 quid cheapo from eBay), since using
it having no end of bother.
It works OK initially but i'll go away for a time, come back, find that
there's no internet and the repeater itself needing a hard reset and as
often as not the PC will need a reboot too.
(I'm being thick here, but if it's set to repeat, should I still be able
to log into it via lan using its IP?)

Are more expensive branded ones likely to be better?
Or do I need to learn how to use it properly WRT IPs and DNS and such?

I just used my old router, after BT supplied their own one for FTB.

--
*Save the whale - I'll have it for my supper*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 29/10/2019 13:53, Chris Bartram wrote:
In your case I would either put a cable in between the router and
switch, or, if that's a real PITA, use a power-over-mains link.

I'd completely forgotten about those, Cheers.