Hotel Traveling the World

[glassmachines]

I'll be traveling the world for the next 6 months and I'm only bring my iPad2, most the places i'll be staying at will have free wifi in the hotels. From my room i can barley get a signal if any at all, and traveling down to the lobby is a pain in the ass. some places will not have ethernet connections in the rooms. is there something i could buy that would boost the hotel signal so i don't have to leave the room?????

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

A wireless repeater might be what you are looking for. If you connect them to a high-gain WiFi antenna (a separate purchase) they'll be far more sensitive than the iPad WiFi antenna. The repeater picks up the hotel WiFi and rebroadcasts it on a different channel. There are many repeaters and high-gain antennas available - just check Amazon - so there's plenty of choice.

Tim

 

[glassmachines]

i thought a repeater had to be connected to a computer on the wifi network and setup on that next work to be used? is there a repeater that can just connect to any unlocked network and push the signal?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Of course, I don't even know of a repeater that needs to be connected to a computer; that would rather defeat the whole purpose. I have a Linksys repeater in my house that extends the range of my ADSL router. It sits there quietly by itself and doesn't even have the capability of being connected to anything else!! But there are numerous models available. However, since the signal in the hotel room is already weak, you will need to use a high-gain antenna and that means you'll need to purchase a repeater with a removable antenna to which the high gain antenna can be connected. The antenna connections on repeaters have different style plugs if they're removable, so you'll need to make sure the high-gain antenna comes with a compatible plug. When I look at the high gain antennas on the Internet I see that each model is available with 2 or 3 different styles of plug.

Tim

 

[glassmachines]

with the Linksys repeater, was there any setup required? I just want to make sure i can pull it out of the box in the hotel plug it into the wall and use it.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

The only issue you face is if there are several WiFi networks in the vicinity. Then how doe the repeater know which one to 'repeat'? With the Linksys, when you switch it on initially (there's a reset button) you place it close to the network you want it to repeat. It monitors all the WiFi signals it can receive and chooses to repeat the strongest one. Then you move it to an appropriate location. So, you might initially need to take the repeater down to the hotel lobby so that it can find the appropriate signal to repeat. The problem I can foresee, however, is if the hotel has a number of 'private' WiFi networks. If you simply sit in the hotel lobby, it's possible one of those private networks might be stronger. So, unless the hotel lets you place your repeater temporarily next to the free WiFi base station, it might pick up and repeat the incorrect WiFi signal. But that initialisation only takes a few seconds. Download the Linksys (or other) repeater User Manual and see what you think.

Tim

 

[glassmachines]

Thanks for the help, i'll keep you posted after i get it.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Thanks - it should work fine.

Tim

 

[hussejane]

I hope that it works fine.