Convenient
Jan. 22nd, 2008 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnridleyWhen our router got exploded in a lightning strike last summer, I went out and got suckered into buying a "RangeMax" DLink router. It was on sale, and we had some problems with range on the old Netgear 614 so what the heck. I should have known better. I've known for over a decade that DLink builds crap.
Well, even with the latest firmware, the DLink reset itself once a day. With the as-shipped firmware, it did so about once every 2 hours. It absolutely astounds me that any sane person could think that was acceptable behavior. I wouldn't even put such a thing out as an internal alpha test version, but DLink thinks it's OK to ship.
Anyway, J was heading in to town so I said "Here, take this damn thing back and buy a Linksys WRT54G. It costs more, but I know it will work and I'm tired of screwing around."
Unfortunately, the newest version of the WRT54G, while stable, is the skinniest, least featureful router I've ever seen. I've seen $20 nonames with way more features. Primarily I want timed features, like "block this machine after 10PM and before 8AM". And this, the latest version, is running VxWorks and has almost no memory, and is not compatible with open source firmwares.
So today I was talking to the neighbor about his EQ2 problems, and said "Honestly, I talked with some gamer/network people and the only thing we can figure is that it's your router." He has a very old Linksys wired router. "I can't guarantee it'll fix anything, but you were talking about getting a wireless router anyway so it's worth a try." He asked for suggestions, and I suggested the Netgear 614. It worked well for me before it got whacked. Then he said "Well, my buddies online say the one to get is the Linksys WRT54G."
So I said "Well, actually, I've got one, just a couple of months old. It is rock steady but doesn't have the features I want, none of which is anything you need." He agreed to buy it once I got a replacement.
After shopping around, I wound up ordering a WRT54GL, which is the Linux version that will take aftermarket firmware. It's the only decently rated router that doesn't have lots of comments that say "dies after a year." And it's only $15 more than the cheap version.
While looking for a new one, I considered the Netgear 614. But though I hadn't thought about it before, the reviews got me thinking, and they agree with my experience after having deployed about 4 or 5; they do not last. They work great, but they die in a year or two. I actually fixed two of them up; they have a capacitor in the power supply section that's either underrated or is defective. I bet there are thousands of them in landfills that would work fine with one new capacitor.
Well, even with the latest firmware, the DLink reset itself once a day. With the as-shipped firmware, it did so about once every 2 hours. It absolutely astounds me that any sane person could think that was acceptable behavior. I wouldn't even put such a thing out as an internal alpha test version, but DLink thinks it's OK to ship.
Anyway, J was heading in to town so I said "Here, take this damn thing back and buy a Linksys WRT54G. It costs more, but I know it will work and I'm tired of screwing around."
Unfortunately, the newest version of the WRT54G, while stable, is the skinniest, least featureful router I've ever seen. I've seen $20 nonames with way more features. Primarily I want timed features, like "block this machine after 10PM and before 8AM". And this, the latest version, is running VxWorks and has almost no memory, and is not compatible with open source firmwares.
So today I was talking to the neighbor about his EQ2 problems, and said "Honestly, I talked with some gamer/network people and the only thing we can figure is that it's your router." He has a very old Linksys wired router. "I can't guarantee it'll fix anything, but you were talking about getting a wireless router anyway so it's worth a try." He asked for suggestions, and I suggested the Netgear 614. It worked well for me before it got whacked. Then he said "Well, my buddies online say the one to get is the Linksys WRT54G."
So I said "Well, actually, I've got one, just a couple of months old. It is rock steady but doesn't have the features I want, none of which is anything you need." He agreed to buy it once I got a replacement.
After shopping around, I wound up ordering a WRT54GL, which is the Linux version that will take aftermarket firmware. It's the only decently rated router that doesn't have lots of comments that say "dies after a year." And it's only $15 more than the cheap version.
While looking for a new one, I considered the Netgear 614. But though I hadn't thought about it before, the reviews got me thinking, and they agree with my experience after having deployed about 4 or 5; they do not last. They work great, but they die in a year or two. I actually fixed two of them up; they have a capacitor in the power supply section that's either underrated or is defective. I bet there are thousands of them in landfills that would work fine with one new capacitor.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-01-23 07:16 am (UTC)I have not tried it myself, but the page in the manual seems pretty clear (page 29, chapter 6, the WRT54g version 1.1 users guide).
You probably have to enter the full possible range of ports in the Disable boxes.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-23 12:55 pm (UTC)I have looked all around and this router doesn't even have a section to set up NTP or anything to know what time it is. It doesn't have static leases, so I have to configure machines that I want to port forward to to static IP addresses. This thing's got nothing.
But the neighbor is fine with that. He doesn't want any of that stuff, he just wants an out-of-the-box machine that's stable.
The new router will get flashed to DD-WRT immediately. Well, as soon as I confirm that it's working anyway.